The New Dynamic and Shifting Approaches Literacy and Language in East Asia

Factors associated with early literacy and numeracy development among children under five years in Bangladesh: multivariate two-level mixed effect approach

“…Early literacy skills are the fundamental abilities and information that readers require to progress in their literacy development (Roberts et al. , 2005; Kell and Kell, 2014). Many experts report these early skills as the start of a developmental continuum that begins at a young age and continues through school (Canfield et al.…”

Home Literacy and Numeracy Environments in Asia

“…Whereas the cultural practices of a specific place shape its citizens, cultural practices may be reproduced or transformed upon agreement within a particular group, and this mechanism can operate at societal, community, and family levels ( Miller and Goodnow, 1995 ). Literacy (which can broadly include reading, mathematical, as well as scientific literacies) is one kind of cultural practices, and it can be conceptualized as the skills necessary for a specific place at a particular time point to meet certain purposes ( Street, 1993 ; Kell and Kell, 2014 ). In any place, (a) certain kind(s) of literacy (e.g., a specific language) may be more privileged over others, and it can maintain its dominant position through the government policies, school curricula, and/or pedagogies advocated ( Kell and Kell, 2014 ).…”

“…Literacy (which can broadly include reading, mathematical, as well as scientific literacies) is one kind of cultural practices, and it can be conceptualized as the skills necessary for a specific place at a particular time point to meet certain purposes ( Street, 1993 ; Kell and Kell, 2014 ). In any place, (a) certain kind(s) of literacy (e.g., a specific language) may be more privileged over others, and it can maintain its dominant position through the government policies, school curricula, and/or pedagogies advocated ( Kell and Kell, 2014 ). In light of the above, joint parent-child literacy and numeracy activities have the potential to contribute to children’s acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills; however, the content of the activities and the knowledge derived from the activities may vary across families, communities, and the wider sociocultural contexts.…”

“…In numerous places, children are supported in learning two or more languages from the early grades ( Joshi, 2015 ; Adamson, 2018 ; Wang, 2018 ). For example, in Singapore, English has been adopted as the major language of instruction in schools, so as to prevent the dominant ethnic Chinese there from being privileged and ensure opportunities (including educational and social ones) for all children; and each child is taught their mother tongue as a second language ( Kell and Kell, 2014 ). Broadly speaking, most Asian societies are collectivistic in nature: Support among extended family members is common, and members within the society feel some responsibility for one another ( Hofstede, 2001 ; Hofstede et al, 2010 ).…”

“…In line with these observations, children in some of these places (e.g., Hong Kong, Macao, Korea, Japan, and Singapore) tend to excel in international assessment studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS; Mullis et al, 2016 , 2017 ; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020 ). These assessment results, however, have to be interpreted with caution, because the “local” language used for test administration is determined by the gatekeepers, and such “privileged” language may not be the first language of all children living in a place ( Kell and Kell, 2014 ). Despite the above, cultural diversities can exist across and within territories in each sub-region ( Miller and Goodnow, 1995 ).…”