The attribution of low literacy levels among Gypsy children to difficulties of access to schools neglects underlying sociocultural explanations. There has been little analysis in reports/studies of Gypsy attitudes toward literacy, nor of outcomes of acquisition. Informed by new literacy theory and by the discourse of previous ethnographic studies, and by acculturation theories, this article draws on findings from an ethnographic study of English Gypsies (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000), and data from a follow-up study, involving original and additional participants (2005)(2006). The article explores attitudes across age groups, highlighting social reasons for resistance to literacy, and argues that policy makers should consider effects on group membership and ways in which formal literacy can constitute a mechanism for disempowerment. KEYWORDS: acculturation, group boundaries, Gypsies, integration, literacy A n ontological perspective regards learning as constituting issues of identity as well as knowledge, and inevitably, this involves social identification (Lave, 1993;Packer, 2001;Wenger, 1998). Often perceived as a means of empowering the disempowered, the commitment of educators to improve literacy levels of individuals from marginalised groups tends to overlook the wider social and cultural repercussions. At the same time, it also serves to reify schooled notions of literacy, when literacy actually needs to be considered in its wider social, cultural, historical, economic, and political contexts (Barton, 1994;Gee, 2000). American Educational Research JournalWinter 2007, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 1-35 MARTIN P. LEVINSON is a lecturer at the School of Education, University of Exeter, St Luke's Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, Devon, England, EX1 2LU; e-mail: m.p. Levinson@exeter.ac.uk. His research background is in ethnographic investigation of marginal groups. His work crosses disciplinary boundaries, drawing on theories from education, cultural studies, sociology, social psychology, and anthropology. His interest in the area of Gypsy/Romani studies arose from professional experience teaching in mainstream (secondary) schools, as well as from extensive traveling, during which time he came into contact with Roma groups.

The policy to integrate English Gypsy children in schools tends to overlook the difficulties facing such youngsters in their attempts to negotiate between contrasting practices and values at home and school. Contradictions between such practices/value systems at home and school entail not only knowledge/skills, but also differing modes of instruction/transmission. Informed by learning theories and New Literacy discourse, along with evidence from previous accounts of Romani learning practices in the home context, this article draws on findings from an ethnographic study of English Gypsies (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000), and data from a follow-up study, involving original and additional participants . The article explores attitudes across age-groups, outlining, in particular, the knowledge/skill base valued in the home setting, highlighting the mismatch between home and school expectations, and the difference of expectation in child-adult relations in each context. It argues that policy-makers need to consider the wider impact of school education on identity and group membership.

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Drawing on data from a three-and-a-half-year ethnographic study of Gypsy life in England, this article explores the orientations of Gypsy children toward play and the way in which play operates to affirm a separate identity and enforce boundaries. The apparently uncontrolled, and at times destructive, behavior of Gypsy children in a social/play context has been perceived by some observers as a barrier to educational progress. To illustrate and explore some of these themes, a number of vignettes are provided, through which patterns of play behavior are considered in different contexts, structured and unstructured, in home and school settings. Throughout the discussion, there is a search for sociocultural interpretations of play patterns that appear to differ from norms of the mainstream group, and an attempt is made to consider ways in which such patterns might fill a vacuum created by the erosion of traditional identity markers.