DIFFERENTIAL-EFFECTS OF WHOLE LANGUAGE AND TRADITIONAL INSTRUCTION ONREADING ATTITUDES

This article reports a three-part study comparing the effects of whole -language practice versus traditional basal instruction on children's reading attitudes. In Experiment I, children in two whole-language ele mentary schools (Grades 1-5, N=485) and children in two traditional sc hools (Grades 1-5, N=433) responded to the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS). Although significant main effects of grade level and g ender were observed, there was no main effect of instructional approac h. The possibility that whole language had been too broadly defined wa s addressed in a second study. in Experiment 2, Bergeron's (1990) defi nition was used to identify a third whole-language school, meeting mor e specific criteria All students in Grades 1-5 (N=713) were compared w ith the original basal group. Only the recreational ERAS subscale was administered because of the inapplicability of certain items of the ac ademic subscale to the new whole-language setting. As before, no main effect of approach was observed, nor was any interaction of approach w ith other factors significant. Experiment 3 involved follow-up structu red observations of two first-grade teachers in the second whole-langu age school. The attitude means of these teachers' classes differed sig nificantly. Although the two teachers exhibited many similarities, not able differences emerged that warrant further study in order to examin e a possible causal relationship between practice and attitude. Import ant differences in practice within a general whole-language philosophy may affect reading attitude differentially.