Discovering the literacy gap: A systematic review of reading and writing theories in research

Figures & data

Table 1. Theories included in coding scheme, with brief definitions

Theoretical category	Theoretical sub-category	Brief definition (from Alvermann et al., 2013)
Constructivism	Schema	Cognitive patterns of thought and knowledge that help people remember and retrieve information
	Psycholinguistic	The unlimited variety of sentences and lexical structures people can create and use to predict word patterns as they read or write
Social constructivism		People learn through social interactions and are influenced by the environment
Transactional		Texts do not carry meaning until a reader or writer interacts with them and infinitely many transactions exist which can change each time a reader or write interacts with the text
Information processing	Gough	Bottom-up approach to reading that emphasizes the grapheme input into the reader’s visual system
	LaBerge-Samuels	Focuses on automaticity of sight words that allows for higher order thinking and processing skills
	Rumelhart	Combines top-down and bottom-up processing of words in that reader’s take in visual cues about words then apply sight word knowledge or decoding to reading
	Construction-integration	Literacy exists at the micro-level, individual words, and the macro-level, semantic understanding
	Dual-coding	Readers use one of two pathways to read a word—decoding or sight words—and each pathway has distinct processes involved in reading
	Simple view of reading	Comprehension X Decoding = Reading; both comprehension and decoding are essential processes to effective reading
Sociocultural perspective		People primarily learn through social interactions and more knowledgeable others (MKO) to increase their zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Sociocognitive		People learn from creating personal goals and can learn either by personal application or observation of others in the environment
Structuralism		Underlying cognitive structures determine the functions of the brain and processes of literacy
Motivation theory		People want to learn due to efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, or social factors
Reader response theory		Like transactional theory, readers must interact with the text for it to carry meaning; however, this theory emphasizes the reader over the text
Third space theory		People’s individualized experiences, primarily those that are oppressive in nature, influence, shape, and determine their literacy comprehension

Table 2. Theories included in published articles with inter-rater reliability

Theory	Primary implicit	Primary explicit	Secondary implicit	Secondary explicit	Total	Inter-rater reliability
Sociocultural	5 (22.7%)	8 (36.6%)	5 (22.7%)	4 (18.2%)	22 (57.9%)	74%
Reading Motivation	3 (13.0%)	6 (26.1%)	14 (60.9%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (60.5%)	87%
Sociocognitive	4 (26.7%)	7 (46.7%)	3 (20%)	1 (6.7%)	15 (39.5%)	84%
Social Construction	2 (22.2%)	4 (18.2%)	2 (22.2%)	1 (11.1%)	9 (23.9%)	97%
Schema	1 (25.0%)	1 (25.0%)	1 (25.0%)	1 (25.0%)	4 (10.5%)	97%
Transactional	2 (50.0%)	1 (25.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (25.0%)	4 (10.5%)	97%
Construction-integration	1 (25.0%)	2 (50.0%)	1 (25.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (10.5%)	97%
Dual-coding	1 (50.0%)	1 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (5.3%)	100%
Structuralism	0 (0.0%)	1 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (50.0%)	2 (5.3%)	94%
Reader Response	0 (0.0%)	1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.6%)	100%
Third space	0 (0.0%)	1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.6%)	100%
Overall reliability						93.36%

Alvermann, D. E., Unrau, N. J., & Ruddell, R. B. (Eds.). (2013). Theoretical models and processes of reading (6th ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

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