In his latest writings on the history of literacy and its importance for present understanding and future rethinking, historian Harvey J. Graff continues his critical revisions of many commonly held ideas about literacy. The book speaks to central concerns about the place of literacy in modern and late-modern culture and society, and its complicated historical foundations. Drawing on other aspects of his research, Graff places the chapters that follow in the context of current thinking and major concerns about literacy, and the development of both historical and interdisciplinary studies. Special emphasis falls upon the usefulness of "the literacy myth" as an important subject for interdisciplinary study and understanding. Critical stock-taking of the field includes reflections on Graff’s own research and writings of the last three decades, and the relationships that connect interdisciplinary rethinking and the literacy myth. The collection is noteworthy for its attention to Graff’s reflections on his identification of "the literacy myth" and in developing LiteracyStudies@OSU (Ohio State University) as a model for university-wide interdisciplinary programs. It also deals with ordinary concerns about literacy, or illiteracy, that are shared by academics and concerned citizens. These nontechnical essays will speak to both academic and nonacademic audiences across disciplines and cultural orientations.

The Seventh Edition of this foundational text represents the most comprehensive source available for connecting multiple and diverse theories to literacy research, broadly defined, and features both cutting-edge and classic contributions from top scholars. Two decades into the 21st century, the Seventh Edition finds itself at a crossroads and differs from its predecessors in three major ways: the more encompassing term literacy replaces reading in the title to reflect sweeping changes in how readers and writers communicate in a digital era; the focus is on conceptual essays rather than a mix of essays and research reports in earlier volumes; and most notably, contemporary literacy models and processes enhance and extend earlier theories of reading and writing. Providing a tapestry of models and theories that have informed literacy research and instruction over the years, this volume’s strong historical grounding serves as a springboard from which new perspectives are presented. The chapters in this volume have been selected to inspire the interrogation of literacy theory and to foster its further evolution. This edition is a landmark volume in which dynamic, dialogic, and generative relations of power speak directly to the present generation of literacy theorists and researchers without losing the historical contexts that preceded them. Some additional archival essays from previous editions are available on the book’s eResource. New to the Seventh Edition: Features chapters on emerging and contemporary theories that connect directly to issues of power and contrasts new models against more established counterparts. New chapters reflect sweeping changes in how readers and writers communicate in a digital era. Slimmer volume is complemented by some chapters from previous editions available online.

Literacy is about 5,000 years old. Since it was invented it has transformed human societies and knowledge fundamentally. Indeed, civilisation is built on literacy. What is it about the process of making marks on paper or other surfaces that gives literacy this remarkable power? 'The Literate Mind: A Study of Its Scope and Limitations' proposes that the evolved, pre-literate qualities of the human mind combined with the representational capacities of alphabets and other symbol systems provide uniquely powerful means for the generation and storage of knowledge. The creation, storage and sharing of texts augment the social and cognitive capacities of human minds and allow us to develop social institutions within which further new knowledge can be deployed and used. Taking an approach that is equally applicable to print and digital media, the book draws on evolutionary theory and the theory of computation to explain the remarkable power of literacy and its transformational effects on human society and knowledge. It demonstrates that the universe of possible texts is infinite in extent, and proposes that the combination of a reader and a text can be treated as an ecosystem of unlimited scope.

People currently live in a digital age in which technology is now a ubiquitous part of society. It has become imperative to develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of emerging innovations and technologies. Information and Technology Literacy: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on techniques, trends, and opportunities within the areas of digital literacy. Highlighting a wide range of topics and concepts such as social media, professional development, and educational applications, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for academics, technology developers, researchers, students, practitioners, and professionals interested in the importance of understanding technological innovations.

Language skills foster, among other things, social inclusion, access to education and employment. Within this context, non-literate or low-literate migrants have specific educational needs. This reference guide is meant for language educators, curriculum designers and language policy makers in their endeavour to design, implement, evaluate and improve curricula tailored toward the specific needs of non- and low-literate adult migrants. This group of migrants faces the complex and demanding task of learning a language while either learning to read and write for the first time or developing their literacy skills. They rarely receive adequate instruction in terms of hours of tuition and targeted teaching approaches, whereas they are very often requested to take a compulsory written test. The reference guide contains: a definition of target users and learners; the rationale related to the development of the descriptors; principles for teaching literacy and second languages; scales and tables of descriptors; aspects of curriculum design at the macro, meso and micro levels and recommendations on assessment procedures and tools within the learning environment. The guide also contains descriptors that build on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the CEFR Companion volume up to the A1 level for adult migrants, with special attention given to literacy learners.

Includes established theories and cutting-edge developments. Presents the work of an international group of experts. Presents the nature, origin, implications, an future course of major unresolved issues in the area.

“This informative book helped me to understand research in general and to bring focus and clarity to my current research project. The text answers questions and provides guidance and support in a manner that is user-friendly and easy to comprehend…. After reading this book, I feel empowered as a teacher-researcher and would unhesitatingly recommend it to other teacher-researchers, graduate students and educators.”Francesca Crowther – teacher and doctoral student, Nova Scotia, Canada. This book provides a comprehensive and detailed approach to teacher research as systematic, methodical and informed practice. It identifies five requirements for all kinds of research, and provides clear and accessible guidelines for teachers to use in conducting their own classroom-based studies. Features: A clear definition of teacher research which insists on more than ‘stories’ and anecdotal ‘retrospectives’ Innovative organisational structure based on the collection and analysis of spoken, written and observed data, with strong emphasis on the design of research projects Easy-to-use and widely applicable tools and techniques for collecting and analysing data in qualitative research Informed by the authors’ own wide-ranging experiences, A Handbook of Teacher Research provides everything the teacher researcher needs in order to conduct good quality practitioner research. It is ideal for upper level undergraduate Education programmes and for postgraduate research, as well as for teacher researchers who conceive and drive their own independent studies.

"A treasure trove for sociolinguistic researchers and students alike. Edited by three leading sociolinguists, the 39 chapters cover a wealth of valuable material... And the cast list reads like a veritable Who′s Who of sociolinguistics, with a refreshing number of younger scholars included along with more familiar, well-established names... This is a book that I will reach for often, both for research and teaching purposes. I will recommend it to my postgraduate students, and many of the chapters will provide excellent material for discussion in our advanced undergraduate sociolinguistics course." - Janet Holmes, Discourse Studies "The best, the most complete and the most integrated handbook of sociolinguistics of the past decade." - Joshua A. Fishman, NYU and Stanford University This Handbook answers a long-standing need for an up-to-date, comprehensive, international, in-depth critical survey of the history, trajectory, data, results and key figures involved in sociolinguistics. It consists of six inter-linked sections: The History of Sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics and Social Theory Language, Variation and Change Interaction Multilingualism and Contact Applications The result is a work of unprecedented coverage and insight. It is all here, from the foundational contributions to the field to the impact of new media, new technologies of communication, globalization, trans-border fluidities and agendas of research. The book will quickly be recognized as a benchmark in the field. It will provide a basis for reckoning its origins and pathways of development as well as an authoritative account of the central debates and research issues of today.