| Summary: | This qualitative study contributes to understanding about teachers' experiences with change. As teachers attempt to navigate the curricular initiatives that continually come and go, their work is affected and their attitudes are shaped. Employing the methodology of narrative inquiry, teachers' personal stories about their experiences during the rise and fall of the whole language movement in reading instruction during the 1990s were explored. Experience-centered narrative
analysis illuminated the impact that this tumultuous period in educational history had on four Massachusetts teachers who lived through it. Recognizing that people create their own realities based on their interpretations of their experiences, in-depth interviews and a review of documentary evidence revealed teachers' personal understandings of the "Reading Wars." The bodies of literature relating to the history of reading instruction, the forces that shape reading policy, and teachers
and change were interrogated through the lens of change theory and of self-efficacy theory. Key themes emerged from the teachers' stories, including: whole language as a failed initiative; teachers' agency as instructional decision makers; the pendulum of change; the importance of leadership, and relationships with colleagues. Too often, teachers' voices and viewpoints are absent from educational reform initiatives, leading to failure and disillusionment. This study honors teachers'
perspectives in order to create new knowledge about the relationship between cycles of educational change and teacher efficacy.
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