How has literacy in schools developed?
There is a wide range of literature presenting the importance of developing strong literacy skills in order to prepare pupils for their future lives. Literacy is not just directly linked to employability, an evident area to which young people must bring the skill of effective communication, but also about functioning in day-to-day life, hence the term “functional literacy” (Gordon, 2007) . However I would also further link high literacy levels with research concerning literacy as inseparable from social justice and democracy (see Cox, cited in Gordon, 2007). If we are not able to communicate effectively with the world in which we live and thus contribute to decisions which affect our lives and those of the people around us then we are never able to fulfil our potential as global citizens.
In recent years the importance placed on the development on literacy in schools has increased significantly. Following a renewed focus on literacy in Primary schools caused by the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy (DfEE, 1998a), secondary schools similarly felt the impact with the Review of Secondary Education 1993-97 (DfEE, 1998b) a publication which was met with recognition regarding the developments in literacy which needed to be made by secondary schools (Lewis & Wray, 2000). However this focus on the importance of developing literacy skills in the literature can be linked back as far as the publication of the Bullock Report (Lewis & Wray, 2000), in which historical context outlines the deficiency in many adults’ command of the English Language.
Since the publication of the aforementioned strategies and reviews, many initiatives promoting literacy in secondary schools have been imp...
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...in recent years (Logan and Johnston, 2009), an issue which is of particular relevance when considering the aforementioned literature discussing boy’s reading habits and achievement. As such, this study’s aims to focus on boys’ literacy development, particularly considering reading for pleasure: namely the ways in which it is promoted and developed throughout the school, and the boys’ attitude and motivation towards this skill.
In order to gain data concerning both teachers’ and students’ viewpoints regarding the effectiveness of literacy strategies throughout the curriculum the main research methods employed in this study are interviews, questionnaires and focus groups. Following analysis of the data I will then discuss future recommendations for the school’s literacy initiatives and reflect on my own professional development in light of the findings.
For this assignment, I completed a survey to assess my school’s literacy program by using a survey that was adapted from by Patty, Maschoff, & Ransom (1996) to analyze the instructional program and the school’s infrastructure. To be able to answer my survey, I needed to go colleagues of mine in the English Department and to my administration to help with these questions. Being a math teacher, we hardly ever discuss the literacy and the students’ acquisition of it in our department meeting during staff development days. Since I am not truly current with literacy acquisition in education, I am hoping to understand more from this process so I can help all my students. I want them to be able to read texts related to math and find information that will be useful to them during the year.
Rassool, N. (2009) ‘Literacy: in Search of a Paradigm’ in Soler, J., Fletcher-Campbell, F. & Reid, G. (eds.) Understanding Difficulties in Literacy Development: Issues and Concepts, London, Sage, pp.7-31.
This detailed text provides an understanding of reading and writing through detailed case studies, reflective questioning and further reading; in addition to links with the Early Years Curriculum (EYFS)(DCSF, 2008) provide informative information accessible to both practitioner and parent. As pointed out by the authors, literacy relates to fifty % of the early learning goals, therefore highlights the importance by the practitioner to make the acquisition of literacy exciting and meaningful through a multitude of role play scenarios, stories, rhymes and oral language, thus providing opportunities for the child to put life experiences of literacy into context, while scaffolding existing knowledge.
“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity. Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.... Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man,
There are many different opinions as to ‘What is literacy?’ and ‘What are literacy difficulties?’ Rassool’s (2009) article looks at literacy from an interdisciplinary approach which demonstrates how multidimensional it is and how literacy should be considered in relation to ‘ideology, culture, knowledge and power’ (Rassool, 2009, p. 7). She looks at the question of ‘What is literacy?’ from the perspective of the individual and the broader issues which shape both government policy and the practice of the individual tutor. In this essay I shall look at Rassool’s multidisciplinary approach in contrast to the view that literacy is a technical skill which involves the cognitive skills of decoding of text and functional literacy is the ‘process and content of learning to read and write in preparation for work ...’ United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, cited in Rassool, 2009 p. 7). It is my belief that this multidisciplinary approach highlights the complexities of how difficult it is to define literacy in an age of new technologies. These different models of literacy affect the definition of literacy difficulties. Are they a deficit or deficiency in the cognitive skills needed to read and write as suggested by the cognitive and developmental psychologists or should we view them from a socio-cultural perspective as suggested by Green and Kostogriz (2002)? These questions are important as they will affect how literacy is taught. After considering the evidence available, it will be argued that the latter approach is more beneficial to the learner.
With such high numbers of adolescents falling below basic in reading, illiteracy is a battle that must be fought head on. The largest dilemma with the struggle is the number of variations that cause adolescents to become reluctant, unmotivated or struggling readers. Fortunately, a large number of strategies exist to encourage and strengthen readers of all ages, proving that adolescence is not a time to give up on faltering students. Rather, it is a time to evaluate and intervene in an effort to turn a reluctant reader into an avid one (or near enough). Ultimately, educators must learn to properly assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses (Curtis, 2009) and pair them with the proper intervention techniques. If one method does not work, countless others exist to take its place.
Literacy, as a concept, has been evolving during the last few decades, presenting itself as a more complex term to comprehend. The deeper understanding of this notion has made the process of learning it, a bigger and more elaborate challenge.
Literacy programs should be an integral component of every community. Not only do these programs serve adults and foreigners, but they also serve those that live with the problems of poverty throughout their daily lives. In 2000-2001, 15.7% of students missed 21 or more days during the school year. Students who miss many days of school because of illnesses beyond their control often fall behind in their studies. Many literacy programs help these students excel in what otherwise would have been a deficiency in their learning.
There are many complications that arise when seeking a single definition of literacy. The debate over what is literacy and what isn’t is one that is of critical importance to the education of our country’s students. When originally asked at the beginning of this course about what literacy is, my initial response was the ability to read and write. While I suppose my answer wasn’t wrong, it certainly wasn’t entirely right either. Reading and writing are certainly important aspects of any persons literacy and are therefore one of the reasons why schools test in these areas frequently. However, as the course progressed I came to understand that there maybe more to what I originally thought about what literacy is. I came to realize that coming up with a single definition would prove to be a tedious task since there now appeared to be so many things that can be considered literacy. Through reading articles pertaining to literacy and observing various settings where literacy is used, I have been able to come to a better understanding of what literacy is.
Pinto, L., Boler, M., & Norris, T. (2007). Literacy is Just Reading and Writing, isn't it? The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test and Its Press Coverage. Policy Futures in Education, 5(1), 84-99.
Literature is a key component when speaking of literacy. Teachers need to provide students with endless amounts of practice experiences in reading to build their fluency rate. This should be done with different genres of texts and different levels. Reading a wide variety of literature help children develop rich vocabularies.
While I believe every child is a reader, I do not believe every child will be enthralled with reading all the time. All students have the capability to read and enjoy reading, but just like any other hobby, interest will vary from student to student. The students in my classroom will be encouraged in their reading, be provided with choice, taught how books can take you into another world but, my students will not be forced to read. This paper will illustrate my philosophy of reading through the theories I relate to, the way I want to implement reading and writing curriculum, and the methods I will use motivate my students to read and help them become literate.
Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach. (5th ed., pp. 12-286). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Literacy is defined as “the ability to use available symbol systems that are fundamental to learning and teaching for the purposes of comprehending and composing, for the purposes of making and communicating meaning and knowledge” (Stock, 2012), and it is one of the most essential skills that an early year student will learn. Literacy serves to provide the building blocks for the continued knowledge acquisition and general education of individuals of all ages; by working to understand and identify how and why literacy is taught using the structured literacy block format in Australian schools, and in identifying the benefits of utilizing this type of tool for teaching literacy in student’s early years, it will be possible to gain a better understanding of the organization, planning, and teaching approaches that are used in a literacy block approach. A sample standard literacy block will be provided, offering the means of understanding the applications of the tool, which will serve to further stress the necessity of this tool’s usage.
In the field of literary reform, there are many problems that arise causing the reformation to be stalled or even halted. In addition to these issues, there are a variety of stakeholders that play key roles in combating these smaller issues that inhibit action on the more pressing one. Through careful research practices and evaluation of actions that stakeholders have previously undergone, a solution that better embraces the mission of these organizations can arise.