Beschreibung:
<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title><jats:p>This paper attempts to show the importance of the interface between research findings and classroom practice. The writer demonstrates how the judicious use of research has informed the decisions made about reading in three schools of which she has been Head teacher. Two key influences have been an understanding of child development, and what that says about all learning, and the messages about learning to read conveyed by the psycholinguists. The link is made between these influences on learning and the context of overall ‘school effectiveness'. The central tenet in practical terms is the concept of the ‘literate environment'. In defining this term she recognizes the key role of parents and teachers as both ‘models’ for reading and supporters in the learning process. The component parts of the literate environment are described at length before finally the suggestion is made that perhaps it is time for there to be a less mechanistic type of reading research.</jats:p>