Critical Literacy: Context, Research, and Practice in the K-12 Classroom

"This is an excellent text. I particularly liked how the authors share examples of critical literacy throughout the book, especially with digital and multimedia texts."

―Peter McDermott, The Sage Colleges

"Through realistic discussion of how text shapes us and is shaped by us, Critical Literacy provides pre- and in-service teachers with concrete ways to engage in critical literacy practices with children from elementary through high school."

―Cheryl A. Kreutter, St. John Fisher College

…a unique, practical critical literacy text with concrete examples and theoretical tools for pre- and in-service teachers

Authors Lisa Patel Stevens and Thomas W. Bean explore the historical and political foundations of critical literacy and present a comprehensive examination of its uses for K-12 classroom practice.

Key Features:

• Focuses on the nexus of critical literacy theory and practice through real classroom examples, vignettes, and conversations among teachers and teacher educators
• Illustrates how critical literacy practices are enacted in the classroom at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
• Offers step-by-step teaching strategies for implementing critical literacy in K-12 classrooms at different paces, depending on existing curriculum

Intended Audience:

This is an excellent supplemental text for a variety of advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in education departments on how to teach reading and writing. This text will also appeal to instructors and students exploring issues of representation, linguistics, and critical deconstruction.

Lisa Patel Stevens has published refereed journal articles in top reading research journals exploring practical, research, and policy issues surrounding critical literacy. She has also conducted dozens of professional development sessions on the use of critical literacy in the classroom; these sessions have provided rich opportunities to participate in the complicated implementation of critical literacy with teachers across schooling levels and backgrounds. This experience helps to inform the praxis tone of this book. Stevens is an experienced researcher and practitioner in the area of reading and literacy education. She has co-authored (with Thomas Bean) several chapters on reading and literacy.

Thomas W. Bean, Ph.D., is a Professor of Literacy and Reading in the Teaching and Learning Department, College of Education, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Tom earned his Ph.D. at Arizona State University and is considered a leading scholar in content area literacy and the infusion of multicultural and global young adult literature in the classroom. His work has been published in the ALAN Review, Reading Research Quarterly, and the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. Along with Co-Author Dr. Judith Dunkerly-Bean, he served as co-editor of the International Reading Association’s Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. Tom is senior author of the widely used text, Content Area Literacy: An Integrated Approach (10th ed.). He can be contacted at: beant1@unlv.nevada.edu.