5 Defining literacy and illiteracy
As you will find as you read around the subject, many readings highlight the difficulties in defining what is literacy and therefore what is non-literacy or illiteracy. Another key point is that decoding print is a key aspect of literacy but not the only focus. The literature surrounding ‘literacy for all’ initiatives has presented arguments and evidence that programmes designed to promote literacy inclusion also need to take into account the fact that literacy is more than a set of skills. Literacy must also be viewed as being grounded in wider cultural, social and political contexts.
Historically, educationalists focused on reading and writing instruction rather than teaching literacy. Literacy was not usually associated with skills, and describing a person as being ‘literate’ referred to someone familiar with the canon of English literature (or ‘western canon’) rather than a person who could effectively read print (see, for example, Mathieson, 1975; Williams, 1965). By the middle of the 20th century, however, the influence of psychometrics and psycholinguistics on literacy education had led to a change of emphasis from ‘becoming literate’ to a focus on teaching the technical skills associated with ‘reading’, that is how to decode and encode printed text.
The development of adult literacy programmes in the 1970s brought alternative approaches and conceptualisations of how to tackle literacy teaching. Paulo Freire and other literacy educators in South American countries and Cuba demonstrated the importance of developing literacy programmes which enabled the groups of adults they worked with to become socially and politically empowered. These adults would then be able to act on and bring about changes and address injustices in the situations that they faced in their everyday lives.
Activity 4
1. Make some notes on how you would explain the terms below:
- literacy
- illiteracy
- literacy difficulties
- functional literacy
- critical literacy
- the western canon
- printed text
- phonology
- orthography
- semantics
- syntax
- morphology.
3. Do an online search to check how specialists working in literacy fields and literacy-related research areas have defined the terms listed in Question 1. Record these definitions beside your initial definitions.
4. Make a note on how you think you are progressing in developing an understanding of these and other key terms that are addressed so far in this course.
Discussion
In this activity, we have asked you to think about literacy and concepts commonly related to literacy teaching. You may have already encountered concepts such as phonology and semantics, literacy and illiteracy in your professional practice if you work with literacy programmes. We also asked you to explain functional literacy, critical literacy and the concept of a western canon, and to investigate how these concepts are used in the literature. You will now probably be aware that an individual who is described as ‘functionally literate’ has very basic reading and writing skills. Similarly, if functional literacy is the stated aim of a literacy programme, policy or assessment, the emphasis is on teaching and assessing basic technical literacy skills. This is often at the level of being able to decode text and write simple instructions, etc.
The public perception of literacy is often that many adults are illiterate and that the numbers are much higher than they were in the past. After the reading you have done so far in this course, you may have decided that assessing how many people are illiterate is not a straightforward task. You may want to query the assumptions, definitions and statistics you meet in relation to literacy and illiteracy in the research literature as well as media reports. As Roberts (1995) indicates, the definitions of ‘illiteracy’ are often ambiguous and have varied through time. Also, as both Roberts (1995) and Payne (2006) point out, agreeing on what is illiteracy and the rates of illiteracy has been influenced by political agendas and different accounts by vested interest groups in relation to what can be considered as literacy, what is being literate, and what counts as being illiterate. Both Roberts and Payne highlight how defining literacy is complex and relates to a number of factors. For example, Payne (2006) notes that when the term ‘illiterate’ is used in the media, it mostly refers to a particular view of literacy, that is, adults being ‘functionally illiterate’. The emphasis from this viewpoint is, therefore, on ‘literacy basics’, literacy skills and the decoding and functional writing of text.
Activity 5
Ask a friend or colleague:
- what they think literacy is
- what they think functional literacy is
- what level of literacy they think individuals need to acquire
- how do we know who is literate and who is not literate?
Discussion
You may have noticed the limited nature of the conceptualisation of literacy in the media and in government policy. If you discussed this activity with others, you may also have encountered the argument that quantitative statistics and concise qualitative definitions are essential, even if they can be prescriptive. Moreover, you may have argued or have heard the argument that the emphasis should be on functional literacy rather than other aspects. Without this focus, illiterate individuals will be disadvantaged because they do not have the skills to become literate and function in society. However, as Payne (2006) counterargues, decoding the printed word is ‘not the only way to function in society’ (p. 229).
It could be argued that definitions and the extent of literacy and illiteracy must be definitive and quantifiable if we are to identify and address social justice and equity issues in society. However, even though it may suit us to want something measurable to enable us to address these issues, trying to quantify and define literacy is problematic. As Roberts (1995) argues, the danger is that the definitions and statistics, although seemingly straightforward and extremely helpful, can in fact be used by particular groups to further their own agendas and ideals about what literacy is for and how it should be used.
You may have also noted disagreement about the implications arising from the different views of literacy. Some people maintain that the focus should be on teaching functional literacy skills to support individuals and help them become part of a community of learners. Others consider that it is more important to take a wider view of literacy to ensure that learners became engaged and able to use literacy in their lives. There are also differences of opinion on the extent to which literacy can be seen to be an individual problem or is used to define a group of individuals as a problem. As you progress through this course, you will need to consider how you will decide to define literacy and why you will define literacy in this way.
Although acknowledging the complexities and difficulties in defining literacy, Roberts concludes that ‘The pluralist perspective, while not without its difficulties, appears to have the most to offer in understanding literacy in the contemporary world’ (1995, p. 412). This implies that the stance you take in relation to defining concepts such as literacy will, in turn, shape how you view inclusive practice in relation to supporting literacy development. For example, if you see literacy as complex and multifaceted or as a neatly defined and quantifiable unitary phenomenon, your choice will, in turn, inform how you will view, think about and engage in inclusive and literacy-related practices.