Literacy in Theory and PracticeThis book challenges conventional theories about literacy, and the practices which often arise from them. It attempts to provide a new perspective through which the variety of literacy practices across different cultures can be viewed and from which the practical issues that arise in specific literacy campaigns and programmes can be approached. Dr Street first examines the explicit theories developed about literacy within different academic disciplines, on the premise that these underlie statements about literacy within development campaigns and in everyday usage. He analyses in detail arguments about the 'technical' and 'neutral' nature of literacy and its supposed 'cognitive' consequences in the work of some psychologists, linguists and social anthropologists. He claims that these amount to a coherent but flawed model that he terms the 'autonomous' model of literacy. Against this he poses an 'ideological' model, one which pays greater attention to the social structure. He attempts to bring together recent shifts in this direction in writings on literacy and to construct a coherent model for further work. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 43
Page
... question of the significance of literacy in human societies : it will assess its importance for political , economic , social and cultural development , and examine how what we take to be the common functions of writing are carried out ...
... question of the significance of literacy in human societies : it will assess its importance for political , economic , social and cultural development , and examine how what we take to be the common functions of writing are carried out ...
Page
... question these assumptions , to open up what is taken for granted about literacy , and to assert the need for the practitioners cited above to apply as much rigour to the description and analysis of literacy as they do to their own ...
... question these assumptions , to open up what is taken for granted about literacy , and to assert the need for the practitioners cited above to apply as much rigour to the description and analysis of literacy as they do to their own ...
Page 3
... questions of both a sociological and practical kind . Are there , for instance , any significant general or universal patterns in the practices associated with literacy in different cultures ? What concrete practices and ideological ...
... questions of both a sociological and practical kind . Are there , for instance , any significant general or universal patterns in the practices associated with literacy in different cultures ? What concrete practices and ideological ...
Page 5
... question of literacy . This implicit acceptance leads , I argue , to problems not only in the representations of literacy itself made by these anthropologists but also in their more general accounts of social change , religious thought ...
... question of literacy . This implicit acceptance leads , I argue , to problems not only in the representations of literacy itself made by these anthropologists but also in their more general accounts of social change , religious thought ...
Page 6
... question the early assumptions of the discipline with regard to literacy and to cast doubt on the ' autonomous ' model . Writers in other areas , however , have continued to use these assumptions as though they were secure and certain ...
... question the early assumptions of the discipline with regard to literacy and to cast doubt on the ' autonomous ' model . Writers in other areas , however , have continued to use these assumptions as though they were secure and certain ...
Contents
The Autonomous Model I Literacy and Rationality | 19 |
The Autonomous Model II Goody | 44 |
Literacy and Linguistics | 66 |
The Ideological Model | 95 |
Introduction | 129 |
Maktab Literacy | 132 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
abstract academic adult literacy ALBSU anthropologists appear argue argument associated assumptions attempt autonomous challenge Cheshmeh claims Clanchy classical Greece cognitive commercial communication concepts consequences of literacy context conventions culture described Dinka language economic English establish ethnocentric explicit fact forms of literacy framework functions Goody Goody's Graff Greenfield groups Hadith Hildyard and Olson ibid illiterate individual instance institutions intellectual involved Iran Iranian Islamic kind knowledge Koran learning linguistic literacy campaigns literacy practices literacy programmes literacy skills literate modes logic Lyons maktab Mashad meaning model of literacy mullah neutral Nicaragua non-literate objectivity oral and literate orchards organisation paralinguistic Parry particular political and ideological problems recognise relation represented scientific significant simply social society speech structure suggests tajers Tanzania teachers teaching theory tion tradition Unesco unschooled Vai script village western Wolof words written forms written language