The Routledge International Handbook of Early Literacy Education
A Contemporary Guide to Literacy Teaching and Interventions in a Global Context
Routledge International Handbooks of Education Series

The Routledge International Handbook of Early Literacy Education offers a pioneering overview of early literacy provision in different parts of the world and brings together interdisciplinary research evidence on effective literacy teaching to inform current and future practice and policy of early literacy. From the problem of identification of literacy difficulties in a particular learning context to supporting the provision of early literacy through digital media, the handbook deals with the major concerns and newest areas of interest in literacy research. With an international and future vision, it provides an accessible guide to the main debates and future trends in the global field of early literacy, and informs academics, policy-makers, practitioners, educators and students about innovative early literacy research methods and instruction.

The three sections and 30 ground-breaking chapters reflect a conceptual framework of questions asked by scholars and educators interested in looking beyond traditional definitions of literacy.

Part I provides contemporary insights collected by internationally renowned scholars on what literacy is, and what it can offer to young children in the twenty-first century.

Part II is a collection of detailed portraits of 14 countries, regions or language communities, and focuses on early literacy provision, practice and policy from across the world.

Part III outlines key interventions and research-endorsed practices designed to support home?school connections and children?s reading and writing skills, as well as vocabulary, phonological awareness and narrative abilities, with examples drawn from various home, school and community environments.

All chapters promote discussion, critical analysis and questions for reflection and are written in jargon-free language in an easy-to use themed format. This handbook is an indispensable reference guide for practising teachers and student teachers, especially those undertaking postgraduate qualifications, as well as early literacy researchers, policy-makers and school-based literacy leaders.

PART I 1. Early literacy development and instruction: an overview 2. The role of early childhood education in promoting early literacy 3. A matter of opportunity: aanguage and reading development during early childhood for dual-language learners 4. New literacies and new media: the changing face of early literacy 5. Early literacy practice: more than just knowing how to read and write PART II 6. The provision, practice and policies of early literacy in New Zealand 7. Germanic speaking countries: Germany and Austria as examples 8. The Nordic countries 9. Literacy development in Romance languages 10. Lessons from Costa Rica and Chile for early literacy in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries 11. Early literacy policy and practice in Poland 12. Early education in literacy in Turkey in comparison to the Balkan countries 13. African countries 14. Early literacy policy and practice in Israel 15. Early literacy education in Arabic 16. Early literacy policy and practice in Korea 17. Early literacy policy and practice in Japan 18. Chinese-speaking societies 19. India: the policy and practice of early literacy acquisition in the akshara languages PART III 20. The value of writing in early childhood 21. The contributions and limits of phonological awareness in learning to read 22. Shared book reading: an informal literacy activity par excellence 23. Fostering vocabulary in early childhood education 24. Drama-based interventions and narrative 25. Children's personal narratives reflect where they come from, reveal who they are and predict where they are going 26. Storying as a social context for language development 27. Interventions for children with language difficulties 28. Promoting first-language development and maintenance and capitalizing on 'funds of knowledge' in family literacy programs 29. Breaking the barrier of blame: parents as literacy brokers 30. Old and new: reflecting on the enduring key issues in early literacy

Natalia Kucirkova is Senior Research Fellow at University College London, UK.

Catherine E. Snow is Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA.

Vibeke Grøver is Professor of Education at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Catherine McBride is Professor of Psychology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.