Cultural and Historical Contexts for Literacy |
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Changes in English education -- and the needs on which
those changes are based -- reflect changes in the larger society. For
example, language and literacy
are profoundly affected by economic and technological change, immigration,
and ethnic minority groups’ desires to retain some of their distinct characteristics
within the American melting pot.
This research looked outside classroom walls to understand the role of
home and community both in shaping literacy expectations and in supporting
literacy development. This set of studies examined various aspects of
literacy influences and acquisition within the community.
One examined how literacy demands have changed in the
twentieth century and captured that in:
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Literacy in American Lives, Deborah Brandt (Cambridge University Press, 2001). See books. |
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Literacy, Opportunity and Economic Change (Report, 1999) |
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The Sponsors of Literacy (Report, 1997) |
A second studied the development of literacy by a "non-literate" immigrant community:
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Literacy and L’Armee Clandestine: The Writings of the Hmong Military Scribes (Article, Hmong Studies Journal, 3, Winter 2000) |
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