AcknowledgmentsList of Tables and FiguresList of AbbreviationsIntroduction: International Concerns and Controversies1Ch. 1Expanding the Dimensions of World Literacy9Ch. 2Children's Learning and the New English Curriculum31Ch. 3The Ecology of Sense-making: The Literacy-learner's Dilemma46Ch. 4The Avon Collaborative Reading Study62Ch. 5Writing Systems in Different Languages: A Factor Affecting Literacy Standards?70Ch. 6'Equal-Plus': A New Initial-teaching Orthography88Ch. 7Defining the Reading Domain: Is a Curriculum Definition Sufficient to Establish a Standard?107Ch. 8A Framework for Literacy Assessment121Ch. 9Reading Standards at Key Stage 1 in Schools in England and Wales: Aspiration and Evidence135Ch. 10Teachers as Participants in the National Reading Examinations155Ch. 11A Comparison of Teacher Strategies, Aims and Activities in Two Countries Participating in the IEA Reading-literacy Study162Ch. 12The IEA Study of Reading Literacy186Notes on Contributors208Index212