The Impact of Whole Language on Four Elementary School Libraries: Results from a Comparative Case Study

This paper reports the findings of a comparative case study designed to describe how the implementation of whole language, an educational philosophy influencing many of today's elementary schools, evolved in four school libraries in Virginia. The study examined the impact of whole language in terms of its effect on the library program and the librarian. The study also sought to understand the change agent role each librarian played during implementation of the philosophy. Specifically, the following questions were addressed: (1) What changes occurred in the knowledge, perceptions, practices, and beliefs of the librarians? (2) What changes did the librarians make in the library programs as a result of whole language? (3) What roles did the school librarians play during the implementation of whole language? and (4) How did the librarians feel about the whole language philosophy and its impact on the library program? Data collection techniques included participant observation; interviews with librarians, principals, and teachers; and examination of relevant documents. Findings indicated that the level of success each librarian experienced varied and was dependent on the culture of the school, principal support, the librarian's knowledge and interpersonal skills, the librarian's reaction to district level changes, and time. Recommendations are provided for practicing school librarians and library school educators. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/MES) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. The Impact of Whole Language on Four Elementary School Libraries PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Results from a Comparative Case Study TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Sandra Hughes, Ph.D. INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization College of Information Science and Technology originating it. Minor changes have been made to Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA improve reproduction quality. United States of America Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. This paper reports the findings of a comparative case study designed to describe how the implementation of whole language, an educational philosophy influencing many of today's elementary schools, evolved in four school libraries in Virginia. The study examines the impact of whole language in terms of its effect on the library program and its effect on the librarian. The study also seeks to understand the change agent role each librarian played during implementation of the philosophy. It provides recommendations for practicing school librarians and library school educators. Introduction In the 1980s, the public and the educational community began to question the effectiveness of America's public schools, particularly their success in teaching students to read and write. Researchers, teacher educators, and practitioners began to seek more effective ways to teach literacy. The research generated by this national reading debate led many elementary schools to adopt a new philosophy of literacy instruction known as whole language. The whole language philosophy emphasizes holistic, meaning-based literacy instruction. It supports teaching language and all its systemssemantics, syntax, and graphophonicsintact. Rather than being taught discrete decoding skills, children in whole language classrooms learn to read and write during the process of reading and writing. Teachers, acting as models and facilitators of literacy development, create literature rich classrooms in which children are encouraged to take risks, try new things, formulate hypotheses, self-correct, and work as a community of learners (Goodman, 1986; Smith, 1994; Routman, 1996). Leaders in the school library field believe the implementation of whole language poses significant challenges for school librarians (Stanek, 1993; Haycock, 1988; Vandergrift, 1988b; Veatch, 1988). Haycock (1988, p. 19), describes whole language as "the greatest threat the school library profession has faced in years." He predicts that if school librarians continue to operate isolated scheduled classes and to act as unitary teachers, they risk the dissolution of the centralized school library. Unleash the Power! BEST CO7 MARA LE 83 Research in the area of educational change also indicates that whole lanQua2e will challenge the attitudes and skills of school librarians. According to Fullan (1982, p. 26), change, especially the implementation of an innovation, "represents a serious personal and collective experience characterized by ambivalence, uncertainty, loss, and anxiety." Individuals experiencing change have concerns about their adequacy to learn new skills and use new materials. They question how an innovation will benefit students, how it will affect them personally, and how it will alter the culture and structure of the school. The purpose of this study is to understand how school librarians in four elementary schools responded to the implementation of whole language and to describe the philosophy's impact on the library program. It extended earlier research (Barlup, 1991; Hughes, 1993; Bishop & Blazek, 1994; Jones, 1994; Delgado et al., 1995) by using three theoretical lenses to analyze the datawhole language theory and practice, educational change theory, and change agent theory.