Learning to Read Critically in Language and Literacy

`[This book] has definitely aided my understanding of the processes involved in taking a critical stance and would enable me to pick out and maybe even teach the different facets of critical thinking. It has also developed my knowledge in the field of language and literacy education' - British Journal of Educational Studies Following other volumes in the Learning to Read Critically series, Learning to Read Critically in Language and Literacy aims to develop skills of critical analysis and research design. It presents a series of examples of `best practice' in language and literacy education research at a time when literacy development and learning through language are key policy issues. This book is an overview of issues in Language and Literacy Education research, as well as a guide to appropriate research methods, and how to do a literature survey. Leading researchers present a research project, together with their gloss on why they did it that way; what they found, or did not find, and why the research worked or in some cases did not work. The book is intended as a reference and teaching text for taught postgraduate courses in the area of language and literacy. This series, edited by Mike Wallace, supports research-based teaching on masters and taught doctorate courses in the humanities and social sciences fields of enquiry. Each book is a 'three in one' text designed to assist advanced course tutors and dissertation supervisors with key research-based teaching tasks and aims to: • develop students' critical understanding of research literature • increase students' appreciation of what can be achieved in small-scale investigations similar to those which they undertake for their dissertation • present students with major findings, generalisations and concepts connected to their particular field.

Table of Contents:
PART I: BECOMING A CRITICAL CONSUMER OF THE LITERATURE Critical Reading for Self-Critical Writing - 02C Mike Wallace and Louise Poulson Designing and Writing about Research: Developing a Critical Frame of Mind - 02C Louise Poulson and Mike Wallace PART II: MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF REPORTING RESEARCH Developing a Toolkit for Tackling Academic Discourse - 02C Sally Mitchell and Mike Riddle Researching Children′s Language and Literacy Practices in School - Janet Maybin The Dialogue of Spoken Word and Written Word - David Skidmore Researching Response to Literature and the Media - 02C Richard Beach Analysing Spoken Language in the Classroom - 02C Judith Baxter A Study of Students′ Artistic Interpretations of Hamlet - 02C Peter Smagorinsky and Cindy O′Donnell-Allen Literacy versus English?: A Professional Identity Crisis - 02C Andrew Goodwyn PART III: MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF REPORTING A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Systematic Literature Reviews: The Impact of Networked ICT on Literacy Education - 02C Richard Andrews