Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Learning to Read

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Learning to Read brings together different disciplinary perspectives and studies on reading for all those who seek to extend and enrich the current practice, research and policy debates. The breadth of knowledge that underpins pedagogy is a central theme and the book will help educators, policy-makers and researchers understand the full range of research perspectives that must inform decisions about the development of reading in schools. The book offers invaluable insights into learners who do not achieve their full potential. The chapters have been written by key figures in education, psychology, sociology and neuroscience, and promote discussion of:
comprehension
gender and literacy attainment
phonics and decoding
digital literacy at home and school
bilingual learners and reading
dyslexia and special educational needs
evidence based literacy
visual texts.
This book encompasses a comprehensive range of conceptual perspectives on reading pedagogy and offers a wealth of new insights to support innovative research directions.

Kathy Hall is Professor of Education and Head of the School of Education at University College Cork. Usha Goswami is Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. Colin Harrison has a personal chair in Literacy Studies in Education at the University of Nottingham. Sue Ellis is Reader in Literacy and Language in the Department of Childhood and Primary Studies at the University of Strathclyde. Janet Soler is Senior Lecturer at the Open University, where she teaches and publishes on literacy education and literacy policy.

Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors 1. Significant lines of research in reading pedagogy Kathy Hall Part I: Families, Communities and Schools 2. The Ghosts of Reading Past, Present and Future: the Materiality of Reading in Homes and Schools Jackie Marsh 3. Reading Places Barbara Comber 4. Young Bilingual Learners: a socio-cultural perspective Rose Drury Part II: Comprehension 5. Comprehension as a Social Act: Texts, Contexts and Readers Vivienne Smith 6. Reading for Meaning: the Skills that Support Reading Comprehension and its Development Kate Cain 7. New Literacies in The Elementary Classroom: the Instructional Dynamics Of Visual-Texts Dawnene D Hassett Part III: Beginning to Read Print 8. Phonology, Reading and Reading Difficulties Usha Goswami 9. English is a Difficult Writing System for Children to Learn: Evidence from Children Learning to Read in Wales J. Richard Hanley 10. Contextualised Phonics Teaching Dominic Wyse Part IV: Challenging Research, Policies and Pedagogies 11. What it Takes in Early Schooling to have Adolescents who are Skilled and Eager Readers and Writers William H. Teale, Kathleen A. Paciga and Jessica L. Hoffman 12. Classroom Interaction and Reading Pedagogy in the Early Years of School Henrietta Dombey 13. Dyslexia Lessons: The Politics of Dyslexia and Reading Problems Janet Soler 14. The Use of Evidence in Language and Literacy Teaching Sue Ellis 15. Why do Policy Makers find the 'Simple View of Reading' so Attractive, and Why do I Find it so Morally Repugnant? Colin Harrison 16. Policy and Pedagogy: Proficiency and Choice in the Literacy Classroom Gemma Moss Part V: Teacher Education 17. The Practical and Political Dimensions of Teacher Knowledge: Implications for Reading Teacher Preparation and Research on Teaching James V. Hoffman & Melissa Mosley