Dyslexia, Literacy and Inclusion

Sean MacBlain PhD is a distinguished author and academic  whose publications include: MacBlain (Sage, 2021) Children’s Learning in Early Childhood; MacBlain (Sage, 2020) Child Development for Teachers; MacBlain, Dunn and Luke (Sage, 2017) Contemporary Childhood;  Gray and MacBlain (Sage, 2015) Learning Theories in Childhood; MacBlain, Long and Dunn, (Sage, 2015) Dyslexia, Literacy and Inclusion: Child-centred Perspectives;  MacBlain (Sage, 2014) How Children Learn. Sean’s publications are used by students, practitioners and academics throughout the world and have been widely translated including into Chinese and Vietnamese. Sean was previously a senior academic at the University of St Mark & St John, Plymouth, England where he held the positions of Research lead for the Centre for Education and Applied Research, Research Lead for the Centre for Professional and Educational Research, Research Coordinator for the School of Education and Deputy Chair of the Ethics Committee. Sean has also worked as a Senior Lecturer in Education and Developmental Psychology at Stranmillis University College, Queen’s University Belfast. In addition to this, Sean has  worked for over twenty years as an educational psychologist and continues in this field as an independent practitioner.  Louise Long is a senior lecturer in education at Saint Mary’s University College Belfast where she coordinates a number of Masters’ modules in special educational needs and pastoral issues, as well as post-graduate programmes on child development. She is engaged in supervision of M-level research dissertations. Louise is a chartered educational psychologist and has previously worked as an Education and Library Board psychologist, primary school teacher and Further Education lecturer. She has just returned from a seconded post as assistant project manager (research) on a DE-funded project, which aimed to build capacity in literacy and dyslexia in Northern Irish primary schools. Louise’s research interests are in inclusive teacher learning, dyslexia and pupil well-being. She has published extensively in national and international peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to international books on teacher education. In the last five years Louise has procured funding for a number of research projects on inclusion and dyslexia.Jill Dunn is a senior lecturer in Stranmillis University College, Belfast.  She was a primary school teacher working in Foundation Stage and Key Stage One classrooms before moving into teacher education.   Jill teaches widely across the BEd and PGCE Early Years programmes.  However, her main interests lie in the teaching of literacy in the early years.  Jill has just completed her EdD in 2013 and her dissertation focused on children’s views on using popular culture to teach writing.  She has been involved in a number of funded research projects on literacy and is currently involved in an evaluation of iPads in the Early Years.  Jill lives in Lisburn, Northern Ireland with her husband Ian and two daughters Holly and Katy.

This book is a very valuable resource for a wide range of professionals (including student teachers and teachers) to better address the needs of pupils with dyslexia, including those in the Early Years. The authors give a very detailed  examination of dyslexia and the wider issues affecting the pupil, the family and society. Policies influencing the education of dyslexic pupils are discussed, as are major relevant issues such as poverty. Clear real life examples are well used to aid understanding and the structure of each chapter allows the reader to reflect on what they have  been reading through exercises, suggestions for further reading and useful websites and video material which are freely available.     The authors have presented a text which will not only assist anyone studying dyslexia but will help professionals to enhance their understanding and professional practice and thereby raise standards in pupils with dyslexia.

• SECTION 1: NEW HORIZONS FOR PUPILS WITH DYSLEXIAChapter 1: Changing experiences in childhood: challenges for the 21st Century, Sean MacBlainChapter 2: Child-centred literacy pathways: pupils’ perspectives, Louise LongChapter 3: Meeting the needs of children with dyslexia and developmental literacy difficulties: holistic approaches, Sean MacBlainSECTION 2: BUILDING CAPACITY TO RAISE LITERACY STANDARDS FOR CHILDREN WITH DYSLEXIA AND DEVELOPMENTAL LITERACY DIFFICULTIESChapter 4: Child-centred approaches to the identification and assessment of dyslexia and developmental literacy difficulties, Sean MacBlain and Louise LongChapter 5: Raising literacy standards: perspectives on best practice, Sean MacBlain, Louise Long and Jill DunnChapter 6: Advancing inclusive cultures for literacy learning in the mainstream primary school, Louise LongSECTION 3: LITERACY IN CONTEMPORARY SETTINGSChapter 7: New literacies in the classroom: forging culturally responsive curricula, Jill DunnContemporary Challenges: Looking to the Future, Sean MacBlain and Jill Dunn