While the importance of academic language and literacies in students' meaningful participation in higher education has been well-explored, studies have focused on writing rather than reading. There has been a significant silence in the literature around what constitutes reading in higher education, the sociocultural complexities of reader…

Over the past two decades there has been much written in the literature about the importance of reading and the importance of teaching students reading strategies to improve their reading comprehension. Reading is one of the most important academic tasks encountered by students. In higher education, students are exposed to a number of texts and…

A draft of grade-by-grade common standards is undergoing significant revisions in response to feedback that the outline of what students should master is confusing and insufficiently user-friendly. Writing groups convened by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) are at work on what they say…

This study evaluates the influence of literacy on outcomes in college programs with defined course requirements. This overcomes the limitations of previous research by contextualizing literacy according to program requirements. Results suggest (a) learner literacy varies considerably among programs, (b) there are socio-demographic variables…

In this article the authors present a review of literature from multiple disciplines pertaining to using eBooks in the classroom in order to understand the underlying literacy and technology related issues and challenges. eBooks brought about changes in how students learn to read, and in how they read to learn. They require students to learn new…

This paper explores three current notions of literacy, which underpin the theorisation and practice of teaching and learning for both children and adults in England. In so doing, it raises certain problems inherent in these approaches to literacy and literacy education and shows how Stanley Cavell's notions of reading, and especially his reading…

Results from national reading assessments reveal that millions of young people leave high school without the advanced reading and writing skills required for career and college success. Young adults who lack reading and writing proficiency will likely be relegated to the ranks of unskilled workers in a world where literacy is an absolute…

The author discusses the large number of blind college students who cannot use braille effectively, and asserts that classroom teachers, rehabilitation counselors, and rehabilitation teachers have the obligation to ensure that students possess braille literacy before application to a college or university. (CL)

States that English is the most difficult subject to learn, contrary to popular myth, and that the efforts of English teachers must be proportionately more determined in order to prevent mass miseducation. (RB)

Showing students the basic nature of reading may help them reduce the errors in the writing they submit to teachers while encouraging student reading. (DD)

Redefines literacy and questions the presumption that college students already have it. Discusses Deborah Brandt's "Literacy as Involvement: The Acts of Writers, Readers, and Texts" to place literacy in a social context. Discusses J. Elspeth Stuckey's "The Violence of Literacy" which takes a strong position against regarding…

Describes the results of a questionnaire survey of the faculty of American University to determine their perceptions of student literacy and to discovery what kind of writing, and how much of it, is being assigned. (DD)

A study (1) identified in ethnographic detail the literacy-related skills that are required in today's changing workplaces; (2) compared the literacy requirements of "high performance" workplaces with more traditionally organized ones; and (3) constructed innovative ways to introduce educators to the changing skill demands of work. The…

Discusses the current state of literacy and suggests that there is a renaissance of interest in the teaching of rhetoric and composition. (AEA)

The traditional "developmental" lesson in which the teacher tried to develop ideas and insights is impossible because student reading abilitiy has deteriorated. The ability to read is seen as a source of liberation, but it is dependent on the degree of literacy and the quality of what is read. (MLW)