This working paper is a report of a study of the meanings 10 children derived from the experience of being taught to read in first grade. The study is based on a series of classroom observations and conversations with the children, their parents and teachers over a 10-month period in two first grade classrooms of a public elementary school in an…

A study explored the relationship between social/cultural control and the way knowledge is structured and presented in schools. "Critical literacy" was defined as the perception of meaning within the total context of the relevant experiences of the reader. The "dilemmas of schooling" language developed by A. Berlak and H. Berlak was used to…