The Routledge International Handbook of Early Literacy Education

"The new Routledge International Handbook of Early Literacy Education is well-timed and rightly targeted at current cultural and linguistic super-diversity. The wide collection of chapters present new developments in old debates as well as new approaches to urgent social and cultural challenges. The broad overview of instruction methods in different languages, orthographies and education systems, is a rich and up-to-date resource for educators and researchers who wish to expand their knowledge and intervention repertoire.

The Handbook identifies several topics for research that need urgent attention, including the facilitative and problematic aspects of digital devices, also in view of linguistic super-diversity, the forms of oral language use in early childhood programs that support literacy development best and the role of bilingual children’s first languages in second language literacy. Following these suggestions will strengthen early literacy education as an innovative international research and development program." - Paul Leseman, Professor of Education, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

"Global education is in dire need of scalable solutions to the crisis of learning. This stellar collection of the latest science that can inform strategies to foster literacy development is an important contribution. It will provide invaluable guidance to governments, NGOs and scholars worldwide on how to shift schooling from access to learning and truly fulfill the promise of education for all." - Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education, New York University, USA.

"This is a timely and remarkable volume. Early childhood education is of global concern yet researchers have no comparable collection of solid empirical research. Chapters are written by exceptional authors, cover an astonishing number of countries, and deal with issues of pressing concern. It will play a pivotal role in facilitating conversation within the global early childhood community." - David Dickinson, Margaret Cowan Chair and Professor of Teacher Education, Department of Teaching and Learning; Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Planning at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, USA.

"This ambitious handbook includes contributions from early childhood educators from around the globe in a contemporary exploration of literacy in very different contexts. Led by internationally renowned scholars and emergent researchers it provides a comprehensive account of what early literacy development looks like in nations as diverse as New Zealand, Poland, India, USA, Norway, Canada, Israel, China, UK, Nordic and African countries and more. The wide representation of authors ensures that research which may not previously have been cited is included here. The volume tackles ‘hot topics’ such as multi-literacies, phonemic awareness, vocabulary development as well as exploring seminal and current literature on continuing central areas in the early years, such as scaffolding, socio-economic disadvantage, bilingualism and so on. It will be a go-to resource for doctoral students and early childhood teacher educators as it provides a thorough, balanced discussion of key theories, debates and emergent themes in the field." - Barbara Comber, Research Professor, School of Education, University of South Australia.