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50 Years of Literacy Research and Instruction: 1961–2011

The purpose of this study was to identify trends and issues in 50 years of research in Literacy Research and Instruction, the journal of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER). For the 1,099 articles examined, the authors, methods, participants, and topics were recorded. A trend was noted toward multiple authorship and from non-research to research articles, especially qualitative. The most studied populations were teachers, elementary grade students, and struggling readers. The most studied topics were comprehension, teacher practices, and assessment. Focus on writing, struggling readers, preservice teacher education, technology, and culture/English learners (ELs) increased across the decades. Focus on word identification, vocabulary, and readability declined. Comparisons with Literacy Research Association publications showed similar results. A discussion of the results in historical context by decade is also presented.