ABSTRACT
In this chapter, teacher education and research in literacy are viewed through a demographic lens that recognizes the racial, ethnic, and linguistic breadth that characterizes children and youth in schools today. Such a lens brings into focus the need for an expansion of methods beyond those that have historically constrained the literacy field. The chapter begins by exploring the paradox between the evolving demography of student populations and the static demography of the teaching population, and examines how this paradox interacts with literacy outcomes and policy. From there, the focus moves to literacy teacher education, with attention to the content and methods of preparing teachers for engaging with the diverse and variable contexts of today’s schools. Next, the demographic lens is trained on representation of both participants and researchers over time in literacy research, and on the methodological approaches that are used to make research-to-practice inferences. Ultimately, in order to keep pace with demographic realities, literacy education and research must be more inclusive, drawing on a broad range of methodological approaches that appropriately represent the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity student populations in today’s schools.
