Provides examples & analysis of the negotiation of critical literacy in specific pedagogical sites (actual classrooms-elementary through adult). Practical classroom focus appropriate for teachers and professional development. International scope.

Contents: Preface. Part I: Critical From the Start: Examining Relations of Power in Textual Practices. A.H. Dyson, Relational Sense and Textual Sense in a U.S. Urban Classroom: The Contested Case of Emily, Girl Friend of a Ninja. U. Sahni, Children Appropriating Literacy: Empowerment Pedagogy From Young Children's Perspective. J. O'Brien, Children Reading Critically: A Local History. V. Vasquez, Constructing a Critical Curriculum With Young Children. Part II: Exploring Critical Literacies in Primary Schooling: Unresolved Questions. Y.M. Cheah, From Prescription to Participation: Moving From Functional to Critical Literacy in Singapore. A.M.Y. Lin, Resistance and Creativity in English Reading Lessons in Hong Kong. B. Bigelow, On the Road to Cultural Bias: A Critique of The Oregon Trail CD-ROM. B. Mellor, A. Patterson, Teaching Readings? Part III: Critical Literacies and Questions of Identity. H. Janks, Identity and Conflict in the Critical Literacy Classroom. P. Stein, Classrooms as Sites of Textual, Cultural, and Linguistic Reappropriation. W. Martino, "Dickheads, Wuses, and Faggots": Addressing Issues of Masculinity and Homophobia in the Critical Literacy Classroom. L. Cruddas, P. Watson, Ta(l)king Back: Dialogizing Authorship. Part IV: Tertiary Education as a Site for Critical Literacies. C. Wallace, Critical Literacy in the Second Language Classroom: Power and Control. J.W. Bell, Building Bridges/Making Meanings: Texts of Popular Culture and Critical Pedagogy in Theory and Practice. J. Clarence-Fincham, Responding to Academic Discourse: Developing Critical Literacy at a South African University. N. Wooldridge, Tensions and Ambiguities in Critical Literacy. B. Comber, Critical Literacies and Local Action: Teacher Knowledge and a 'New' Research Agenda.