Research Domain 2:
Literacy
“Literacy is not just the responsibility of the English classroom but needs to be taught and reinforced across all content areas to ensure students can read, write, and think critically in every subject.”
Shanahan & Shanahan, in Teaching Disciplary Literacy to Adolescents (2008)
Our Purpose
The aim of these projects is to strengthen literacy outcomes through evidence-informed research that enhances teaching practice, builds learner confidence and self-efficacy, and develops the foundational literacy skills students need across the curriculum to achieve qualification success and thrive as capable, effective communicators.
Rationale
Literacy is the cornerstone of learning. Strong literacy skills enable students to access, engage with, and express ideas across all areas of the curriculum. Research consistently shows that literacy proficiency is a key predictor of academic achievement, long-term educational success, and active participation in society (Snow, 2016; OECD, 2021).
Evidence-informed literacy instruction that explicitly teaches the knowledge, skills, and strategies for reading, writing, and oral communication creates equitable opportunities for all ākonga to succeed. This includes developing vocabulary, comprehension, critical thinking, and the ability to adapt communication to purpose, audience, and context (Graham et al., 2018; Shanahan et al., 2020).
This strand of our research centre supports projects that identify, trial, and refine literacy practices across the school. Through collaboration and professional inquiry, teachers make effective literacy instruction visible, measurable, and transferable across learning areas — building a coherent, consistent approach that benefits all learners.
Research Questions
Potential projects may explore questions such as:
Articles and Publications
