The Internet provides a unique opportunity for scientists to be in direct contact with the public in order to promote citizens’ scientific literacy. Recently, Internet users have started to spend most of their online time on social networking sites (SNS). Knowledge of how these SNSs work as an arena for interaction, as well as for the development of scientific literacy, is important to guide sc...

The information society must be considered, above all, a society composed by people. For that reason, a social priority for the information society development should be centered in the acquisition of knowledge. To be included in the digital literacy means to have the technological capabilities that allow a person surviving in the information society. We try to offer real examples for the devel...

Young people are increasingly turning to the Internet more than to traditional media and information sources to find information. Yet, research demonstrates suboptimal online information literacy among youth today, suggesting potential shortcomings in young people’s information consumption behaviors. To assess this, this study investigates several predictors of young people’s success in online ...

This chapter discusses the changed nature of literacy within new communication contexts, the literacy that is needed for reading, viewing, responding to and producing multimodal and digital texts. Potentials for redesigning literacy pedagogy within new modes of communication are demonstrated for educational contexts. As a basis for this discussion, the author analyses classroom evidence using e...

Health literacy continues to experience the normal growing pains of an emerging field of inquiry and practice. The evolving concept of health literacy requires the development of new measurement tools in order to adequately study interventions and identify best practices. This article describes a multi-stage process of engaging the largest known international group of health literacy profession...

BACKGROUND A culture of health requires a commitment from all-individuals, families, communities, organizations, and municipalities-to value health and make decisions reflective of a healthy society. At the individual level, health literacy is a necessary precursor to assist individuals in achieving a higher level of health. METHOD One method for ensuring that staff members are routinely asse...

The effective, sustained implementation of literacy across the curriculum in secondary schools is still a relatively rare phenomenon. This is because such an approach to literacy requires secondary schools to undergo extensive and complex processes of school change, involving altering teachers’ thinking, attitudes and behaviour in relation to literacy and pedagogy, and establishing andmaintaini...

This research used PIRLS 2006 data to explore home factors that influence students’ motivation to read, as well as the relationship between student motivation and reading achievement. The research employed structural equation modeling to empirically test a theoretical model of student motivation to read and home factors that may influence motivation, including parental attitudes and behaviors, ...

Literacy is increasingly being thought of as a social practice with its use and understandings being context dependent. As an essential element within and of education, literacy offers possibilities for engaging in everyday life. Health literacy has emerged as a means to develop health-promoting practices that has meaning in social contexts. Reflecting biomedical interests, the focus of health ...