This essay is about the improbable emergence of written language six millennia ago that gave rise to the even more improbable, highly sophisticated reading brain of the twenty-first century. How it emerged and what it comprises--both in its most basic iteration in the very young reader and in its most elaborated iteration in the expert reader--is…

This article explains how the speaking and listening practice of yarning circles can be used in the literacy classroom. The article opens with an account of a live enactment of yarning circles with elementary students in a mainstream classroom in Australia. It explains the purpose and origin of yarning circles in Indigenous communities, and…

This article describes the challenges beginning teachers face in schooling contexts that have become increasingly subject to direct political intervention. To tell the story it focuses on the experiences of five teachers in their first year of teaching in an urban jurisdiction in Australia, examining the ways in which they taught literacy, and…

While teacher aides often provide individual and group reading instruction for at-risk readers, research suggests these interventions may not always bring about reading gains. This Australian study investigated upper primary school teacher aides' definitions of reading, drawing on semi-structured interview responses and written definitions…

This study sought to investigate the level of knowledge of language constructs in a cohort of Australian teachers and to examine their self-rated ability and confidence in that knowledge. Seventy-eight teachers from schools across the Australian state of Victoria completed a questionnaire which included items from existing measures, as well as…

Research over the last 15 years has reported that for professional development to be effective, in terms of changing teachers' knowledge and/or instructional strategies, it needs to be conducted taking into consideration the following factors: teachers' existing knowledge, experience and attitudes towards the professional development, school…

This paper introduces the concept of "reading resilience": students' ability to read and interpret complex and demanding literary texts by drawing on advanced, engaged, critical reading skills. Reading resilience is a means for rethinking the place and pedagogies of close reading in the contemporary literary studies classroom. Our…

The focus of this research was to examine the impact of the use of interactive whiteboards (IWB) on the engagement of students with intellectual disability in early reading lessons. Case studies of five students with intellectual disability were carried out using an alternating treatments design. Detailed coding of video recordings of lessons was…

Ten years ago, six teachers established a program of literacy intervention and professional learning in remote northwestern Australia based on the Reading Recovery principles. This group of teachers was determined to learn what had to happen in order for them to make a difference with students and then to make it happen. Their work led to getting…

The Report of the National Reading Panel (NICHD, 2000) identified five key elements that were critical to the development of reading, and these have been widely accepted by educational jurisdictions as providing definitive guidelines for early reading instruction. This paper presents a case for the inclusion of oral language and early literacy…

Results of influential reports on early literacy have drawn attention to the need for early childhood educators to take up a more explicit, teacher-directed approach to beginning reading. Positive classroom results however are in part dependent upon teacher knowledge and this study investigated the relationship between early childhood educators'…

This article discusses the lingering problem of poor and inappropriate preparation of professional teachers of reading and learning disabilities--why it exists and what we can do about it. Because most students classified as having learning disabilities experience primary difficulties with language-based learning, teachers must know how to teach…

A national survey of senior secondary English curriculum content has confirmed that contemporary literature predominates among set texts, being seen as an "essential" category for study because of its "relevance" in helping students "understand the world in which they live." Perhaps uncontentious -- depending on the…

Teachers need to know a great deal, in many areas and in multiple ways. Teacher knowledge is a complex tapestry, and teachers must successfully weave the multiple threads. In this article, I present a conceptualisation of teacher knowledge that provides a framework for describing the complexity of teacher knowledge. The framework describes three…

Acquisition of language concepts by pre-service teachers (PSTs) is likely influenced by university coursework and field experiences, but little research has examined how. Knowledge of phonics and phonological awareness and confidence to teach reading were surveyed among primary PSTs at one New South Wales university, most in second year following…