Although author and teacher Penny Kittle has shifted from working with high school students to college freshman, she notes in this piece that they are not that different. They still show up the first day of class as "nonbelievers" needing to be "nudged" toward the love for books that she forges through her sensitive context…

Why read? What is the point of reading in higher education if students can succeed in their classes without reading? Using Wigfield and Eccles' Expectancy-Value theory of motivation as a framework, I explore why different instructors think their students should be reading and whether students share these motivations. Instructors and students…

This study surveyed pre-service teachers to determine their reading maturity using The Reading Maturity Survey (Thomas, 2001). Results indicate that pre-service teachers self-report high levels of confidence in their reading maturity with the exception of two areas that may relate to developing skills in critical reflection and transformational…

Discusses literacy in the postcolonial era (since 1957) in Malaysia. Notes that while the literacy rate has risen dramatically, a growing problem that demands urgent attention is "Reading Reluctancy." Discusses survey results regarding major reasons leading to reading reluctancy, and discusses the future of literacy in Malaysia. (SR)

In examining the nature of literacy in ancient Athens, this paper reviews the work of key modern scholars and their positions in the debates concerning the development of literacy in Greece, the oral culture preceeding this, and the technology that enabled it to occur. Following an introduction surveying the viewpoints of Rhys Carpenter, L. H.…

In Portugal, the word "literacy" acquired public importance in October 1995, in the first national literacy assessment report. In the last few years, "reading habits" and not "literacy" became a privileged research object, and it is the amount and kind of reading that is being measured, with the results taken as…

Follows four female language-minority students through their last semester in high school and first semester in college. Focuses on these students' perceptions of reading and writing they encountered across the curriculum. Finds that what they found more challenging in college was not necessarily predicted from a developmental perspective but…

Describes the author's teaching practice of sending her preservice reading teachers (and herself) on a reading odyssey that results in the creation of a personal anthology. Includes guidelines for the odyssey and the anthology. Discusses five books the author read on her reading odyssey and discusses the ways in which reading was ubiquitous in…

Focuses on the stated purposes of reading evaluation, examines trends in the types of assessments used, and looks at some possible indicators of changes in literacy levels in the Canadian Provinces. (CRH)

The history of reading is a fast growing and controversial area of the emerging field of book history. Methods for researching the evolution and patterns of literacy and of reading habits are not yet established, and knowledge of information sources is still limited. (MSE)

Argues that poetry should be at the center of all literary training. Describes the power of poetry on literacy development using examples from (1) eighth graders who immersed themselves for months in the "Iliad"; (2) from a graduate class; and (3) from kindergarten, first-, third-, and sixth-grade classes. (SR)

Examines the ways in which parents and teachers interacted with children while listening to them read. Finds that parents concentrated on decoding the text, while teachers read to the children or discussed the text with them (conversing). Reveals that conversing occurred frequently among teachers but not parents; behaviors demonstrate parental…

A study examined the reading behaviors of college students--in particular it asked why aliteracy occurs among college students. A survey designed to identify the aliterate population was administered to a psychology class of 40 students from a variety of majors, and included both genders, some ethnic variety (mostly Anglo), and a range of ages.…

Defining aliteracy as the problem of persons who are able to read but choose not to, the conference papers in this compilation focus on whether aliteracy is a significant and growing problem, whether literacy is an important value, and how the survival of literacy can be ensured. Following an introduction to the purpose of the conference, the…

Suggesting that portfolios can be used much more effectively if teachers have firsthand experience documenting themselves as readers and writers, this book describes the process of keeping a portfolio, discusses how to get started and what artifacts to include, and offers examples as departure points for teachers to begin making sense of their own…