Basals have played an important role in classroom instruction for almost 200 years. Historically, basal programs have been influenced by both important research and policy reports. This study analyzed one publishing company’s basal program across seven editions in order to trace the interaction of research, policy, and publication.
Teacher’s editions for the first level of first grade from 1996 to 2014 were analyzed for the following: (a) research and policy context, (b) features of teacher’s editions, (c) student readers: selection level and word level, (d) instructional approaches for phonemic awareness, phonics, and spelling, (e) vocabulary selection and instructional approaches, (f) instructional approaches for comprehension, (g) supplemental resources.
The analyses revealed (a) a gap between research and uptake by the publisher, (b) direct influence of policy, and (c) influence of authorship. Implications of this investigation related to (a)teacher agency and specialized knowledge, (b) resources for evaluating basal resources, and(c)responsibilities of basal publishers are also discussed
