Disciplinary Literacy Education and Practice in Secondary Education: A Global Perspective

Dear Colleagues,

As nations seek to address large-scale global challenges, such as the changing nature of work, shifting demographics within and across nations, lack of equity, and international economic performance, local governments have also sought to address these within education systems and literacy education. Contemporary literacy education policies across countries including Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Australia have incorporated disciplinary literacy to varying degrees within secondary teacher education programs and secondary school classrooms. Disciplinary literacy is based on the understanding that as students go through school years, literacy capacity should be increasingly disciplinary and reflect the types of reading and writing practices, vocabulary use, and thinking and design practices of academic disciplines such as those found in science, mathematics, and the social sciences (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008). For this reason, as Moje (2008) indicates, disciplinary literacy outcomes are best supported by content area teachers. Over ten years ago, Fang and Coatoam, (2013) raised concerns that evidence in disciplinary literacy is predominantly theoretical and not supported by studies within secondary schools. This Special Issue aims to add to the body of evidence on instructional approaches to disciplinary literacy and to provide insights into instructional approaches which teachers can apply in their classrooms across a range of subjects. We aim to provide insights into instructional practices which positively impact secondary students’ disciplinary literacy skills, knowledge, and disposition.

Fang, Z., & Coatoam, S. (2013). Disciplinary literacy: What you want to know about it. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56(8), 627-632.

Moje, E. B. (2008). Foregrounding the disciplines in secondary literacy teaching and learning: A call for change. Journal of adolescent & adult literacy, 52(2), 96-107.

Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking content-area literacy. Harvard educational review, 78(1), 40-59.

Dr. Jennifer Shand
Guest Editor

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