ABSTRACT
The past 30 years have seen vast changes in literacy education, and within that period the label “whole language” has been used to refer to a group of educators who have advocated particular kinds of change in literacy education. The whole language label, however, has been used in a variety of contexts by a variety of individuals. And, as we move across time, contexts, and individuals, it becomes clear that neither the sense (the meaning) of the label nor its referent (that to which it refers) has remained constant.
