Multicultural Issues in Literacy Research and Practice by Arlette Ingram Willis

This volume brings together researchers and participants from diverse groups, allowing voices that portray varied dimensions of multicultural literacy to be heard. A common theme across the chapters is attention to the ways in which elements of difference - race, ethnicity, gender, class and language - create dynamic tensions that influence students' literacy experiences and achievement. Chapters 1-3 explore the complex relationship among culture, language, literacy and identity. Chapters 4-7 describe and evaluate the development and implementation of curricula, assessments and materials for students from diverse linguistic, cultural and racial backgrounds. Chapters 8-12 focus on pre-service and in-service teachers and teacher education issues related to the implementation of multicultural literacies. The chapters reflect the different ways in which the field of multicultural literacies has been interpreted. The contributors are scholars who have actively examined, and continue to examine, the intersection of difference and literacy as praxis. As many of the authors indicate, there is still much work to be done in the field of multicultural literacies.The hope of the editors is that readers will build on the experiences and findings presented so that the field of multicultural literacies will have a greater impact on literacy research, policy and practice.