Approaching Difficulties in Literacy Development: Assessment, Pedagogy and Programmes

Approaching Difficulties in Literacy Development: Assessments, Pedagogy and Programmes considers the complexity of literacy difficulties, showing how research into literacy difficulties has to be multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary and involve a range of research approaches and methods. The chapters show that this is necessary to accommodate the wide range of issues that can, potentially, explain literacy difficulties and suggest strategies and interventions to ease those difficulties.

This Reader is relevant to all postgraduate students of Literacy, as well as educators, professionals and policy makers.

Approaching Difficulties in Literacy Development: Assessments, Pedagogy and Programmes considers the complexity of literacy difficulties, showing how research into literacy difficulties has to be multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary and involve a range of research approaches and methods. The chapters show that this is necessary to accommodate the wide range of issues that can, potentially, explain literacy difficulties and suggest strategies and interventions to ease those difficulties.

This Reader is relevant to all postgraduate students of Literacy, as well as educators, professionals and policy makers.

Dr. Gavin Reid is a consultant to the Centre for Child Evaluation and Teaching (CCET) based in Kuwait. He is also educational psychologist to REACH Learning Center in North Vancouver, Canada and a director and consultant to the Red Rose School for children with specific learning difficulties in St. Annes on Sea, Lancashire. He was a senior lecturer in the Department of Educational Studies, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh from 1991-2007.

He has made over 600 conference and seminar presentations in over 45 countries including Norway, Denmark, Germany, United States, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Iceland, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Estonia, Greece, Austria, Slovenia, Israel, Egypt, Gambia, Canada, Dubai, Kuwait and Hungary.

He currently 21 books in print in the area of teacher education in the field of dyslexia, literacy learning styles and motivation and wrote and developed the first Masters course in Specific Learning Difficulties in the UK in 1993. Many of his books are used as course texts in courses throughout the UK and in many other countries. These include: Dyslexia: A Practitioners Handbook (Wiley 1998, 2003), Dyslexia: A Complete Guide for Parents (2004), Dyslexia and Inclusion (2005) and Learning Styles and Inclusion (2005). Some of his books have been translated into Arabic, Polish, Italian and Greek.
He is co-author of a computer aided diagnostic assessment and profiling procedures (Special Needs Assessment Profile –SNAP) which has received three national award commendations and was winner of the Special Needs Category at the NASEN/TES book awards in Birmingham, UK in March 2006.
He has been invited to be external examiner at fifteen universities world wide for Ph D candidates and masters courses. He was a member of the British Dyslexia Association Teacher Training Accreditation Board from 1996-2007 and was also overseas patron for the Learning and Behaviour Charitable Trust in New Zealand. He is the international consultant for the Canadian Academy of Therapeutic Tutors.