REACTION, INITIATION, AND PROMISE: A HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION

The purpose of the study was to determine the nature of the historical role played by the International Reading Association (IRA) from 1900 to 2006. The methodology used in this qualitative study was based on grounded theory in which information was located, examined, coded, and recoded until themes, patterns, and categories could justifiably be formed. The themes that emerged from an analysis of historical events related to IRA, the United States, United States' education, and United States' reading instruction. The study complements an earlier study of the history of IRA conducted by Dr. Douglas K. Hartman and Lou Ann Sears in which oral histories were conducted with IRA staff, officers, and members both past and present, and document analyses were conducted of materials archived at the IRA Headquarters in Newark, Delaware. Three research questions guided this study. In what ways has the International Reading Association been able to react to the forces that have affected its goals and members? In what ways has IRA been an initiator throughout its history? What political themes were prevalent in United States' history, educational history, and reading-instruction history from 1900 to 2006 that seem to have been reflected in the way IRA promoted sound literacy practices?Three conclusions were drawn based on the analysis of the themes that emerged from the study. First, IRA intentionally reacted to internal and external forces. Second, IRA has initiated connections among and beyond its membership in the way that it structured its many groups. Finally, IRA has reacted to and been affected by themes that emerged from historical events in the United States, United States' education, and United States' reading instruction