Identity, Social Class and Learning in the Bottom Reading Group [Hardcover]

1. Ability-Grouped Reading

2. Socio-Political and Emotional Landscapes of Ability-Grouped Reading

3. A Feeling for Reading

4. Social Positioning in Hierarchical Reading Groups

5. How Class Matters in Classroom Reading Hierarchies???

6. Print Reading Difficulties and Ability-Grouped Reading

7. Disrupting School-Based Literacy Hierarchies

8. Conclusions

Drawing on a rich ethnographic study of three primary classrooms, this book reopens a critical inquiry into ability-grouped reading that has been quiet since the 1990s, when guided reading in literacy education became established practice in the UK and the US.

Identity, Social Class and Learning in the Bottom Reading Group?is an eloquent and beautifully written account of the negative impact of ability grouping. It brings to life the voices of a largely unheard group, revealing the damage inflicted on children, as well as providing practical, research-informed ways?of making teaching and learning fairer.?

Prof. Diane Reay, University of Cambridge, UK

A fascinating and important book about disrupting reading hierarchies. Through it, Jess Anderson details childrens perspectives on being in the bottom reading group, considers how ability-grouped reading reproduces social inequalities, and offers layered evidence that mixed ability grouping affords more scope and hope for young readers. A valuable read for all educators.

Prof. Teresa Cremin, The Open University, UK

Jess Anderson is a post-doctoral fellow in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Stirling. A primary teacher and teacher educator for many years, she brings a practitioner llC‘