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)

Describes a Community Literacy Day that attempts to involve as many family and local community members as possible in a positive and enjoyable celebration of literacy. Notes that the objective was to begin to form a community as an interacting population of various kinds of individuals with common interests living together in a common area--a…

Examines reluctant readers, or aliterates, and identifies three distinct types: dormant, uncommitted, and unmotivated. Habits and attitudes of literate, aliterate, and illiterate students are presented, including enjoyment of reading, primary cognitive responses, and feelings about other readers. (LRW)

In this article, the author relates how he had found solace and diversion in reading aloud while caring for his father who was undergoing chemotherapy. One particular incident left him completely immersed in reading that he did not noticed his father had been awakened from a deep sleep. From those experiences, the author observes how engagement in…

This paper outlines the first stage of a research project on the topic of boys (aged 11-17) and literacy and the mediating role that families play in building interpersonal relations around reading and guiding boys into a broad range of literacy practices in the home. Findings from this research will inform a comparative study of boys identified…

Investigates the effects of early environments on children's reading attitudes and abilities. Provides insight to assist teachers to develop more favorable classroom settings and to foster stronger student literacy. Presents reviews of related literature, draws conclusions, and considers implications of research. (SG)

Describes how junior high school students became actively involved in promoting literacy in their school and community by bringing books to children in a homeless shelter, honoring their favorite writer with a schoolwide exhibition, and collecting books to send to soldiers in the Persian Gulf, among other activities. (RS)

Explores the role of literacy and curriculum in identity construction among fifth graders. Suggests: (1) there was a coherence of perspectives about six of the students while there was less agreement for the other six students; (2) literacy was a more important feature of some students' identities than others; and (3) the literacy curriculum…

Teacher-Librarians are rushing to the front lines to help battle the latest crisis on education. A gender gap exists in reading proficiency: boys do not read as well as girls. The challenge of enticing boys into reading has led teacher-librarians into a variety of inventive and proactive experiments. They have started "boys only" reading clubs,…

In this article, the author advocates the use of literacy narratives--assignments in which students are asked to describe and reflect upon their experiences with reading and writing. Among their other uses, she believes that they provide a sense of students' prior literacy experiences and of their general feelings toward reading and writing, and…

This resource packet presents information on youth literacy in three main sections. The first section presents statistics on literacy; facts about literacy; reading in Indiana middle, junior, and senior high schools; and family reading. The packet's second section contains a bibliography and resources, offering a reading and literacy bibliography,…

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…

Shared reading involves reading aloud, making a variety of print materials available, and promoting positive attitudes toward literacy. Shared reading experience simulates the bedtime reading experience. It is a happy, secure situation that invites participation by children. Shared reading materials often use enlarged print which allows every…

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…