Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, humans in literate societies have sets of practices for producing and consuming writing, and they also have beliefs about these practices. Reading, in this view, is always reading something for some purpose; writing is always writing something for someone for some purpose. Beliefs about reading and writing and their value for society and for the individual always influence the ways literacy is taught, learned, and practiced.
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), established in 1930, is an independent educational research organisation based in Camberwell, Victoria (Melbourne) and with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Dubai, Jakarta, London, New Delhi, Perth and Sydney. ACER develops and manages a range of testing and assessment services and conducts research and analysis in the education sector.
William S. Gray was an American educator and literacy advocate, who was commonly referred to as "The father of Reading".
Sharon Mills Draper is an American children's writer, professional educator, and the 1997 National Teacher of the Year. She is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for books about the young and adolescent African-American experience. She is known for her Hazelwood and Jericho series, Copper Sun,Double Dutch, Out of My Mind and Romiette and Julio.
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
E. Jennifer Monaghan, also known as Jennifer Monaghan, was an educator and historian. She was regarded as the leading expert on literacy education in early America. She published three books and dozens of book chapters and journal articles.
Malcolm Sathiyanathan Adiseshiah, was an Indian development economist and educator. In 1976 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award. In 1998, UNESCO created the Malcolm Adiseshiah International Literacy Prize in recognition of his contribution to education and literacy. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, in 1978.
Victoria Purcell-Gates is an internationally recognized researcher and professor in the field of literacy education. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, Dr. Purcell-Gates' research interests include the social and cultural literacy practices experienced by both children and adults.
Nell K. Duke is a contemporary educator and literacy researcher with an interest in informational text, early literacy development, and reading comprehension instruction, with an emphasis on children living in poverty. She is currently a professor of language, literacy, and culture and a faculty associate in the combined program in education and psychology at the University of Michigan.
The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize is an annual prize awarded to three institutions, organizations or individuals "for their contribution to the fight against illiteracy."
The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the "writing of nonfiction for children." It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English to one American book published the previous year. Up to five titles may be designated as Honor Books. The award is named after the book considered to be the first picture book for children, Orbis Pictus, by John Amos Comenius, which was published in 1657. The award has recognized one book annually without exception since it was inaugurated in 1990.
Alma Flor Ada is a Cuban-American author of children's books, poetry, and novels. A Professor Emerita at the University of San Francisco, she is recognized for her work promoting bilingual and multicultural education in the United States.
The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) is a national section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) committed to bringing books and children together.
Patricia A. Edwards, a member of the Reading Hall of Fame, is a Distinguished Professor of Language and Literacy in the Department of Teacher Education and a Senior University Outreach Fellow at Michigan State University. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in parent involvement, home-school-community partnerships, and multicultural, early, and family/intergenerational literacy with a focus on poor and minority children. She served on the International Literacy Association Board of Directors from 1998–2001, as the first African American President of the Literacy Research Association from 2006–2007, and as President of the International Literacy Association from 2010–2011. Edwards also served as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Educational Research Association's (AERA) Family, School, and Community Partnerships Special Interest Group (SIG) from 2014–2016 and was elected to serve as its President-Elect/President from 2016–2020.
Gay Su Pinnell is an American educational theorist and a professor emerita at the School of Teaching and Learning at Ohio State University. She is best known for her work with Irene Fountas on literacy and guided reading, a teaching framework that laid the groundwork for the Fountas and Pinnell reading levels.
Timothy Shanahan is an educator, researcher, and education policy-maker focused on literacy education. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Education, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education, Department of Curriculum & Instruction, and he has held a visiting research appointment at Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was elected president of the International Literacy Association in 2004. He operates the popular informational website, Shanahan on Literacy. He was recently recognized as one of the top 2% of scientists in the world, according to a recent study published by Stanford University scholars.
Jane Torr is an Australian academic in the fields of early childhood language and literacy development in home and early childhood education and care settings. She is an honorary associate in the department of educational studies at Macquarie University, where she has been teaching and researching for over 30 years. Torr's research draws on systemic functional linguistic theory to explore the relationship between context and meaning in adult-child interactions, and the implications for children's learning. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, as well as publications in professional journals.
Rise: A Feminist Book Project, formerly known as the Amelia Bloomer Project and compiled by the American Library Association, is an annual list of books with significant feminist content that are intended for readers from birth to age 18. The Amelia Bloomer Project was started in 2002 and continued annually until the name change in 2020. Rise is unique from other book lists in that it selects books based on content.
Susanna W. Grannis is a retired American academic, and the founder of CHABHA, a nonprofit organization that supported orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda, Burundi, and South Africa from 2004 to 2014. She was professor and dean at the University of Illinois Chicago, Queens College, and at the Bank Street College of Education. She is the author of Hope Amidst Despair: HIV/AIDS-Affected Children in Sub-Saharan Africa and two self-published children's books. Writing as Susanna W. Pflaum, she is the author of books and academic papers about teaching and education, with a particular focus on advancing academic opportunity for disadvantaged students. She lives in Stuyvesant Falls, New York.
Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar is a scholar of education known for her research on literacy instruction, reciprocal teaching, and cognitive apprenticeships. Her involvement in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Research Council on the Prevention of Reading Difficulty in Young Children, the National Research Council's Panel on Teacher Preparation, and the International Literacy Association's Literacy Research Panel, attests to her dedication to advancing educational research and improving teacher training. Palincsar is the Ann L. Brown Distinguished University Professor Emerita at the Marsal Family School of Education at the University of Michigan.
Newark, Delaware, United States 