RRQ3'04 Inter reports 7/6/04 1:48 PM Page 356

Reading Research Quarterly

Vol. 39, No. 3
July/August/September 2004
© 2004 International Reading Association
(pp. 356–359)

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS ON LITERACY RESEARCH

Compiled by A. Jonathan Eakle and Andrew M. Garber

Australia
doi:10.1598/RRQ.39.3.9

International research correspondent, Jan Turbill

In her report, Jan Turbill provided an overview of some of the recently com-
pleted and ongoing research conducted in Australia. The research topics include
literacy and technology, early literacy practices, middle years literacy, and the pro-
fessional practices of literacy teachers.
Involving literacy and technology, Susan Hill of the University of South
Australia, Adelaide, and Nicola Yelland of the Hong Kong Institute of Education
are in the final stages of writing up the findings from their three-year research proj-
ect, Children of the New Millennium: Using Information and Communication
Technologies for Playing and Learning in the Information Age. This research proj-
ect explored the development of young children’s expertise with information and
communication technologies from preschool to the second year of school (ages 4–7
years). Using ethnographic and case study methodologies, Hill and Yelland exam-
ined where young children in diverse socioeconomic areas use information and
communication technologies (ICT), how many forms of it they use, and to what
extent technology relates to other forms of play and learning in literacy and numer-
acy. Key findings of this research include the following four:

1. Young children’s approach to technology is “without fear.” They click and explore with confi-
dence, earning them the title of what the researchers call “clickerati kids.” Therefore, rather than
trying to teach this clickerati generation in traditional ways with a step-by-step, drill-and-
practice approach, the researchers found they engage best with a fast-paced, interactive, multi-
faceted curriculum.
2. A “technotour” of the participating children’s homes revealed the issue of access to ICT was
problematic. During their home visits the researchers found that, despite the increase in ICT in
Australian homes, this did not necessarily ensure access for young children. Use by older siblings
often took priority, or access was restricted because older members of the family feared losing
important documents. For many of the young children studied, the educational setting was the
only place where they had access to ICT. On the other hand, there were other homes where 4-,
5-, and 6-year-olds confidently demonstrated their abilities to operate the mouse and keyboard,
use various paint and draw programs, and navigate their way around their favorite websites.
3. Preschool centers typically inherited hand-me-down, outdated technology from the higher years
of school, thus inhibiting the younger children’s use of multimodal software.
4. There was wide diversity in teacher knowledge and skill with ICT, and many early childhood
teachers were learning alongside their students; in some cases the children themselves became
the instructors. On the other hand, some teachers made movies with children, took digital pho-
tographs of activities, made CD-ROM portfolios of children’s achievements, and created ani-
mated narratives with multimodal communication systems. Regardless of skill level, all of the
teachers viewed ICT, and computers in particular, as having enormous potential for literacy de-
velopment. A significant outcome of Hill and Yelland’s project is an interactive, group-learning,
electronic professional development program that will be distributed to all early childhood set-
tings in South Australia in 2004.

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International Reports on Literacy Research
Regarding both new technology and the study
of the professional practices of English and literacy
teachers, Brian Ferry, John Hedberg, Brian
Cambourne, and Jan Turbill of the University of
Wollongong have begun a two-year grant with David
Jonassen of the University of Missouri to explore how
a simulated classroom can be developed to support
preservice teachers’ understanding of literacy peda-
gogy. The project investigates teacher-mentor and
preservice-teacher participation in an online simula-
tion of the teaching of literacy in primary school class-
rooms. The researchers have investigated how the
simulation could be designed to support preservice
teachers in making complex sequences of decisions
about the use of language- and literacy-learning re-
sources, teaching strategies, and behavior management
strategies for a class of virtual primary students. The
simulation incorporates an action-learning, theory ap-
proach, using reflection to support practice. Later, it
will involve realistic situations of varying complexity
to support effective transfer of teacher-learned behav-
iors to the real-world classroom. A pilot version of the
simulation is in process.
In a project entitled Teachers Investigate
Unequal Literacy Outcomes: Cross Generational
Perspectives, Barbara Comber (University of South
Australia, Underdale) and Barbara Kamler (Deakin
University, Melbourne at Burwood) have been inves-
tigating both historical and contemporary literacy
practices in terms of their differential effects on pri-
mary school children. The project recognizes the
teacher as the most significant factor in improving
student outcomes and builds teacher research
communities to document teaching that makes a
difference for at-risk children. Its unique cross-
generational methodology makes overt links between
one generation of teachers and the next and aims to
produce new knowledge about literacy and the dis-
advantaged. Practical applications for teacher educa-
tion and professional mentoring across generations
are being developed.
Prepared to Teach: An Investigation Into the
Preparation of Teachers to Teach Literacy and
Numeracy is a research study being conducted by
William Louden, Mary Rohl, Jennifer Gore, Daryl
Greaves, Alistair Mcintosh, Robert Wright, Dianne
Siemon, and Helen House of Edith Cowan
University (Perth, Western Australia). They are inves-
tigating how well prepared beginning teachers are to
teach literacy and numeracy. The years of schooling
considered in the study span the period from
preschool to junior secondary education. A particular
focus of the study is the effectiveness of preparation
for teaching those who have the most difficulty in lit-
357
eracy and numeracy learning. Qualitative and quanti-
tative methods were combined in the research. The
questions explored were framed by a literature review
and a Web-based desk audit of Australian teacher ed-
ucation program characteristics. Issues emerging from
the investigation were first considered in focus group
interviews with teachers and teacher educators. The
results of these data assisted in the development of
three national surveys, as well as research goals sought
during site visits from exemplary teacher education
programs in four states. Final results are planned for
publication in 2004 (www.dest.gov.au).
William Louden, Mary Rohl, Judith Rivalland,
Trevor Cairney, Caroline Barratt-Pugh, Marion
Meiers, Ken Rowe, and Helen House, members of a
research team situated at Edith Cowan University,
are conducting research called In Teachers’ Hands:
Effective Teaching and Learning Practices Leading to
Improved Literacy Outcomes in the Early Years of
Schooling. This multifaceted national project aims
to identify teaching practices that lead to improved
outcomes for students in the early years of schooling.
Effective early literacy teachers were identified on the
basis of the literacy outcomes of their students as
measured by a broad-based literacy assessment tool
created by the Australian Council for Educational
Research (Camberwell, Victoria). In addition, video
and audio observations were carried out in class-
rooms of selected teachers using a tool developed
specifically for the project, the Classroom Literacy
Observation Schedule. Statistics were coded and ana-
lyzed to validate the observation schedule and to
identify the variables that most clearly differentiate
more effective from less effective teachers. Results
will be available online (www.dest.gov.au) along with
print and video materials of effective early literacy
teachers in action.
Studying middle school literacy are Christa van
Kraayenoord, Anne Jobling, Karen Moni, John
Elkins, project manager Tammy Muckert, and re-
search assistant Robyn Miller of the University of
Queensland, Brisbane, and David Koppenhaver of
Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota,
USA. Their project, WriteIdeas: Instruction of
Writing in Inclusive Classrooms for Middle School
Students With Developmental Disabilities, is con-
cerned with middle school children—who have
developmental disabilities and who are in regular
classes full-time—and their teachers. The research
team has developed a professional development
program (PDP) for teachers to develop their knowl-
edge, skills, and attitudes in writing instruction.
Particular attention is paid to introducing teachers to
activities and teaching strategies appropriate for
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358 Reading Research Quarterly
supporting students with developmental disabilities
in regular classrooms and as part of the regular day-
to-day classroom program.
The PDP consists of a two-day workshop, and
the researchers and the teachers in 15 different
schools have assessed the learners’ writing. On the
basis of what they learned in the PDP workshop and
their knowledge of the curriculum and students, the
teachers then created an instructional support pro-
gram related to the children’s writing development.
(This was done in a curricular area of the teacher’s
choice or as part of an integrated unit—tied to the
class’s learning outcomes.) The research team sup-
ported the teachers while they planned the program.
For 10 weeks the teachers put the instructional sup-
port into place, noted how the children responded,
and made modifications to the activities and their
teaching. Researchers asked the teachers to keep a
teacher’s log. During this time, the research team
observed classroom activities and collected artifacts.
Postassessments and six-month follow-up assess-
ments of the students will be conducted.
Information about teachers’ knowledge and skills is
also being collected throughout the project. For fur-
ther information regarding this project funded by
the Australian Research Council (Canberra, ACT),
please contact its project manager, Tammy Muckert,
e-mail t.muckert@uq.edu.au.
Central and Eastern Europe
doi:10.1598/RRQ.39.3.10
International research correspondent,
Kurt Meredith
International research correspondent Kurt
Meredith of the USA is involved with various inter-
national research efforts. In the following report, he
addressed recent developments in Central and
Eastern Europe.
As most Central European nations move to-
ward NATO or European Union (EU) membership,
there has evolved a sustained interest in comparative
research to examine structural and instructional com-
patibility, the relative proximity of various theoretical
and conceptual foundations, outcomes comparisons,
and rank ordering on any number of academic meas-
ures, primarily with future EU partner countries. The
Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) 2000 PISA (Program for
International Student Assessment) report (www.pisa.
oecd.org) released in December 2001 has had consid-
erable impact on research and will strongly influence
JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2004 39/3
literacy and numeracy research in the region for the
foreseeable future. The significance of the report is
twofold. First, it provides comparative data regarding
print literacy, mathematical literacy, and science liter-
acy about the 32 nations surveyed to Ministries of
Education who will use the rank ordering to assist
with setting curricular development and teacher in-
service priorities. Those EU accession countries not
previously included have now become OECD mem-
ber countries and survey participants, which will
broaden the survey scope and findings.
Second, the PISA survey of reading literacy ana-
lyzed reader performance and engagement in reading
beyond simply functional literacy skills. The survey
sought to determine the ability of readers to apply lit-
eracy skills to lifelong learning, measuring the perfor-
mance of 15-year-olds from the 32 participating
nations. This investigation is of particular interest to
nations previously implementing a Soviet instruction-
al model. The Soviet model had raised functional lit-
eracy rates in Central European nations to among the
highest global levels, often approaching 96% to 97%
of national populations (Meredith & Steele, 2000).
Yet, currently the general consensus is that the func-
tional literacy rate masks deficits in students’ capacity
for critical thought and practical applications of basic
literacy skills to everyday life. It is this latter ability
that is needed to successfully respond to the chal-
lenges of integration with a Western economy.
Meredith reported that Frantisek Toth, State
Secretary of Education for the Republic of Slovakia,
in a November 2002 interview, indicated that his
Ministry colleagues would closely examine the PISA
2000–2004 report to determine what is working
well and what is not. They claim that they will be
supportive of research that will inform them of effec-
tive instructional practices that can encourage ad-
vanced literacy skills and lifelong learning abilities
assessed by the PISA survey.
Echoing the Slovak Secretary’s beliefs, in
November 2002 an international conference,
Lifelong Learning in Europe: Moving Towards EFA
Goals and the Confintea V Agenda, sponsored by
the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, UNESCO,
and other European education agencies, was held in
Sofia, Bulgaria, in support of advancing literacy and
lifelong learning skills. Attended by 200 delegates
from Europe, Asia, and North America, the confer-
ence concluded with a call to action, which, in part,
implored educators to move students beyond basic
reading, writing, and numeracy skills to a skill level
that will enable full integration of all students with
the social, political, cultural, and economic life of
their communities.
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International Reports on Literacy Research
An additional force in Central European literacy
research is the impact of literacy-based instructional
reform efforts by the Orava Project (www.zdruzenieo
rava.sk) and the Reading and Writing for Critical
Thinking Project (RWCT; www.rwct.org) being im-
plemented in most Central European countries. These
projects are not the exclusive ones but are the domi-
nant education reform efforts of most countries in the
region and attract considerable research attention.
Demonstrative of this research is an unpublished
study recently completed in Lithuania examining
teacher training and inservice program impact on
teacher professional development. This comprehen-
sive study, “The Relevance of the Lithuania In-Service
Teacher Training System,” involved more than 1,000
Lithuanian teachers and compared teacher profession-
al development programs implemented in Lithuania
during the previous four years. The researcher,
Kestutis Kaminskas of the Lithuanian Teacher
Training Academy, analyzed the traditional state
teacher-training program, the literacy-based RWCT
teacher professional development program, and other
“Western” teacher professional development models.
He found that the traditional inservice model failed to
provide professional development of teachers and fo-
cused on content issues whereas “Western” models,
and RWCT in particular, focused on the professional
development of teachers within a community of pro-
fessional educators. He also posited that teacher in-
service must be more self-regulating and progressive
rather than state driven.
In Slovakia, where all major pedagogical uni-
versities are involved in the Orava Project, an inter-
national education conference, Innovation in
Education, was recently concluded. A variety of liter-
acy research outcomes were shared at the conference,
including a report by Harminc (2002) from Pavol
Jozef Safarik University in Kosice. He reported find-
ings demonstrating the transferability of children’s
motivation to read children’s literature to their ap-
proach to verbal mathematics problems. He suggest-
ed that consciously linking issues in children’s
popular literature to verbal mathematics problems
could enhance the status of math problems and
make their resolution more relevant to students. In
addition, Prsova and Janakova (2002) reported re-
sults from a study showing that the use of drama
with 9- and 10-year-olds increases motivation to
read independently. Liptakova (2002) presented her
findings on student writing. She reported that grade
1–4 student writing increased in quantity and cre-
ativeness when students were prompted to write by
using “free associations” from previously written text.
359
She found that student writing is stimulated by
prompts from previously written student text.
A third force in literacy research in the Central
European region reflects the growing concern regard-
ing the educational needs of Roma children. The cata-
strophic plight of Roma children throughout the
region is detailed in numerous recent reports from the
World Bank (Ringold, 2000); and the World Bank,
Foundation SPACE, and INEKO; and The Open
Society Institute (2002) to name a few. The European
Union considers responding to the needs of Roma to
be a central issue in accession talks with several newly
invited nations intending to enter the EU in May
2004. Of principal concern is the low level of literacy
and numeracy skills in Roma of all ages with consider-
able attention being paid to determining under what
conditions Roma children learn best.
Responding to these questions, the World Bank
(2001) published a report that gives a detailed analy-
sis of the efficacy of alternative schools for Roma for
increasing lifelong literacy skills. Findings from this
report suggest that literacy development is deeply in-
tertwined with the ethnic, social, economic, cultural,
and linguistic isolation experienced by most Roma. It
was concluded that schools seeking to respond to
Roma needs must address these issues simultaneously
and within a context supportive of Roma culture.
REFERENCES
HARMINC, M. (2002, November). Critical thinking and verbal prob-
lems in math. Paper presented at the Third National Conference on
Innovation in Education, Strbske Pleso, Slovakia.
LIPTAKOVA, L. (2002, November). Text creation by association.
Paper presented at the Third National Conference on Innovation in
Education, Strbske Pleso, Slovakia.
MEREDITH, K.S., & STEELE, J.L. (2000). Education in transition:
Trends in Central and Eastern Europe. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal,
P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook on reading research (Vol. 3,
pp. 29–39). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
PRSOVA, E., & JANAKOVA, L. (2002, November). Olympus,
mythology and us.... Paper presented at the Third National Conference on
Innovation in Education, Strbske Pleso, Slovakia.
RINGOLD, D. (2000, September). Roma and the transition in
Central and Eastern Europe: Trends and challenges. Retrieved February 12,
2004, from http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/ECA/ECSHD.nsf/ECADoc
ByUnid/3B1AFD4257085BE0C1256CEC0035F8DC/$FILE/transi
tion.pdf
WORLD BANK. (2001). Alternative schools and Roma education: A
review of alternative secondary school models for the education of Roma in
Hungary (World Bank regional office Hungary, NGO Studies No. 3).
Retrieved February 12, 2004, from http://www-wds.worldbank.
org/servlet/WDS _ IBank _ Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000094946 _
01110604072581
WORLD BANK, FOUNDATION SPACE, INEKO, & THE
OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE. (2002). Poverty and welfare of Roma in
the Slovak Republic. Bratislava, Slovakia: Luka Press. Retrieved February
12, 2004, from http://www.worldbank.sk/Data/povertyinslovak.pdf