It has been recognized (DENI, 1998) that the teaching of English has 'traditionally been the cornerstone of Northern Ireland's schoolwork ' (p.1) and English is regarded as a core subject not only within the Northern Ireland Curriculum (1996) but within the Proposals for the Revised Primary Curriculum (2002). Although English consists of reading, writing and talking and listening it can be argued that the teaching of reading causes the most concern with parents, teachers and politicians. Similar to concerns in England and Wales recent Government policy in Northern Ireland is concerned with raising standards in literacy through the School Improvement Programme (DENI, 1998) in all the Key Stages. Student teachers are required to develop the skills of teaching reading in addition to the planning, monitoring and assessment of reading. They also require classroom management skills for this process to be effective in practice. All of these skills are developed both through work in College and through practical experience on School Based Work. Many schools, and individual teachers within schools, have different approaches to the teaching of reading and this will impact on students who have been placed in different primary schools to complete their School Based Work.This study investigated how well student teachers put their preparation for the teaching of guided reading in Key Stage One, which they developed in College, into practice whilst on School Based Work. Student teachers were asked about their experiences of the teaching of guided reading in Key Stage One, both from their own professional experience of teaching reading and also their observations of the class teacher taking guided reading. Their personal views of teaching reading were also recorded. Methodology included questionnaires to 90 year 3 student teachers, focus interviews with small groups and individuals from this same student body and also observations of students' practice in delivering a guided reading lesson.Initial findings suggest that there is a dichotomy between the rhetoric and the reality of literacy practice within early years classrooms in Northern Ireland. This raises concerns for those involved in teaching literacy to student teachers and indeed has a major impact on the wider field of primary education in Northern Ireland.