Roberta Levitt

The Reading Habits and Literacy Attitudes of Inservice and Prospective Teachers Results of a Questionnaire Survey

This article describes a questionnaire survey of 747 students enrolled in a graduate school of education, who are currently teachers or prospective teachers. The Literacy Habits Questionnaire, developed by Applegate and Applegate, was administered in September 2006. Findings suggest a high prevalence of aliteracy, the ability to read but a disinterest in personal reading. Although graduate students acknowledge the importance of reading for teachers, they do not themselves exhibit investment in personal reading. Also, the findings suggest that professors of literacy and education need to do more to encourage personal reading by incorporating strategies to promote reading among current and future literacy professionals.

Freedom and Empowerment: A Transformative Pedagogy of Educational Reform

Based on Foucaults discourse on freedom and empowerment, this article addresses his understanding of power and knowledge. By critically examining the negative impact of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 on education, the author discusses the transformative power of Foucaults pedagogy for educational reform in which students, teachers, parents, and scholars are agents of change.

Equal Knowledge Is the Strong Root of Democratic Egalitarianism

Abstract This article considers how to bridge the achievement gap by showing that reading methodology influenced American educational philosophy, primary-grade curricula, and American schools. It considers the impact of the romantic movement on progressive education and notes that the current academic achievement gap has two roots. The first can be traced, in part, to the nonacademic excesses of progressivism in the early grades; the second to patterns of social disorganization. The article argues that schools can deal with each problem by returning to a more academic curriculum and by providing a more nurturing environment for students.

Professional Development: A Skills Approach to a Writing Workshop

In this era of globalization, students need to know how to write well. Faculty development needs to focus on assisting primary teachers as they prepare students for a twenty-first-century world. Strategic curriculum reform and professional development can be achieved by partnerships between district administrators and professional consultants. Two university professors introduced writing workshop in the classrooms of skills-oriented first grade educators. The teachers’ new methodology encouraged students to produce writing that originated from their classroom and life experiences. After the professional development, the teachers devised a month-by-month skill and genre chart to guide their instruction in the following year.