Distinguished Educators on Reading —
Abstract of

Toward an Ecologically Relevant Theory of Literacy Learning: Twenty Years of Inquiry

Brian Cambourne

Noted educator Brian Cambourne outlines the characteristics necessary for what he views as educationally relevant theory of literacy teaching and learning—namely,

• Internal consistency

• Ecological validity

• Theory-into-practice congruence

• Pragmatic coherence

• Transferability

• High success rate

The article is reprinted from the November 1995 issue of The Reading Teacher and is freely available online from http://dx.doi.org/10.1598/RT.49.3.1.

Cambourne, B. (2000). Toward an Ecologically Relevant Theory of Literacy Learning: Twenty Years of Inquiry. In N.D. Padak, T.V. Rasinski, J.K. Peck, B. Church, G. Fawcett, J. Hendershot, J.M. Henry, B. Moss, E. Pryor, K.A. Roskos, J.F. Baumann, D.R. Dillon, C.J. Hopkins, J.W. Humphrey, & D.G. O'Brien (Eds.), Distinguished Educators on Reading (pp. 47-66). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.