Description: The purpose of this paper is to examine teachers' perceptions on reading literacy. It is also examined whether teachers perceive the role of students' social origin as decisive in their reading literacy achievement, and consequently, whether they lower their expectations and differentiate their demands from these students. The point of departure for this research is earlier work on PIRLS 2001 data in Greece. Data analysis showed that students' achievement in reading literacy is closely related to their social origin. Specifically, students with very high cultural capital achieve significantly higher than students with very low cultural capital, especially in items requiring higher process of comprehension, such as interpretation of ideas and evaluation of content, language etc (Kontogiannopoulou-Polydorides et al 2004; in press). Thus, it is clear that students' social origin emerges as an important factor in reading literacy achievement. This paper will examine how teachers interpret students' low achievement in reading literacy. The literature suggests that teachers assume students' social origin as decisive for their reading literacy achievement, emphasizing the "inability" of parents from the lower social strata to help their children in school work or that these families face serious problems such as lack of resources, or even home violence. As a consequence, teachers underestimate their own role and their ability to intervene effectively in the educational process. This way, they tend to differentiate their practices towards low achievers by reducing what they expect and practically demand from them (see indicatively Rist 2000, Garcia et al, 1994). Thus, on the one hand there are the difficulties that students face in reading literacy because of their cultural capital which is different from the one that the official school favours, and on the other hand there is the "objectification" of these difficulties by teachers. As a result, it is argued that students of low social origin have additional difficulties to develop reading skills of a higher level as they do not practice them. This situation possibly interprets to some extent the difficulties that these students face in dealing with items requiring higher process of comprehension that emerged in PIRLS 2001 data analysis. Thus, the basic argument is that teachers tend to reproduce social inequalities in reading literacy or at least they do not feel able to intervene effectively. Teachers try to support students of low social origin and to create to them feeling of relative adequacy. At the same time, they deprive low achievers in the long term of the opportunities to achieve higher and develop their reading literacy by reducing the school pressure and the risk. The theoretical frame is Bourdieu's theory of practice. Social subjects' practices are shaped in the context of the wider social determinations, as well as in the context of the determinations of the field in which social subjects act (see Bourdieu 2000; 2002). It is suggested that teachers have objectified the failure of students from the lower social strata and they underestimate the role of school in enhancing reading literacy achievement. The purpose is to explore the mechanisms through which this objectification occurs in the Greek social and educational context. Finally, it is examined how teachers perceive the concept of reading literacy itself. The definition of reading literacy in PIRLS includes reading for enjoyment, reading for acquirement information and reading for the fostering of critical thought. However, besides the scientific definition of reading literacy it is crucial to explore how teachers themselves perceive the concept of reading literacy and which are the consequences especially for the unprivileged students. Twenty teachers of primary education were interviewed in order to explore the issues raised above.