What is literacy?

The term 'literacy' can have many connotations depending upon the context in which it is being applied. Literacy in the new Millennium (Michele Londsdale & Doug McCurry, NCVER 2004) was a deliberate attempt to explore literacy in a new way and to document the history and politics of literacy, language and numeracy definitions.

It found that "Based on the research, there appear to be three main conceptions of literacy with currency in Australia today, with implications for policy-making and teaching/learning:

• a cognitive, individual-based model associated with a psychometric tradition, quantifiable levels of ability, and a deficit approach to 'illiteracy', which is assumed to be both an outcome of individual inadequacy, and a causal factor in unemployment
• an economics-driven model generally associated with workforce training, multiskilling, productivity, 'functional' literacy and notions of human capital
• a sociocultural model which is most commonly associated with contextualised and multiple literacy practices, a valuing of the 'other', and a strong critical element.

In general, literacy today is perceived to be social by nature rather than merely an individual's set of skills, and there is consensus among literacy researchers that the meaning of literacy depends on the context in which it is being used" (Lonsdale & McCurry, p14).

How you define literacy will then influence what you believe needs to be done about it and how

The ALRP research represents both human capital and social capital paradigms.

Kate Perkins, in a forthcoming paper on the direction of literacy and numeracy research in Australia, notes that there is no unified theory of literacy and no agreed definition underpinning policy, practice and research in the area commonly referred to in Australia as 'language, literacy and numeracy' (LLN). Perkins draws attention to Lonsdale and McCurry (2004) who observed that:

The research shows that literacy has no single or universal definition and that its meaning has changed over time from an elementary 'decoding' or written information to a range of more complex and diverse skills and understandings.

Lonsdale and McCurry observe that conceptions of literacy reflect the different purposes literacy is seen to have, expressed in terms of benefits to individuals or benefits to society (p. 7).

The conceptual and ideological differences in how literacy is defined impact on what is researched and how data is interpreted; on the formulation of policy and strategy and on the emphasis of curriculum and teaching practices (Shore 2003, Lonsdale & McCurry 2004).

Often researchers do not 'overtly declare' the definition they are working with in their research. It seems multiple definitions are at play in the NCVER research reports. The way everyday people perceive it differs to academics, practitioners and policy makers.

Compare the definitions of literacy at play in:

The Great Literacy debates, ALA Adult learner's week 2003.

Literacy in the new Millennium, Lonsdale & McCurry 2004.

Social and economic benefits of improved adult literacy, Hartley & Horne 2006.

Reframing adult literacy and numeracy course outcomes: a social capital perspective, Balatti, Black & Falk 2006.

Other useful websites

Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) Program

Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program (LLNP)

Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL)