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

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, mccarthe{at}uiuc.edu

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.

Key Words: assessment • elementary teachers • teachers'practices • language arts • Foucault • policy

This version was published on October 1, 2008

Written Communication, Vol. 25, No. 4, 462-505 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0741088308322554


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