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Whole language perceptions and practices of first- and second-grade teachers
Abstract
A whole language philosophy has been one of the most discussed areas in the language arts curriculum in the past few years. As teachers search to discover what whole language is, conflicting concepts of how whole language is truly perceived and what teachers are doing in the name of "whole language" appear. The purpose of this multiple case study design was to develop an understanding of first and second grade teachers', who professed to be whole language teachers, perceptions of "whole language" and how those perceptions were practiced in the classroom. Four first grade teachers and two second grade teachers were interviewed and observed over a four-month period of time. Strong whole literacy perceptions prevailed in each of the classrooms, influencing reading and writing practices. All of the teachers expressed an appreciation of reading, but little reference was made to the theoretical background of whole language. Traditional methodology or school restriction had somewhat of a hold in these classrooms. All of the teachers in this study openly embraced the practical application of whole language theory. However, they admitted the need for more clarification. The following recommendations for clarifying the term "whole language" were offered: (1) Providing training sessions will build theory as well as develop practice. (2) Supplying a variety of resources for the classroom will assist in breaking away from the basals. (3) Promoting support systems among the staff is vital to the success of the program. (4) Developing "whole language" theory will take time and effort. As the study concluded, confusion still existed as to a definition of the term "whole language." Some of the teachers referred to themselves as "whole language," but admitted the need to know more about the field. Also, the lack of use of terms predominant in the literature on whole language, such as community, ownership, and choice, is an indication that there is still much confusion surrounding "whole language."
Subject Area
Curricula|Teaching|Elementary education|Literacy|Reading instruction
Recommended Citation
Batenhorst, Elaine V, "Whole language perceptions and practices of first- and second-grade teachers" (1994). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9516577.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9516577