Many Pathways to Literacy

This article considers the potential for dissonance that one 12‐year‐old child (Clare) may experience as a text producer using new technologies, when working across a range of contexts. In this ongoing case study, two types of text are explored: a computer‐generated text produced as a homework task for school, and texts produced using an Internet‐based social network site called ‘Bebo’. Key features of Clare's text production in both contexts are identified and compared in an attempt to establish the dissonance that may be experienced as she switches from one context to another. However, by placing the texts alongside each other, it can be seen that although they look markedly different, the acts of composing the texts bear some significant resemblance. The article concludes by suggesting that experiences of dissonance in relation to text production may in fact be lodged more firmly with the recipient of any text, when it fails to meet their social, cultural and linguistic expectations, than with the child composer.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Clare's ‘Knightly Norman’ Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Formation Of Social Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dissonance between the digitally created words of school and home

Dowdall¹

2006

“…In Many Pathways to Literacy, Gregory et al () assert that peers, family members such as siblings and grandparents and community members play a vital role in language and literacy development for children. Interestingly, several children in our study also mentioned community members as critical contributors to college and career readiness.…”

Section: Acknowledging the Importance Of Family Community And Schoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

When I grow up: assessing American children's perspectives on college and career readiness through drawings

Turner

Albro

2017

College and career readiness has become a key educational priority in the United States. Framed by neoliberal discourses, current conceptions of college and career readiness narrowly define literacy as discrete sets of cognitive skills and curricular knowledge and reduce literacy learning to scores on high‐stakes assessments. To disrupt these neoliberal ideologies, we invited 24 American children in a summer reading programme to share their perspectives on college and career readiness. Twelve boys and 12 girls created a series of drawings depicting their dream careers, the people helping them achieve their career goals and the specific literacy skills they perceived as necessary for future career success. Afterwards, the children discussed the meanings of their drawings through interviews. Analyses revealed that American children visually represented and verbally articulated college and career readiness as (1) aspiring towards productive professional work, (2) envisioning complex professional literacy repertories and (3) acknowledging the importance of family, community and school in college and career preparation. Our findings urge American schools to shift from standardised, high‐stakes measures of college and career readiness towards multiple, learner‐oriented measures which make visible the creativity, critical thinking and communicative literacies that children will need to fulfill their personal and professional aspirations.

“…Furthermore, there is a notion that positive parenting practices are somehow being lost due to the fragmentation of the family and community cohesion (Alexander and Clyne, 1995), with family learning being seen as a medium for reconstructing parenting skills, contributing to a culture of blame laid at the feet of families, and particularly mothers. However, this ‘deficit’ model of family life, first challenged by Taylor (1983), is increasingly called into question by research that finds many positive practices, both educational and emotional, in families of all social, ethnic and cultural types (Gregory, 2004; Kenner, 2005).…”

Section: Family Learning Models In the Uk And Internationallymentioning

confidence: 99%

New insights into family learning for refugees: bonding, bridging and building transcultural capital

Hope¹

2011

For over 20 years, researchers and evaluators worldwide have criticised the traditional formula of family learning courses for their narrow vision, and have emphasised their potential to provide a bridge between home and school experiences, building on resources that parents already have, but which are unknown or unacknowledged. This article argues that research into family learning can usefully be linked to Bourdieu's theory of ‘symbolic capitals’ to acknowledge the stores of wealth that refugee families may possess, which can be activated in the new environment to create ‘transcultural capital’– a relatively new concept in the area of migration studies. Putnam's notions of bonding and bridging capital are also helpful in the design of family learning programmes to consider how best to stimulate social cohesion at the present time. An ethnographic study of a family learning course for refugee parents in two South London schools highlights the need for an understanding of the specific strengths and needs of refugee parents. However, this can only be achieved by taking time to find out about their existing networks, the experience that they bring with them, involving them in course design and delivery, and engaging in discussion about their plans for the future.