Publisher's Synopsis
In recent years, however, a much more radical understanding of the importance of the social context of development has emerged as the result of a convergence of theoretical and empirical research in a variety of disciplines. According to this new understanding of social context, human infants are not only influenced by the social context in which they develop, but their very development as humans is dependent on opportunities to participate with others, notably parents, family members, peers and teachers, in the activities that constitute the culture in which they are growing up. Children's development is thus as much a social as an individual achievement. This book, Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy, attempts to explain current thinking about the relationship between individual development and societal and interpersonal practices and then explore the implications of this new understanding for the learning of language and literacy. There are long traditions of literacy teaching and research in the English speaking world that see literacy as a discrete set of skills that can be acquired step by step. Some are foundation skills, such as being able to map words onto sounds using phonics, to spell accurately or form letters through handwriting. Some are more complex linguistic and information-processing skills that enable people to recognize different kinds of texts and to take account of purpose and audience when they read or write. To be effective teachers, we need to understand this 'more' - how skills are shaped by the social contexts, purposes and relationships within which reading and writing are used. As an example, something as basic as writing down the bare facts of your life is never done in a vacuum. These facts are written in a CV, a diary or an autobiography. They may be written by another person in medical case notes, given as a speech at a funeral or other ceremonial event, or reported in a police statement. In each situation, the form and process of the writing will be different. Very often the physical act of writing and the materials used to carry it out will be different. Different outcomes will hang on the accuracy of the account, how persuasive it is, or whether the spelling and layout are correct. In other words, literacy is situated and embedded in local activities, and can never be pulled out and captured as a separate and unvarying thing. This perspective, of the contextual and embedded nature of literacy, has become known as literacy as situated social practice. It draws on situated theories of learning which see learning as taking place in day-to-day relationships between people in their environment, whether this is a formal college classroom, a workplace or a self-help medical group. It draws a bigger landscape than that of seeing literacy as a set of discrete skills, and is concerned with local differences, diversity and variety as well as with universal principles. In recent years, however, a much more radical understanding of the importance of the social context of development has emerged as the result of a convergence of theoretical and empirical research in a variety of disciplines. According to this new understanding of social context, human infants are not only influenced by the social context in which they develop, but their very development as humans is dependent on opportunities to participate with others, notably parents, family members, peers and teachers, in the activities that constitute the culture in which they are growing up. Children's development is thus as much a social as an individual achievement. This book, Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy, attempts to explain current thinking about the relationship between individual development and societal and interpersonal practices and then explore the implications of this new understanding for the learning of language and literacy. There are long traditions of literacy teaching and research in the English speaking world that see literacy as a discrete set of skills that can be acquired step by step. Some are foundation skills, such as being able to map words onto sounds using phonics, to spell accurately or form letters through handwriting. Some are more complex linguistic and information-processing skills that enable people to recognize different kinds of texts and to take account of purpose and audience when they read or write. To be effective teachers, we need to understand this 'more' - how skills are shaped by the social contexts, purposes and relationships within which reading and writing are used. As an example, something as basic as writing down the bare facts of your life is never done in a vacuum. These facts are written in a CV, a diary or an autobiography. They may be written by another person in medical case notes, given as a speech at a funeral or other ceremonial event, or reported in a police statement. In each situation, the form and process of the writing will be different. Very often the physical act of writing and the materials used to carry it out will be different. Different outcomes will hang on the accuracy of the account, how persuasive it is, or whether the spelling and layout are correct. In other words, literacy is situated and embedded in local activities, and can never be pulled out and captured as a separate and unvarying thing. This perspective, of the contextual and embedded nature of literacy, has become known as literacy as situated social practice. It draws on situated theories of learning which see learning as taking place in day-to-day relationships between people in their environment, whether this is a formal college classroom, a workplace or a self-help medical group. It draws a bigger landscape than that of seeing literacy as a set of discrete skills, and is concerned with local differences, diversity and variety as well as with universal principles. In recent years, however, a much more radical understanding of the importance of the social context of development has emerged as the result of a convergence of theoretical and empirical research in a variety of disciplines. According to this new understanding of social context, human infants are not only influenced by the social context in which they develop, but their very development as humans is dependent on opportunities to participate with others, notably parents, family members, peers and teachers, in the activities that constitute the culture in which they are growing up. Children's development is thus as much a social as an individual achievement. This book, Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy, attempts to explain current thinking about the relationship between individual development and societal and interpersonal practices and then explore the implications of this new understanding for the learning of language and literacy. There are long traditions of literacy teaching and research in the English speaking world that see literacy as a discrete set of skills that can be acquired step by step. Some are foundation skills, such as being able to map words onto sounds using phonics, to spell accurately or form letters through handwriting. Some are more complex linguistic and information-processing skills that enable people to recognize different kinds of texts and to take account of purpose and audience when they read or write. To be effective teachers, we need to understand this 'more' - how skills are shaped by the social contexts, purposes and relationships within which reading and writing are used. As an example, something as basic as writing down the bare facts of your life is never done in a vacuum. These facts are written in a CV, a diary or an autobiography. They may be written by another person in medical case notes, given as a speech at a funeral or other ceremonial event, or reported in a police statement. In each situation, the form and process of the writing will be different. Very often the physical act of writing and the materials used to carry it out will be different. Different outcomes will hang on the accuracy of the account, how persuasive it is, or whether the spelling and layout are correct. In other words, literacy is situated and embedded in local activities, and can never be pulled out and captured as a separate and unvarying thing. This perspective, of the contextual and embedded nature of literacy, has become known as literacy as situated social practice. It draws on situated theories of learning which see learning as taking place in day-to-day relationships between people in their environment, whether this is a formal college classroom, a workplace or a self-help medical group. It draws a bigger landscape than that of seeing literacy as a set of discrete skills, and is concerned with local differences, diversity and variety as well as with universal principles. In recent years, however, a much more radical understanding of the importance of the social context of development has emerged as the result of a convergence of theoretical and empirical research in a variety of disciplines. According to this new understanding of social context, human infants are not only influenced by the social context in which they develop, but their very development as humans is dependent on opportunities to participate with others, notably parents, family members, peers and teachers, in the activities that constitute the culture in which they are growing up. Children's development is thus as much a social as an individual achievement. This book, Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy, attempts to explain current thinking about the relationship between individual development and societal and interpersonal practices and then explore the implications of this new understanding for the learning of language and literacy. There are long traditions of literacy teaching and research in the English speaking world that see literacy as a discrete set of skills that can be acquired st
