Disciplinary Literacy and Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Abstract

This review is a report of selected literature on theory, research, and practice in disciplinary literacy, primarily reading. To reflect the theme of this issue of the Journal of Education, the authors consider the ways this literature can be viewed through the lens of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) (Shulman, 1986) which includes: “subject matter content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and curricular knowledge” (p. 9). Given the need for con tent area teachers to understand the complexities of the reading process when designing a curriculum in which reading is fundamental to the learners' acquisition of knowledge, this process is considered to be the “curricular” focus. Although each of these forms of knowledge is the subject of particular sections of the report, we concur with Shulman (1987) in noting that the ultimate task of the teacher is “blending” (p. 8) all the forms of knowledge in the service of effective instruction. This article was written, in particular, for practitioners and teacher educators who have responded to the recent focus on disciplinary literacy.