The acquisition and maintenance of literacy is of pressing interest and concern to educators and educational policy makers worldwide. What are the common themes, the common questions, and the unique circumstances and initiatives that spring from this interest and concern? To address these questions, "Understanding Literacy Development: A Global View" brings together leading experts from around the world to explore ways to best provide teaching and learning opportunities, tailored to specific educational needs, to help all children become better readers.
The premise is that current generic "one-size-fits-all" approaches are inappropriate for many children and can lead to underachievement and failure. The contributors write from a stance that reflects not only their own particular expertise and experience, but also sheds light on literacy development across cultures, countries, and circumstances. Taken together, chapters in this volume target a wide and comprehensive set of literacy issues, and offer an extensive exploration of the complexities of literacy development, including issues related to early literacy, school instruction, family literacy, adolescent and adult literacy, and teacher development.
At a time when education is burdened by increasing economic pressure to do more with less, it is imperative that educators and decision makers at all levels have access to current, broad-ranging, and in-depth information and evidence to inform their choices. This volume, compiling critical research on a wide spectrum of literacy concerns, is an invaluable tool for scholars, teacher educators, professionals and graduate students in the fields of literacy education, early childhoodeducation, educational psychology, educational policy, and related areas.

Anne McKeough, Linda M. Phillips, Vianne Timmons, Judy lee Lupart

Contents: Preface. A. McKeough, M. Jarvey, Developing Literacy: Themes and Issues. Part I: Improving School-Based Literacy Development.I. Lundberg, The Child's Route Into Literacy: A Double-Track Journey. T. Nicholson, How to Avoid Reading Failure: Teach Phonemic Awareness. M. Pressley, K. Hilden, Teaching Reading Comprehension. R.C. Anderson, W. Li, A Cross-Language Perspective on Learning to Read. Part II: Literacy Development Beyond the School Walls.D.E. Alvermann, Struggling Adolescent Readers: A Cultural Construction. H.S. Gosse, L.M. Phillips, Family Literacy in Canada: Foundation to a Literate Society. M. Hamilton, Understanding the Everyday: Adult Lives, Literacies, and Informal Learning. Part III: Changing Literacy Practices.S.M. Ng, Literacy and Diversity: Challenges of Change. I. Seda-Santana, Literacies Within Classrooms: Whose and for What Purpose? M.W. Kibby, D. Dechert, Lessons From the Reading Clinic.