ERIC Number: EJ1119584
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0574
EISSN: N/A
Emerging Reading and the Social Practice Turn in Literacy: Still "Becoming a Nation of Readers"
Hoffman, James V.; Martinez, Ramón A.; Danielson, Katie
Journal of Education, v196 n3 p19-25 2016
In this article, we focus on the past, the present, and the future. We consider the ways "Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading" ("BNR") (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985) fulfilled the authors' aspirations to introduce into schools "the practices seen in the classrooms of the best teachers in the best schools" (p. 3). We focus on the emerging literacy chapter and conclude that the authors offered significant insights at a critical time in reading research in a way that anticipated the future. We examine some changes in literacy theory and practice since 1985, including fundamental shifts in the ways many researchers have come to explore literacy as an emerging social practice at individual and societal levels. We consider the literacy as a social practice turn in relation to literacy theory and in two areas related to current literacy practices: teaching bi/multilingual children and teacher preparation. We end with a cautionary note on the potential of reports like "BNR" to shape policy, research, and practice.
Descriptors: Emergent Literacy, Early Reading, Best Practices, Theory Practice Relationship, Educational Change, Multilingualism, Teacher Education, Educational Policy, Educational Practices, Educational Research
Boston University School of Education. Two Silver Way, Boston, MA 02215. Tel: 617-353-3230; e-mail: bujed@bu.edu; Web site: http://www.bu.edu/journalofeducation
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A