Examines the broadening scope of "literacy" as reflected in the ERIC database. Argues that the definition of literacy has expanded to include making meaning from a variety of sources and communicating it to a variety of audiences. (RS)

Suggests that true literacy is "a reaching out for understanding about the significance of human experience." (MKM)

Reviews data indicating that overall reading achievement in the primary grades is as good or better than ever before, and points to inaccuracies in critics' claims to the contrary. (MKM)

Notes recipients of the second International Reading Association Literacy Awards (with the first prize going to the Ethiopian Coordinating Committee for the National Literacy Campaign) and presents the comments about the value of literacy work made at the ceremony by UNESCO Director-General Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow. (MKM)

Presents a public service advertisement by the International Paper Company on how to write a business letter and discusses the ad campaign to improve students' literacy. (DD)

Discusses literacy in the author's own family and asks whether the term "family literacy" can really refer with any accuracy to any group of people or to any set of behaviors. Argues that literacy educators must resist abstractions and generalizations and focus upon the particularities that help shape the individual literacies of their…

Asserts that picture books are a medium for all ages. Recommends several recent picture books and groups them under headings suggesting potential uses, with extra activities noted. (PRA)

Presents a humorous treatment of trends in the literacy business: blaming somebody else and tackling complex problems as if they were easy. (SR)

Discusses the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's reading literacy study in Finland. Shows that, although language-minority students are often expected to have lower achievement in school, students from Swedish-speaking homes in Finland scored almost as well as their Finnish-speaking counterparts on extensive…

Describes the purposes and programs of the national Right to Read effort. (RB)

Provides an overview of literacy and literacy education in Morocco. Sketches the historical context, and then discusses literacy in formal school settings, adult programs, and needed improvements. (SR)

Examines research concerning the relationship between Black vernacular English and reading and writing. Makes recommendations for future research. (HTH)

Argues that the field of education has produced and absorbed a steady barrage of information about the threats and causes of illiteracy. Contends that the field has managed to demystify the wondrous and profound acts of reading and writing. Concludes that research on reader response has much to offer in the rehumanization of literacy. (RS)

Reviews the research on reading achievement for the last 50 years and concludes that anyone who knows that literacy is declining is ignoring the data. (RB)

Discusses five recent books on reading and literacy which represent the brighter side of the reading profession. (RS)