Introduction to the 2020 special issue for the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia (ARWA)

Abstract

This special issue features four selected papers presented at the fourth annual conference of the Association for Reading and Writing in Asia (ARWA) conference. In line with the aim of ARWA, the conference brought together researchers to discuss issues surrounding literacy development of typical and atypical learners and support collaborations addressing critical issues in education across Asia. In this introduction to the special issue, we outline how the four studies explore different perspectives (i.e., cognitive-linguistic, psychological, and environmental) as applied to investigations on reading and writing among Asian children from different language and learning backgrounds. We also briefly discuss how findings across studies provide directions for future research in this part of the world where literacy research is gaining traction.Becoming literate begins with the ability to read and spell (Ehri, 1987). However, the process of learning to read and write is not always a straightforward task for children, especially for those who are required to learn more than one language (Bialystok et al., 2005). Pertaining to reading, early, hallmark reading theories such as the Simple View of Reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) have emphasized the importance of cognitive factors in reading. These factors are broadly categorized into two interdependent components, namely, decoding and language comprehension. In the last few decades, research that examine the contributions of decoding and language comprehension skills have been forthcoming and have shaped reading instruction to a large extent (e.g., Language and Reading Research Consortium & Chiu, 2018).Building on their predecessors, more recent reading models such as the Componential Model of Reading (Aaron et al., 2008) advocate that in addition to cognitive factors, reading is explained by psychological and ecological factors. This expanded view of reading is welcomed as it encourages greater integration of prevailing theories, such as the Home Literacy Model (Sénéchal & LeFevre, 2002, 2014 and intrinsic-extrinsic theory of reading motivation (Wang & Guthrie, 2004) that This work was undertaken when Poh Wee Koh was assistant professor at Texas A & M University.