Teachers of English Learners Negotiating Authoritarian Policies

Chapter 1: Introduction . U.S. Educational Policy and English Learners . A Brief Overview of How Literacy Has Been Taught in the U.S. . Contrasting Views on the Role of Teachers in Policy Making . Poststructural Perspectives on Agency . Teacher Agency and Educational Policy . The Three Studies Reported on in This Volume .- Chapter 2: Teachers of ELs Negotiating Top-down Literacy Initiatives in Two Urban Districts . Research Design and Data Sources . Findings . Teachers Made Principled Adaptations to the Program . People Overseeing Teachers' Implementation of OCR Influenced Teachers' Actions . Administrators Differentiated Enforcement of the OCR Mandate . Supportive Principals and Colleagues Affected Teachers' Actions . Resistance as Principled and Accommodating . Conclusion .- Chapter 3: Case Studies of Teachers Negotiating a Top-Down Literacy Mandate . The Case Study Teachers . Data Collection and Analysis . Classroom Observations . Post-Observation Interviews . Findings . Teacher Talk Predominated . Whole-Class Instruction Characterized Almost All Teaching . OCR Skill and Strategy Instruction Predominated . Teachers Frequently Read the OCR Texts Aloud to Students . Students Had Very Few Opportunities to Read Independently . Students Had Virtually No Opportunities to Write . Teachers Were Concerned About How OCR Was Not Meeting Their Students' Needs . Over Time, Teachers Became More Compliant with the District Policy . Discussion . A Desire to Remain Part of the Burgess Community Motivated Teachers to Conform . Institutional Authority Exerted a Tremendous Influence on Teachers' Actions . Professional Roles and Relationships Influenced Teachers' Actions . Conclusion