In the 21st century, the term "critical" has attached itself to numerous aspects of literacy research. However, what critical means remains commonly anchored to Freire and a primary critical reading practice--suspicious critique. Expanding critical literacy research (CLR), this article advances "reading orientations" as a…

This essay offers a commentary on how the relationship between language and literacy practices in and out of school has been conceptualized. It draws upon two new books in the field. Shirley Brice Heath's new book, "Words at Work and Play: Three Decades in Family and Community Life," which makes use of rich ethnographic accounts of…

This article investigates the practice of heterogeneous grouping for reading and literacy instruction through a detailed interactional analysis focused on the least proficient readers in two mixed-ability group contexts. The resulting analysis suggests that struggling readers in heterogeneous groups may encounter the same problems often associated…

This study extends the literature on the relation between reading practices and individual characteristics of participants in adult education who have low literacy skills. Reading practices describe individuals' reading frequency for different types of written material, such as books, newspapers, magazines, technical materials, and work documents.…

Identifies recurrent uses of reading and shared reading activities. Finds no quantitatively significant differences in shared literacy activities between urban and nonurban families in Iceland, a society with a tradition of widespread and prevalent literacy. Demonstrates significant relationships between shared activities and higher educational…