Moving beyond current theories on literacy practices, this edited collection sheds new light on the complexities inherent to the social, cultural, and ideological contexts in which literacy practices are realized. Building on Brian V. Street’s scholarship, contributors discuss literacy as intrinsically social and ideological, and examine how the theorizing of literacy practices has evolved in recognition of the diverse contexts in which written language is used. Breaking new intellectual and theoretical ground, this book brings together leading literacy scholars to re-examine how educational and sociocultural contexts frame and define literacy events and practices. Drawing from the richness of Brian V. Street’s work, this volume offers insights into fractures, tensions, and developments in literacy for scholars, students, and researchers.

understandings that can make a difference in students' lives. --

By focusing on the textually mediated reactions of local residents, social movements, and media producers to policy changes implemented in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, this book studies the development of literacy as a tool to mobilize, perform, and disseminate protest. Researching Protest Literacies presents a combination of ethnographic fieldwork and extensive archival research to analyse how traditional and technology-driven literacy practices informed a new cycle of social protest in favelas from 2006-2016. Chapters trace nuanced interactions, document changing power balances, and in doing so conceptualize five forms of literacy used to enact social change - campaigning literacies, memorial literacies, media-activist literacies, arts-activist literacies, and demonstration literacies. Building on these, the study posits protest literacies as a new way of researching the role of contemporary literacy in protest. This insightful monograph would be of interest to doctoral students, researchers, and scholars involved in the fields of literacy studies, arts education, and social movement studies, as well as those looking into research methods in education and international literacies more broadly.

This comprehensive textbook introduces readers to the most influential theories and models of reading and literacy, ranging from behaviorism and early information-processing theories to social constructionist and critical theories. Focusing on how these theories connect with different curricular approaches to literacy instruction (pre-K to grade 12), the author shows how they both shape and are shaped by everyday literacy practices in classrooms. Readers are invited to explore detailed vignettes that offer a practice-based view of theories as they are brought to life in the classroom. Unlike other books on literacy theories, this one devotes substantial attention to linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms and 21st-century technologies. Book Features: Descriptions of well-known curricular models and assessment approaches. Detailed examples from specific areas of reading and literacy instruction that are prominent in today’s schools. Textbox discussions exploring histories, terminology, and debates relevant to the theories presented. Examination of how theories and practices relate to current policy initiatives, such as the Common Core State Standards.User-friendly text features, such as charts, reference lists, and inset boxes to help clarify complex concepts. “In these times, when teachers are maligned in both the popular press and professional literature, a volume such as this offers the potential to provide intellectual freedom in the complex work of teaching.” —From the Foreword by Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar, University of Michigan “Finally, a text that brings together and honors multiple perspectives and makes clear the power of a good theory for making sense of our worldviews. Handsfield provides elegant demonstrations of the relations of literacy theories to actions, decisions, and practices. A must-read for literacy educators and researchers.” —Victoria Risko, Vanderbilt University

This scholarly research Handbook aggregates the broad-ranging, interdisciplinary, multidimensional strands of writing research from scholars worldwide and brings them together into a common intellectual space. This is the first such international compilation. Now in its second edition, the Handbook inaugurates a wide scope of international research advancement, with attention to writing at all levels of schooling and in all life situations. It provides advanced surveys of scholarship on the histories of world and child writing and literacy; interconnections between writing, reading, and speech; digital writing; writing in communities; writing in the sciences and engineering; writing instruction and assessment; and writing and disability. A section on international measures for assessment of writing is a new addition to this compendium of research. This Handbook serves as a comprehensive resource for scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates in writing studies and rhetoric, composition, creative expression, education, and literacy studies.

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner How do ideas change practices and people? In Ideas That Changed Literacy Practices, 32 influential scholars in literacy education get personal about how they have worked on ideas and how those ideas have worked on them. Together, the essays offer never-before revealed personal histories of the authors’ published writing about ideas that have shaped the field of literacy education. As a collection, the essays highlight some of the major themes that have guided and changed literacy practices over the last few decades. They also offer a rare glimpse into the complex ways histories of research emerge alongside personal and political influences on policy and practice. The volume includes an introductory chapter by Sumara and Alvermann in which they detail the processes they used in creating a context for the significance of this work. They begin with the premise that most literacy scholars rarely, if ever, reveal their personal and intellectual investments in ideas that have animated their research and other scholarly endeavors. That this observation rang true for all of the contributors was evidenced in their responses to the invitation. For example, some replied by saying this was the most exciting project they had engaged in because it required reflection on what motivated them to write the requested 3,500-word essay; others mentioned they were looking forward to reading what their peers would share. Ideas That Changed Literacy Practices is a unique collection of autobiographical essays that situates literacy learning and teaching in a rich context of personal and professional knowledge that highlights and celebrates the vibrant complexities of the field of literacy education. It is a unique and valuable resource for researchers and educators, whether in K-12 or higher education. Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Literacy Research ӏ Literacy Research and Methods ӏ Language, Literacy and Culture ӏ Literacy Policy and Practice ӏ Narrative Research ӏ Interpretive Inquiry ӏ Research Methods in Education ӏ Foundations of Literacy Education ӏ Research Methods in Language and Literacy ӏ Popular Culture in Literacy Classrooms ӏ New and Digital Literacies ӏ History of Literacy Practices ӏ Educational Philosophy ӏ Reading and Language Arts ӏ Critical Theory ӏ Poststructuralism ӏ Digital Media Education ӏ Creative Writing ӏ Politics of Literacy

This book is a guide to current research and debate in the field of literacies practice and education. It provides both an historical and lifespan view of the field as well as an overview of research methodologies with first-hand examples from a range of researchers involved in literacy research.