Teacher and Student Perceptions of Content Area Reading.

Abstract

effectively if students are to achieve maximum cognitive and affective growth. It follows, then, that secondary school teachers should be prepared to help students develop skills, techniques, and attitudes essential to reading and comprehending the materials they encounter in and beyond the classroom (Burmeister, 1978; Hill, 1979; Smith, Smith, and Mikulecky, 1978). There is reason to accept the notion that print materials are the major source of information in secondary school content areas. Through our own experience as students and educators, we know that textbooks are central. Acquaintance with the instructional techniques of content classes, plus the growth in programs requiring future content teachers to prepare to teach reading, reinforce the idea that student reading is important in content classes. Teachers' own reports support this conclusion particularly with regard to high schools and to mathematics and science classes in middle schools (Mikulecky, Smith, and Schaff, 1982). Beyond conventional wisdom, how-