Commercial reading programmes as the solution for children living in poverty

In 2006–2007 a non-profit reading institute initiated a reading reform programme in the United States in which demonstration classrooms were established in 13 of the lowest performing schools in Mississippi, a state recognised for its high rate of poverty and low academic achievement. This qualitative study describes the experiences of 12 highly competent demonstration classroom teachers and their use of a scripted commercial programme Read Well as core instruction for kindergarten and first grade students who were struggling to learn to read and, at the same time, living with the devastating effects of poverty. Demonstration classroom teachers found the scripted programme inadequate in meeting the needs of all their students and found it necessary to alter their use of Read Well. This study demonstrates the need for educational policy-makers to consider social and cultural contexts of learners when determining what constitutes best instructional practice for teachers.