If literacy is to increase the autonomy and social standing of previously illiterate persons rather than to domesticate and further subordinate them, reading and writing must be imbued with genuine empowering potential. A case study from rural Nicaragua, set against an account of adult literacy for revolutionary change, is presented. (37…

Investigates the long-term effects of daily training sessions in word analysis (phoneme isolation or positional treatment versus phoneme segmentation or sequential treatment) on 10 first grade classes in Norway. Concludes that both forms of phonological training had a facilitating effect on reading and spelling. Suggests that lower ability…

Discusses a report in which eight dyslexic, eight mentally disabled, and eight normal readers were asked to rank nine qualities both of their classroom teacher and of an ideal teacher. Discovers that comparisons of ideal and actual teacher ratings within each group demonstrated significant concordance for the normal and disabled groups, but not…

Some ways are described that small group instruction is being used in the teaching of a second language, based on observations of 12 teachers in a rural Malaysian secondary school. Its application to reading and writing instruction, classroom problems, and the teacher's role at various stages are discussed. (Contains 15 references.) (LB)

Describes how the Centre of Excellence for Literacy and Literacy Education in Nigeria strives to promote reading clubs at the grass-roots level to foster literacy empowerment. Shows how these reading clubs enhance democratic participation and critical thinking. Offers a sample of material for discussion and discussion questions for mature readers.…

Describes the development and evaluation of new classroom materials, including a Class 1 textbook, teacher textbook, and eight supplementary readers, designed to teach children in India to read and write in Telugu. Notes that in schools using the new materials, children showed significant learning gains, and teachers and parents were highly…

One of the skills that can be taught in an English proficiency class that adopts literary texts for teaching the language is critical thinking. The background, characters and their motives are among those that invite critical inquiry and interpretation. Although it has been claimed that discussing literary texts in the traditional way can help…

Research suggests New Zealand has the biggest gap between its highest and lowest achievers, and this is known as the "long tail". The debate over whole language and phonics approaches to reading is unfinished, but must now focus on where the point of difference lies. While reading involves a range of skills, teachers need to model the…

This study investigates prospective relationships between phonemic awareness and reading performance during the first year of Finnish primary school. Pedagogical interest lay in finding out whether systematic use of phonics in reading instruction supported children's reading performance even if children can already decode. A total of 85 children…

New Literacy Studies is the theoretical basis for this research, providing a social view of literacy. Recent work in New Literacy Studies has extended further the notion of literacy and demonstrated the ways in which people engage in practices in their everyday lives that do not always get translated into their studies. This article draws on…

This article examines the approaches to storytelling used by Greek parents with their preschool children. The first part of the article discusses the types of stories chosen and the reading approaches employed by the parents. The second part examines the extratextual interactions between parents and children related to content during storytelling.…

A study investigated the effects of the Directed Reading Thinking Activity on Egyptian first-year secondary stage EFL students' referential and inferential reading comprehension. The study utilized a pretest-posttest control group experimental design. The subjects consisted of 72 first-year secondary students in Menouf Secondary School for Boys at…

This compilation of resource papers and findings is from a regional workshop on mother-tongue/bilingual literacy programmes for ethnic and linguistic minorities in multilingual settings. It was organized by Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL), United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Bangkok, 6-10 December…

In the UK, there is a marked gender gap in the educational attainment of boys and girls. At the end of compulsory education, 10 per cent fewer boys achieve 5 or more good GCSEs. This gap is by no means confined to GCSE. It is evident at all Key Stages. Furthermore, some indicators suggest that the gap has widened over time. In this paper, we…

Providing an international perspective on how children learn to read, this second of 2 volumes presents research studies and classroom experiences from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, and Israel, drawing on evidence from 18 countries. Essays in the volumes highlight implications for design, implementation, and…