The social construction of literacy

Abstract

This book presents a social perspective on literacy and on its acquisition. The term 'literacy' is notoriously vague, and in the opening chapter of this collection, Jenny Cook-Gumperz examines the historical background which came to equate 'universal literacy' with the resolution of society's ills, and questions why, when this objective has been so nearly realised in Western society, some people are clearly considered more 'literate' than others. The central thesis of the book is that literacy is now equated with school performance, but that educational assessments of literacy are often woefully inadequate. The empirical studies of classroom life that form the core of the book examine classroom interactions in a variety of settings and tellingly illustrate the need for students to acquire discourse strategies that are socially 'approved'. The volume as a whole presents a new perspective on literacy acquisition - as not simply a cognitive process but a socially and communicatively based skill. The original methodological approach provides for a fine tuned analysis that increases our understanding of communicative interaction in general and has wide ranging implications for educational theory and practice.