Secondary English Language Arts teachers' perceptions and implementation of change policy

Research regarding educational reform in the United States has examined change in public schools, including changes in the role of the teacher. Secondary teachers have been studied regarding school leadership, work atmosphere, and resource availability, but research specific to secondary English Language Arts teachers' perceptions of how policy implementation affects them in their day to day practice is lacking. Factors of change and the effects on teachers' attitudes reflect how teachers as participants of change cope with change reform.;This qualitative research study sought a descriptive understanding of practicing secondary English Language Arts teachers and their perceptions regarding the scope and goals of curriculum reform policy through a multiple case study design viewed through a critical perspective. The principal methodological instrument for study is focused interviews and observations with teachers who had been teaching 8--10 years within the district to identify what they knew regarding curriculum policy changes within the past five years of curriculum at the state, district and site level, their current ways of practice, and then assessed how they perceive the impact of curriculum change on their practice. This research examined on a holistic level, the issue of change as it was perceived by the teachers. Furthermore, it examines specific policy implementation related to the role of change, its implementations, and the way in which teachers' perceptions influenced the implementation.;The case study sought to gain insights into the ways in which teachers themselves viewed their practice and how their perceptions impacted their classroom teaching. The principal methodological instrument for this study was focused interviews utilizing Fisher's (1999) model of policy evaluation. Five questions directed the research: (1) What counts as change to secondary English Language Arts teachers? (2) In what ways do secondary English Language Arts teachers implement change in the metropolitan schools in which they work? (3) What becomes altered or modified in the classroom materials when secondary English Language Arts teachers implement policy as the basis for change? (4) What are the values or goals that underlie teacher's perceptions of the change relationships between the secondary English Language Arts and policy implementation? (5) How is the secondary English Language Arts teacher's perceptions affected by the implementation of policy change?...