This study investigated the influence of content area responsibility, amount of teaching experience, instructional level, and training in the teaching of reading on teachers' attitudes and perceptions of competency in content area reading instruction, and attempted to determine whether a relationship existed between these attitudes and perceptions of competency. To accomplish these purposes, an instrument consisting of 27 competencies which sampled skills in content area reading instruction was created. Information on secondary teachers' attitudes and perceptions of competency was gathered using this instrument in a mail survey of randomly selected teachers in the content areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The results indicated that these teachers expressed positive attitudes and perceptions of competency when given specific illustrations of the concept, content area reading instruction. Content area responsibility was the major factor influencing attitudes and perceptions, but training in the teaching of reading and amount of teaching experience also influenced teachers' perceptions. It was concluded that inservice and preservice training in the teaching of reading should be content-specific, competency-based, and field-centered. (Author/TS)