Literacy has always been a contested site in primary phase teaching. Internationally, there is a trend towards increased direct government intervention in areas of pedagogy, as well as curriculum. Recently in the UK, national initiatives, designed to raise standards of literacy among the 11-14 age group, have required English teachers to adapt…

This paper aims to contribute a sociocultural theoretical perspective for the creative identity work involved in the ongoing process of learning and using literacies. Drawing on anthropological theories of identity formation, I argue that people employ cultural resources, such as cultural artefacts, to develop new identities and literacies. I…

Addresses problems that arise when literacy education is brought from national and international centers to people whose identity is with local languages and literacies. Local literacies are defined with respect to different languages and writing systems, invented local literacies, and vernacular literacies. (Contains 33 references.) (Author)

Responds to Grace Feuerverger's article on literacy intervention. The authors argue that uncritical use of multilingual resources is unlikely to result in significant improvement in students' literacy. They outline problems inherent in the use of multilingual materials and reasons for international cooperation in this area. (14 references)…

Describes and evaluates an undergraduate course in reading and writing across the curriculum at a university in Singapore, whose agenda was shaped by discourses on critical pedagogy and critical language awareness. Discusses the benefits and and limitations of a critical reading and writing program. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the notion of identity in relation to the options of cultural affiliation available to minority group members. In particular, the article addresses commentary made in relation to the implementation of national curriculum guidelines in indigenous literacy education settings. (Author/JL)

Introduces this special issue of the journal. Most of the articles included are based on those presented at a 1999 symposium on new directions in literacy research at the International Association for Applied Linguistics conference. (Author/VWL)

The writer argues that there are significant gaps in the way in which academic literacy theory has been conceptualized in the South African context. Although there has been much research about the transition from school to university, school literacy has tended to be presented as self-evident and the implications of students studying in an…