Focusing on literacy studies, the book provides a comprehensive overview of significant theories and their practical applications in primary education. It aims to make complex concepts accessible for educators, emphasizing the importance of these theories in enhancing literacy teaching and learning in the classroom.
This revised edition of Literacy as Snake Oil further investigates and critiques the commodification of literacy and education. Since the publication of the first edition, schools in the U.S. have been targeted even more as a market for private companies seeking to profit from the surveillance of NCLB (No Child Left Behind). Three chapters have been added: one that deals with the reproduction of racialized spaces during a textbook adoption, an analysis of America's Choice by a classroom teacher, and an analysis of the U.K.'s literacy strategy. This book will inspire teachers to remember their political commitments to resist oppression and unethical practice and find ways to subvert teacher- (and student-) proof packages.
Joanne Larson explores fundamental questions regarding the nature and purpose of education, advocating for a comprehensive overhaul of the American schooling system. She presents a framework that includes theoretical, curricular, pedagogical, and assessment principles aimed at reshaping education from preschool through higher education, emphasizing the need for a fresh approach to learning and teaching.