Exploring Tensions between English Teachers' Core Beliefs and Peripheral Beliefs in Teaching Reading

The study is an attempt to explore the tensions that leads to a gap between core and peripheral instructional beliefs leading to the classroom practices of Secondary School English Teachers in the cultivation of students' reading skills. Following qualitative phenomenological approach, the study was designed to explore the live experiences through interview protocols from experienced teachers teaching English at Secondary school level. The collected data were analyzed following interpretative approach. The results explored that there was a complete fiasco related to the teaching of reading skills development on the part of the school. Although, the teachers believed that teaching reading skills do need adoption of some well-known strategies yet the examination pattern and the demands of the students and parents were better met otherwise, which means deviation from the National Curriculum, 2006 document. This is the main reason for the obstacles that impede in creating powerful readers. Other contextual factors such as time constraints, classroom management as well as official concerns do intervene which make the teaching of the reading skill as non-existent.