Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual, and Special Education
Dr. Imelda Basurto
Kremen Education Building, Room 250
Phone: 559-278-0250
Email: ibasurto@csufresno.edu
Master of Arts in Reading
Program Philosophy. The Master of Arts in Reading, which includes the Reading and Literacy Added Authorization and Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential, is a practitioner-centered program focusing on the interdisciplinary study of literacy from a variety of critical and sociocultural perspectives. Through these perspectives we emphasize culture and language in literacy instruction. As a program, we follow the International Literacy Association’s definition of literacy as identifying, understanding, interpreting, creating, computing, and communicating with visual, audible, and digital materials across disciplines and contexts (2018). Skills like Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, Comprehension, as well as literary response and critique, and writing/composition, are developed through the lens of cultural experiences, the use of socially-situated practices, and culturally sustaining materials.
We believe all people are literate, and align with Kirkland (2013, p. xiv) who stated, “Literacy is a potential-complex, social, cultural, historical, and even political-that, like energy, is ever stored in the human bond. The practice of literacy is a release of this energy/potential, which always exists in every human’s ability/vocation to make sense of our world” (David Kirkland, 2013, p. xiv).
Program Description. The Master of Arts in Reading is designed to provide professional and specialized preparation for classroom and resource teachers and consultants; diagnosticians and supervisors in reading clinics, schools, and community colleges. It enables graduates to do consulting and editing for publishing companies and to pursue advanced graduate study in universities offering the doctoral degree.
Reading graduate courses are designed to help teachers learn how to make curricular decisions about teaching reading and how to meet the needs of students with varying language communication backgrounds. Students pursuing a degree or credential in Reading also learn to inspire other teachers to upgrade the reading/language/literacy abilities of students through demonstrations of effective reading and writing strategies.
Admission Requirements. In addition to the admission requirements listed in the Graduate Education Program section of this catalog, admission to the Master of Arts in Reading program requires a minimum of 2.75 GPA, a statement of purpose, and three letters of recommendation.
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