ABSTRACT
Over the years there has been continuous evidence of literacy problems. Because of increasing societal demands, the literacy standards in industrialized societies have become higher. Although the breadth of distribution of literacy has been greatly enlarged during the past century, literacy has become more and more urgent for individuals. Rapid social and technological changes have sharply increased the literacy demands on the citizen during the past decades. Meanwhile, economic crises have resulted in increased demands on literacy levels (Mikulecki, 1990; Verhoeven, 1993). Even with compulsory primary education, many people do not reach a level of competence in literacy sufficient to cope with everyday demands. Literacy problems appear to occur among various groups in society, both indigenous and nonindigenous, urban and rural. Substantial differences in literacy performance have been found as a function of children’s socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Literacy seems to be associated with unequal structures and poverty within societies throughout the world (e.g., Barton & Hamilton, 1990; Dave, Ouane, & Perera, 1988; Elley, chap. 11, this volume; Tanguiane, 1990). It turns out that there are large differences in the knowledge of, and the desire for, literacy among children entering school. In many cases, there is a mismatch between the linguistic abilities children bring to the classroom and the language and literacy curriculum at school.
