Understanding Difficulties in Literacy Development

Dr Gavin Reid is an international consultant, psychologist and author based in Vancouver, Canada. He is co-director of the Reading Lab where he carries out consultancies and psychological assessments. He is also currently involved in a number of consultancy and writing projects. Dr. Reid was formerly a classroom teacher (10 years) and university lecturer (16 years). He was a senior lecturer at Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh from 1991-2007 where he wrote the first Masters course in dyslexia in the UK in 1993. He has written 40 books in the field of dyslexia, learning skills and motivation. His books have been translated into seven languages.

• PART ONE: WHAT IS LITERACY? WHAT ARE ′DIFFICULTIES IN LITERACY′?Literacy: In search of a paradigm - Naz RassoolGlobalisation, literacy and society: Redesigning pedagogy and assessment - David Johnson and Gunther KressThe historical construction of dylsexia: Implications for Higher Education - Janet SolerPART TWO: ISSUES AND CONCEPTS IN PUBLIC READING DEBATES Literacy as a complex activity: Deconstructing the simple view of reading - Morag Stuart, Rhona Stainthorp, Maggie SnowlingThe irrelevancy - and danger - of the ′simple view′ of reading to meaningful standards - Victoria Purcell-GatesEhri′s model of phases of learning to read: A brief critique - John R BeechSiblings bridging literacies in multilingual contexts - Ann Williams and Eve GregoryBoys′ underachievement: Issues, challenges and possible ways forward - Joe Burns and Paul BraceyRe-counting ′Illiteracy′: Literacy skills in the sociology of social inequality - Geoff PaynePART THREE: LITERACY CURRICULUM POLICY CONTEXTSResearch and the National Literacy Strategy - Roger BeardLiteracy policy and policy literacy: A tale of phonics in early reading in England - Kathy Hall′To be or not to be?′: The politics of teaching phonics in England and New Zealand - Janet Soler and Roger OpenshawPowerful literacies: The policy context - Mary Hamilton, Catherine Macrae and Lyn TettPART FOUR: COMMUNITY, FAMILY, SOCIETY AND INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY The self-concept and its relationship to educational achievement - Robert BurdenThe self-concept and dyslexia - David PollakPART FIVE: SOCIAL JUSTICE, EQUITY ISSUES AND LEARNING DISABILITIESSpecial education′s changing identity: Paradoxes and dilemmas in views of culture and space - Alfredo J ArtilesThe cultural work of learning disabilities - Ray McDermott, Shelley Goldman and Hervé Varenne