This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0741088308322554v1 25/4/462    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by McCarthey, S. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Impact of No Child Left Behind on Teachers’ Writing Instruction

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mccarthe{at}uiuc.edu.

	Abstract

The study uses Foucault’s framework of governmentality to understand the impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on teachers’ writing instruction and attitudes toward writing in high- and low-income schools. Using interviews and observations of 18 teachers, the study identified four themes: emphasis on testing, curricular effects, awareness of lower-achieving students, and concerns for English language learners. While teachers shared concerns in those areas, there were differences in how teachers from high- and low-income schools experienced the impact of NCLB on their writing instruction. The study suggests that NCLB has affected teacher morale as well as the nature and amount of writing instruction, but that school contexts figure into teachers’ instruction. The example of one teacher from a low-income school demonstrates the potential for teachers to resist the coercive aspects of NCLB through their writing instruction.

First published on August 7, 2008, doi:10.1177/0741088308322554

Written Communication 2008;25:462.

A more recent version of this article appeared on October 1, 2008


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?