Critical and social literacy practices from the Scottish adult literacy experience: Resisting deficit approaches to learning

Jim Crowther, Lyn Tett

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Scotland provides an interesting context for studying adult literacy in that it is one of the few countries that explicitly acknowledge the idea of literacy as a social practice. By drawing on two initiatives we illustrate literacy learning derived from a mixture of social practice and critical literacy perspectives. Together they provide insights into how literacy may develop to challenge relationships of inequality and oppression. The role of the literacy tutor is critical to this process and needs to begin from a position which challenges the idea of literacy as a decontextualised, skill. To help learners question what it means to be literate, and to create genuinely empowering experiences, it is important to locate literacy in the wider social and political relations in which it is embedded.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)134-140
Number of pages7
JournalLiteracy
Volume45
Issue number3
Early online date24 Oct 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2011
Externally publishedYes

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