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13 - Genetics and Literacy Development

from Part II - Neurobiological and Ecological Markers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2023

By
Elena L. Grigorenko
Edited by
Ludo Verhoeven ,
Sonali Nag ,
Charles Perfetti  and
Kenneth Pugh
Ludo Verhoeven
Affiliation:
Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
Sonali Nag
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Charles Perfetti
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Kenneth Pugh
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
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Summary

The spread of literacy throughout the world made it necessary to develop a systematic (stage-based) and effective (quick and inexpensive) way of teaching reading that could be delivered to many (different) people simultaneously with the use of the ever-changing textures of reading. In this chapter, it will be shown that all of these considerations, when contemplated holistically, define the parameters of the genetic system that is the foundation of literacy in general and (a)typical reading and writing in particular. Yet it is a distal one, with the proximal foundation being the brain. It will be concluded that the genetic bases of (a)typical reading and writing is nothing more than the genetic bases of a brain that, pressured by the demands and opportunities imposed by modern society, has turned itself into a reading and writing (i.e., literate) brain.

Keywords

geneticsliteracyreading disabilitiesgenetic riskdevelopment

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Global Variation in Literacy Development , pp. 292 - 315
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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