The teacher tends to be a major factor in students' choice of literary critical approach. (JH)

Discusses two research questions that literature teachers must continually answer--their students' reading interests and how well their students read a text. Shows how research has both complicated and clarified these questions. (RL)

As part of an international study of students' achievement in literature, a thorough analysis was made of 23 current books, curricula, and reports, concerning the teaching of literature, to determine the pedagogical objectives pursued and the kinds of literature being taught in secondary schools in the United States. From these sources, a number…