Critical Issues: Literacy and Educational Policy: Part Three

Abstract

This installment of JLR's Critical Issues section is the final part of a three-part series on literacy and educational policy. We are especially pleased to publish the following responses, by three highly qualified policymakers, to the views expressed in Part 1 of this series (see Volume 28, Number 2). In Part 1, Judith Green with Carol Dixon, David Pearson, and Sharon Quint commented respectively on the ideas they believed to be crucial for policymakers to know about literacy from their perspectives as literacy researchers. At the same time, we published Donna Alvermann's reaction to the views of the three researchers, also from her perspective as a literacy researcher. As substantiated by their brief biographies at the beginning of this issue, Emerson J. Elliott, Gary K. Hart, and Marshall S. Smith are imminently qualified to write a response to the researchers' views from the perspective of those who are intimately involved with educational policy at the highest levels. We are especially gratified that these busy public officials consented to share their views in a forum of interest primarily to literacy researchers. We believe their willingness to do so bodes well for the future of a constructive dialogue between the literacy research and educational policy communities. Combined with Patrick Shannon's consideration of literacy and poverty in Part 2 of this series (see Volume 28, Number 3), we hope that this series has stimulated more attention about issues related to literacy research and educational policy. We encourage readers to ponder the perspectives and ideas presented in this series and to consider adding their own insights by submitting letters to the editor, which will be considered for future publication.