This volume brings together researchers and participants from diverse groups, reflecting the different ways in which the field of multicultural literacies has been interpreted. A common theme across the chapters is attention to the ways in which elements of difference--race, ethnicity, gender, class, and language--create dynamic tensions that influence students' literacy experiences and achievement. The hope of the editors is that readers will build on the experiences and findings presented so that the field of multicultural literacies will have a greater impact of literacy research, policy, and practice.

This book provides a range of interdisciplinary and international perspectives on difficulties in literacy development. The high-profile team of contributors provide ethical and policy discussions, as well as contextualising individual and collective strategies to addressing difficulties in literacy development. The chapters break new ground by encompassing a wide range of perspectives related to critical literacy, socio-cultural, cognitive, and psychological viewpoints, to help inform practice, policy and research into literacy difficulties.
Issues addressed include:
*the different ways literacy can be conceptualised through social-science based disciplinary perspectives
*the issues at the centre of current public and professional debates surrounding literacy difficulties and how these have impacted upon pedagogical responses
*social, cultural and ethnic factors which impact upon difficulties in literacy development
*the impact of these wider political and social issues on individual students
This book will be of interest to postgraduate students, teachers, researchers, education professionals and policy makers who are keen to address difficulties in literacy development.

This book provides a range of interdisciplinary and international perspectives on difficulties in literacy development. The high-profile team of contributors provide ethical and policy discussions, as well as contextualising individual and collective strategies to addressing difficulties in literacy development. The chapters break new ground by encompassing a wide range of perspectives related to critical literacy, socio-cultural, cognitive, and psychological viewpoints, to help inform practice, policy and research into literacy difficulties.
Issues addressed include:
*the different ways literacy can be conceptualised through social-science based disciplinary perspectives
*the issues at the centre of current public and professional debates surrounding literacy difficulties and how these have impacted upon pedagogical responses
*social, cultural and ethnic factors which impact upon difficulties in literacy development
*the impact of these wider political and social issues on individual students
This book will be of interest to postgraduate students, teachers, researchers, education professionals and policy makers who are keen to address difficulties in literacy development.

The history of the Lollard movement is intimately concerned with their writings and literacy. The connection between the writings of Wyclif himself and Lollars popularisers in Latin and English has never been clear, especially in the crucial years between Wyclif's death in 1382 and archbishop Arundel's visitation of Oxford in 1411. Anne Hudson's work in this fields is the most important contribution to the subject. As editor of English Wycliffite Sermons and Selections From Wycliffite Writings,her work is based on a uniquely close study of the manuscript sources. Lollards and Their Books brings together the articles that she has published since 1971; together they make indisepensable reading for anyone interested in the history or the literature of the period.Anne Hudson shows that the debate on translating the Bible was not closed by the condemnation of Wyclif himself, but continued until Arundel's Constitutions; she examines the material for the life and work of John Purvey, for long held to be one of Wyclif's principal successors, and demonstrates the significance of the Opus Aruduum, written within the six years of Wyclif's death, as evidence for the progress of Lollardy in Oxford at that time. As well as discussing the dissemination of Lollard thought and the production of Lollard books, Anne Hudson discusses how far the Lollard heresy was connected with the use of English in theological topics, the examination of Lollards by the authorities, the links between Hussites in Bohemia and Wcyliffites in England as shown by manuscripts, and the printing of Lollard texts in the early years of the Reformation.

There has been much publicity about gender inequities in classrooms, but the research literature on this subject had not been systematically analyzed or reviewed - until now. This book is the first to summarize and critically review the observational research and findings on gender literacies. The authors present five genres of studies - gender and reading, writing, discussion, electronic or posttypographical text, and literacy autobiography - and use the perspective of feminist sociology to analyze what was revealed, as well as what was omitted, from these studies. Their synthesis will be of value in breaking down gender barriers in the classroom by raising awareness of gender issues in literacy learning and practice; publicizing successful interventions and recommendations for instructional practice; and giving direction to further research on the topic.

Educators will find in this book an opportunity to examine the multiple, dynamic identities of the students they instruct and to consider the ways in which all teachers and students are shaped by their social and cultural settings. The volume is the first to examine theories of identity and elementary literacy practices by presenting data in a teacher-friendly format. The chapters highlight the influences of school and, to some extent, home contexts on students' identities as readers and writers, and give numerous implications for practice.

This special issue is a snapshot of current research in this area, showing many of the issues encountered, the methods employed, and the limitations faced. All four studies involve experimental or quasi-experimental studies but all are based on participants recruited from adult literacy programs. Together these studies illuminate many of the gray areas of adult basic processing, particularly for adults in basic skills programs. They present many of the complexities of studying how literacy adults: the high percentages with learning disabilities, the differences across native and non-native English speakers and within classes of the latter, the different processing abilities of adults and children matched for reading ability, the impacts of language and orthography on reading strategies, and the importance of measure speed, as well as accuracy in studying basic processing. As such, the present studies are an indication that scientific programs exist and are at work on key issues.

Raising Standards in Literacy represents the best current thinking and research about literacy. The book is the outcome of a high-profile series of seminars on raising standards in literacy, and includes contributions from an impressive group of international researchers and policy makers. By offering a rich and unique mix of contemporary perspectives on literacy education, this book provides an invaluable source of study and insight into the latest research and developments in the teaching of literacy.
It includes sections on:
*how research into literacy teaching can inform new approaches found in England, the USA and Australia
*the issues involved in assessing progress in literacy and the validity of research claims made about standards of attainment
*the ways in which literacy education is developing in England, the USA and Australia
The book celebrates the apparent success of current literacy initiatives at the same time as raising questions about the feasibility and relevance of such initiatives to the literacy co-ordinators and consultants and for all those undertaking further study or research in literacy education.

Raising Standards in Literacy represents the best current thinking and research about literacy. The book is the outcome of a high-profile series of seminars on raising standards in literacy, and includes contributions from an impressive group of international researchers and policy makers. By offering a rich and unique mix of contemporary perspectives on literacy education, this book provides an invaluable source of study and insight into the latest research and developments in the teaching of literacy.
It includes sections on:
*how research into literacy teaching can inform new approaches found in England, the USA and Australia
*the issues involved in assessing progress in literacy and the validity of research claims made about standards of attainment
*the ways in which literacy education is developing in England, the USA and Australia
The book celebrates the apparent success of current literacy initiatives at the same time as raising questions about the feasibility and relevance of such initiatives to the literacy co-ordinators and consultants and for all those undertaking further study or research in literacy education.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415263506

This book explores how writers from several different cultures learn to write in their academic settings, and how their writing practices interact with and contribute to their evolving identities as students and professionals in academic environments in higher education.
Embedded in a theoretical framework of situated practice, the naturalistic case studies and literacy autobiographies include portrayals of undergraduate students and teachers, master's level students, doctoral students, young bilingual faculty, and established scholars, all of whom are struggling to understand their roles in ambiguously defined communities of academic writers.
In addition to the notion of situated practice, the other powerful concept used as an interpretive framework is captured by the metaphor of "games"--a metaphor designed to emphasize that the practice of academic writing is shaped but not dictated by rules and conventions; that writing games consist of the practice of playing, not the rules themselves; and that writers have choices about whether and how to play.
Focusing on people rather than experiments, numbers, and abstractions, this interdisciplinary work draws on concepts and methods from narrative inquiry, qualitative anthropology and sociology, and case studies of academic literacy in the field of composition and rhetoric. The style of the book is accessible and reader friendly, eschewing highly technical insider language without dismissing complex issues. It has a multicultural focus in the sense that the people portrayed are from a number of different cultures within and outside North America. It is also a multivocal work: the author positions herself as both an insider and outsider and takes on the different voices of each; other voices that appear are those of her case study participants, and published authors and their case study participants. It is the author's hope that readers will find multiple ways to connect their own experiences with those of the writers the book portrays.

This unique book tells the story of a select group of schools and teachers who have managed to beat the odds in terms of improving elementary students reading achievement. Originating with the CIERA "School Change Project" directed by Barbara Taylor and David Pearson, it was subsequently expanded to include the work of other research teams doing similar work. It combines large scale studies of effective schools and teachers (Part I) with case studies of individual schools and teachers who have successfully transformed research findings into situation-specific strategies appropriate to their schools and classrooms (Parts II and III). The book's distinct contribution is showing that no matter how consistent the research findings on effective school and classroom practice, groups of teachers must improvise their own situation-specific programs and practices. In short, they must be able to create variations on a common theme. Key features of this outstanding new volume include:
*Integration of research and cases--One cannot fully understand research-based general principles without knowing how they play themselves out in specific settings. Similarly, one cannot fully understand cases without seeing the commonalities across different schools and classrooms sharing similar goals. This book provides both perspectives.
*Diverse cases--The schools and classrooms depicted in this book are urban, rural, and suburban; poor and middle class; and English-only and bilingual. Rather than telling readers how to beat the odds, it provides them with a wide variety of cases from which they can extrapolate to build their own customized teaching programs and practices.
*Summarizing section--The final section contains a summary of research on effective schools and teachers and a concluding chapter by Gerry Duffy and Jim Hoffman in which they reflect on the book's content and possible directions for future research.
The book is targeted to both in-service elementary teachers and literacy students in advanced college courses.

This unique book tells the story of a select group of schools and teachers who have managed to beat the odds in terms of improving elementary students reading achievement. Originating with the CIERA "School Change Project" directed by Barbara Taylor and David Pearson, it was subsequently expanded to include the work of other research teams doing similar work. It combines large scale studies of effective schools and teachers (Part I) with case studies of individual schools and teachers who have successfully transformed research findings into situation-specific strategies appropriate to their schools and classrooms (Parts II and III). The book's distinct contribution is showing that no matter how consistent the research findings on effective school and classroom practice, groups of teachers must improvise their own situation-specific programs and practices. In short, they must be able to create variations on a common theme. Key features of this outstanding new volume include:
*Integration of research and cases--One cannot fully understand research-based general principles without knowing how they play themselves out in specific settings. Similarly, one cannot fully understand cases without seeing the commonalities across different schools and classrooms sharing similar goals. This book provides both perspectives.
*Diverse cases--The schools and classrooms depicted in this book are urban, rural, and suburban; poor and middle class; and English-only and bilingual. Rather than telling readers how to beat the odds, it provides them with a wide variety of cases from which they can extrapolate to build their own customized teaching programs and practices.
*Summarizing section--The final section contains a summary of research on effective schools and teachers and a concluding chapter by Gerry Duffy and Jim Hoffman in which they reflect on the book's content and possible directions for future research.
The book is targeted to both in-service elementary teachers and literacy students in advanced college courses.

This volume offers concrete answers to the question of how we can use imagery to enrich the teaching of reading and writing. The chapters are organized according to two guiding principles. First, each addresses specific aspects of the inextricable integration of imagery and language in the teaching of reading and writing. Imagery is not privileged over language; the fusion of the two is emphasized. Second, each focuses on a particular kind of imagery--mental, graphic, or verbal--describing teaching/learning strategies based on the deployment of that kind of imagery in the classroom.
There is currently a renewed acknowledgment of the importance of imagery in meaning. The rapid spread of the World Wide Web, computer interfacing, and virtual reality further highlights the need to attend to the influence of imagery in a networked world. In response to these shifts in scholarly and cultural perspectives, NCTE has established a committee on visual literacy, and an emphasis on visual literacy has been incorporated into the IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts. This book contributes significantly toward filling the need for explicit and specific theory-based methods teachers can use to integrate imagery into their pedagogy. Accessible and lively chapters include classroom activities and student-generated examples. "Language and Image in the Reading-Writing Classroom" is an excellent text for preservice and in-service pedagogy courses and an important resource for practicing teachers, researchers, and professionals in the field.

This work is an important contribution to the multidisciplinary study of literacy, narrative and culture, arguing that literacy is perhaps best described as an ensemble of socially and historically embedded activities and of cultural practices. It suggests viewing written language, producing and distributing, deciphering and interpreting signs, as closely related to other cultural practices such as narrative and painting. The book makes the point that there is no theory and history of writing that does not presuppose a theory of culture and social development. At the same time, it demonstrates that every theory and history of culture must unavoidably entail a theory and history of writing and written culture. The book brings together perspectives on literacy from psychology, linguistics, history and sociology of literature, philosophy, anthropology, and history of art, and addresses these issues in plain language not coded in specialized jargon.

This is a new edition of a wide-ranging book that deals with the growth of Literacy and examines impact on early modern Europe.

In 1500 few people in Europe could read or write yet by 1800, the era of mass literacy had already arrived. Rab Houston explores the importance of education, literacy and popular culture in Europe during this period of transition. He draws his examples for all over the continent; and concentrates on the experience of ordinary men and women, rather than just privileged and the exceptional elite.

The ability to use language in more literate ways has always been a central outcome of education. Today, however, "being literate" requires more than functional literacy, the recognition of printed words as meaningful. It requires the knowledge of how to use language as a tool for analyzing, synthesizing, and integrating what is heard or read in order to arrive at new interpretations.
Specialists in education, cognitive psychology, learning disabilities, communication sciences and disorders, and other fields have studied the language learning problems of school age children from their own perspectives. All have tended to emphasize either the oral language component or phonemic awareness. The major influence of phonemic awareness on learning to read and spell is well-researched, but it is not the only relevant focus for efforts in intervention and instruction. An issue is that applications are usually the products of a single discipline or profession, and few integrate an understanding of phonemic awareness with an understanding of the ways in which oral language comprehension and expression support reading, writing, and spelling. Thus, what we have learned about language remains disconnected from what we have learned about literacy; interrelationships between language and literacy are not appreciated; and educational services for students with language and learning disabilities are fragmented as a result.
This unique book, a multidisciplinary collaboration, bridges research, practice, and the development of new technologies. It offers the first comprehensive and integrated overview of the multiple factors involved in language learning from late preschool through post high school that must be considered if problems are to be effectively addressed. Practitioners, researchers, and students professionally concerned with these problems will find the book an invaluable resource.

For the first time, the major theoretical and pedagogical approaches to genre and related issues of social construction are presented in a single volume, providing an overview of the state of the art for practitioners in applied linguistics, ESL/EFL pedagogies, rhetoric, and composition studies around the world. Unlike volumes that present one theoretical stance, this book attempts to give equal time to all theoretical and pedagogical camps. Included are chapters by authors from the Sydney School, the New Rhetoric, and English for Specific Purposes, as well as contributions from other practitioners who pose questions that cross theoretical lines.
"Genre in the Classroom: "
*includes all of the major theoretical views of genre that influence pedagogical practice;
*takes an international approach, drawing from all parts of the world in which genre theory has been applied in the classroom--Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the Middle East, the United States;
*features contributors who are all both theorists and classroom practitioners, lending credibility and authenticity to the arguments;
*combines theory and practice in every chapter, showing how particular theoretical views influence classroom practice;
*grounds pedagogical practices in their own regional and theoretical histories;
*openly discusses problems and questions that genre theory raises and presents some of the solutions suggested; and
*offers a concluding chapter that argues for two macro-genres, and with responses to this argument by noted genre theorists from three theoretical camps.

For the first time, the major theoretical and pedagogical approaches to genre and related issues of social construction are presented in a single volume, providing an overview of the state of the art for practitioners in applied linguistics, ESL/EFL pedagogies, rhetoric, and composition studies around the world. Unlike volumes that present one theoretical stance, this book attempts to give equal time to all theoretical and pedagogical camps. Included are chapters by authors from the Sydney School, the New Rhetoric, and English for Specific Purposes, as well as contributions from other practitioners who pose questions that cross theoretical lines.
"Genre in the Classroom: "
*includes all of the major theoretical views of genre that influence pedagogical practice;
*takes an international approach, drawing from all parts of the world in which genre theory has been applied in the classroom--Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the Middle East, the United States;
*features contributors who are all both theorists and classroom practitioners, lending credibility and authenticity to the arguments;
*combines theory and practice in every chapter, showing how particular theoretical views influence classroom practice;
*grounds pedagogical practices in their own regional and theoretical histories;
*openly discusses problems and questions that genre theory raises and presents some of the solutions suggested; and
*offers a concluding chapter that argues for two macro-genres, and with responses to this argument by noted genre theorists from three theoretical camps.

This open access book is a unique study of the impact of lived experience on literate life, exploring how children's reading development is affected by their home setting, and how this sense of place influences textual interpretation of the books they read. Based on qualitative research and structured around interviews with twelve participants, Space, Place and Children's Reading Development focuses on the digital maps and artistic renderings these readers were asked to create of a place (real or imagined) that they felt reflected their literate youth, and the discussions that followed about these maps and their evolution as readers. Analysing the participant's responses, Margaret Mackey looks at the rich insights offered about the impact on childhood stability after experiences such as migration; the "reading spaces" children make based on their social relationships and domestic spheres; the creation of "textual spaces" and the significance of the recurring motif of forests in the participants' maps; the importance of the Harry Potter novels; the basis of life-long reading habits; psychological spaces and whether readers visualize when they read. Blending theoretical perspectives on reading from many disciplines with the personal experiences of readers of diverse nationalities, languages, disciplinary interests, and life experiences, this is an enlightening account of the behaviors of readers, reading histories, and place-based reader responses to literature. By building greater understanding about the broad and subtle processes that enable people to read, this study refines the kind of questions we ask about reading and moves towards developing a multidisciplinary language for the study and discussion of reading practices in contemporary times. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Gender and Sexuality in Russian Civilisation considers gender and sexuality in modern Russia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chapters look individually at gender and sexuality through history, art, folklore, philosophy or literature,but are also arranged into sections according to the arguments they develop. A number of chapters also consider Russia in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. Thematic sections include:
*Gender and Power
*Gender and National Identity
*Sexual Identity and Artistic Impression
*Literary Discourse of Male and Female Sexualities
*Sexuality and Literature in Contemporary Russian Society

In this volume, 10 reviews of significant reading research methodologies are reprinted from the "Handbook of Reading Research, Volume III." The editors have judged that these specific methodologies have had great impact on reading research since the publication of "Volume II" in 1991. This text is especially well-suited for use in upper-level undergraduate and graduate-level reading research methods courses.

Offering an original historical perspective on literacy work in Africa, this book examines the role of the Norwegian Lutheran mission in Madagascar and sheds light on the motivations that drove colonizing powers' literacy work. Focusing on both colonial and independent Madagascar, Rosnes examines how literacy practices were facilitated through mission schools and the impact on the reading and writing skills to Malagasy children and youth. Analysing how literacy work influenced identity formation and power relations in the Malagasy society, the author offers new insights into the field of language and education in Africa.

"Negotiating Critical Literacies in Classrooms" brings together accounts of educators who have sought to make a difference in the lives of their students through literacy education--from university classrooms in the United States, England, and South Africa, to policy and curriculum development in Singapore and Australia. Each chapter represents the results of extended research on classroom practice.
The authors in this collection write as teachers. The literacy classrooms they explore range from the early years of schooling, to primary and secondary education, through to community and university sites. Although the volume is organized around different levels of education, clearly overlapping themes emerge across the chapters, including identity formation and textual practices, politicizing curriculum and textbook production, and changing the power relations in classroom talk around text.
An overarching theme of this collection is the belief that there is no one generic, universal critical literacy--in theory or in practice. Rather, the authors reveal how a range of theories can serve as productive starting points for educators working on social justice agendas through the literacy curriculum, and, equally important, how particular critical literacy theories or pedagogies must be worked out in specific locations. In each of these accounts, educators explain how they have taken a body of theory and worked with and on it in classrooms. Their rich portrayals and narratives of classroom realities illustrate the unanticipated effects of pedagogies that emerge in specific contexts. Experiences from the classrooms have led them to revise theories that are central to critical literacy, including constructs such as "empowerment," "resistance," and "multiple readings." This collection documents what occurs when educators confront the difficult ethical and political issues that evolve in particular classroom situations.
"Negotiating Critical Literacies in Classrooms" is appropriate as a text for courses in language and literacy education, and will be of broad interest to educational researchers, practitioners, and theorists. The practical classroom focus makes this book accessible and of interest to a wide range of teachers and an excellent resource for professional development. The international scope will appeal to a global educational readership.

"Negotiating Critical Literacies in Classrooms" brings together accounts of educators who have sought to make a difference in the lives of their students through literacy education--from university classrooms in the United States, England, and South Africa, to policy and curriculum development in Singapore and Australia. Each chapter represents the results of extended research on classroom practice.
The authors in this collection write as teachers. The literacy classrooms they explore range from the early years of schooling, to primary and secondary education, through to community and university sites. Although the volume is organized around different levels of education, clearly overlapping themes emerge across the chapters, including identity formation and textual practices, politicizing curriculum and textbook production, and changing the power relations in classroom talk around text.
An overarching theme of this collection is the belief that there is no one generic, universal critical literacy--in theory or in practice. Rather, the authors reveal how a range of theories can serve as productive starting points for educators working on social justice agendas through the literacy curriculum, and, equally important, how particular critical literacy theories or pedagogies must be worked out in specific locations. In each of these accounts, educators explain how they have taken a body of theory and worked with and on it in classrooms. Their rich portrayals and narratives of classroom realities illustrate the unanticipated effects of pedagogies that emerge in specific contexts. Experiences from the classrooms have led them to revise theories that are central to critical literacy, including constructs such as "empowerment," "resistance," and "multiple readings." This collection documents what occurs when educators confront the difficult ethical and political issues that evolve in particular classroom situations.
"Negotiating Critical Literacies in Classrooms" is appropriate as a text for courses in language and literacy education, and will be of broad interest to educational researchers, practitioners, and theorists. The practical classroom focus makes this book accessible and of interest to a wide range of teachers and an excellent resource for professional development. The international scope will appeal to a global educational readership.

First published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.