Literacy development of low-achieving adolescents: The role of engagement in academic reading and writing

Worldwide many youth experience difficulties in understanding what they read and in producing comprehensible texts. These findings are alarming because youth need strong reading and writing skills to be successful at school, in future professions and as citizens of modern society. The observed difficulties call the literacy development of adolescents into question, and particularly of the lowest achievers. Do these students make progress through the secondary grades? And, what relevant differences in literacy development exist among them? To enhance our knowledge of this issue, the studies presented in this book are focused on the literacy development of low-achieving adolescents.
The results give unique insights in how low-achieving adolescents value and deal with challenging academic literacy tasks, the progression they make through the grades, and the differences that exist among them. They also suggest an agenda for instruction aiming at enhancing literacy development of low-achieving adolescents.