This volume brings together a number of people professionally engaged in the study of literacy‎,‎ either because they are teachers or teacher educators of language and literacy‎,‎ or because they are involved as social and/or educational workers researching or providing programs to address the needs of people at risk because of inadequate literacy skills‎.‎ It thus sets up a dialogue between these two communities of writers‎,‎ all bringing different perspectives to the issues‎,‎ some from the context of Literacy Education‎,‎ others from the context of Social Work‎.‎ All are committed to the view that provision of effective literacy programs is a matter of equity and social justice‎,‎ though the ways in which they address such a view can differ‎.‎ Issues addressed include‎:‎ the changing nature of literacy in the modern world‎;‎ the impact of the multimodal environment in which literacy now functions‎;‎ the implications of this environment for pedagogical practices in the teaching of literacy‎;‎ the causes and consequences of social disadvantage in learning literacy amo‎.‎‎.‎‎.‎