On the margins in a high-performing high school: Policy and the Struggling Reader

Franzak, J. (May 2008). On the margins in a high-performing high school: Policy and the struggling reader. Research in the Teaching of English, 42(4). pp. 466-505.

In this article, Franzak sets about to answer the following questions: "What constitutes 'policy' in secondary school reading and literature study" and "In the context of how it is constituted, how does reading/literature policy shape the experience of struggling readers in a traditional high school English class?" (Franzak, 2008, p. 467). She finds there is a disconnect between state/district created policy and its implementation in the classroom, describing implied policy and phantom policies that existed within the district. The focus of analysis is the student participants' understanding of why they read specific literature in language arts class--namely Romeo & Juliet and The Odyssey.

In the discussion of the research, Franzak suggests that the integration of teaching literature and teaching reading needs to be added to teacher education programs as well as educational policy.