Conflict or consensus: Views of reading curricula and instruction within one instructional setting

Questionnaires, interviews, and the school district’s printed descriptions were used to test whether administrators and teachers agreed on the goals and means for reading instruction within one school district which had previously reorganized its reading program to emphasize centralized planning and student achievement. Results suggest that most administrators accepted student test scores as the appropriate goal and centralized planning and standard use of commercial reading materials as the appropriate means for instruction, but that most teachers in the same district sought more effective and communal goals and more autonomy concerning means. Discussion is presented concerning each group’s academic training, ideological assumptions, and proximity to instruction to clarify their respective positions. Cautions are presented regarding reorganization of reading programs and regarding appropriate models of social organization in the study of reading instruction in public schools.