Shine the Light on Literacy

Working with students in the Higher Education context was where my curiosity in the area of Literacy was first peaked. Quite honestly, I personally connected with how disparities in competency levels of written expression - in the same cohort - could provide somewhat of a challenge for a Lecturer, assessment-wise. Furthermore, I was often moved by how written expression in particular could be stifled dependent on one’s grasp of and connection with language, and the resultant tensions that often times ensued for the student as it relates to the pursuance of an area of study that they felt highly passionate about. Tensions pertaining to “Am I being understood?”, “Is all that I’m trying to say being accurately and sufficiently expressed and received as intended, by the reader?”, “Can I successfully complete my studies?”, “Am I even supposed to be here?”. This type of discourse coming from someone at Higher Education level was, for me, quite saddening and disturbing.

A few years later, I engaged in voluntary work involving reading with young children - from varying backgrounds. Though in essence an enjoyable and rewarding experience, once again I would observe significant disparities in reading ability, and by extension writing. I make specific reference to children at the latter part of their formative years and just beyond. This led to a fresh wave of emotions around Literacy. Granted there could be numerous explanations for this for e.g. learning deficits, absence of remedial support and other speculations, but in any case, being able to peak a child’s interest in reading yet they were unable to read, to me, was unacceptable. To have had the opportunity to observe ‘Literacy in deficit’ from two broad spectrums of the academic continuum culminated in my mind as something that could not be ignored. This is where my commitment to effect some manner of change began.

Literacy is the bedrock of Education

The UNESCO definition of Literacy refers to “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts” (UNESCO Education Position Paper, 2004, p13). We commonly utilize the term to mean the ability to read and write, however the UNESCO definition would elaborate on the more intricate elements of what it means to be literate and hence gives us an enhanced sense of the associated complexities and by extension the degree of focus that is required in the teaching and learning strategies to foster literacy. This said, efforts devoted to this crucial stage of development, must be commensurate.

Literacy has been linked to a person’s employment, economic and wider social prospects, and mental wellbeing, with research suggesting a correlation between adults with good literacy skills and gainful employment and greater earning potential (Department for Education, UK, 2015) as well as children engaged in literacy and better mental wellbeing (National Literacy Trust, 2018). We have oftentimes heard the business sector raise their dissatisfaction with the literacy skills of young persons entering the workforce. What steps have been taken to address this?

For a child, the ability to read competently enables them to amass limitless knowledge and understanding, exposes them to the world beyond theirs, enables their imaginations to be stimulated so that they learn to dream and provide them with the opportunity to develop a critical lens through which they can begin to become more conscious and make new meaning of the society in which they live. Children should simply have the opportunity to experience the fulfillment that can come from reading a good book. For an adult, they should not have to feel limited in their future prospects by illiteracy, especially if they were capable to learn. More importantly, an adult should be able experience the pleasure of reading to and with their children.

Should we not devote more focus to shining the light on Literacy?

I would suggest that we should devote more focus on Literacy. This should not be a call for policy makers alone, but educators and citizens alike. We all have a meaningful contribution to make. Education Strategy that invests in and institutes the rollout of an Early Years Reading Programme at the primary school level, as Policy, should be made priority by policy makers, with the inherent provision for checks and balances that would highlight not only requisite gains, but also individual learning deficits and incorporate pathways to necessary intervention. By extension, there would also be implications for Teacher Training in this regard and the provision of requisite learning resources. It is my belief that every child has a right to access a systematic and structured learning approach to Literacy acquisition. It is the thread that enables the holistic development of our citizens.

It is the foundation of Lifelong Learning.

Written by: Tara Walcott

Sources:

UNESCO Education Position Paper (2004) The plurality of literacy and the implications of its policies and programs.

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001362/136246e.pdf

Department for Education, UK (2015) Reading: The Next Steps. Supporting Higher Standards in Schools

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/409409/Reading_the_next_steps.pdf

National Literacy Trust (2018) Literacy Statistics. Mental Wellbeing, Reading and Writing

https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/mental-wellbeing-reading-and-writing/