Other People's Words: The Cycle of Low Literacy

by Victoria Purcell-Gates

Overview

Literacy researchers have rarely studied families of urban Appalachian background, yet, as Purcell-Gates demonstrates, their often severe literacy problems provide a unique perspective on literacy and the relationship between print and culture. A compelling case study details the author’s work with one such family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674252899
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/25/1997
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	413 KB

About the Author

Victoria Purcell-Gates is Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia.

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Literacy, Schools, and Society 1. Nonliterate in an American City 2. Jenny and Donny's World 3. A World without Print 4. Becoming Literate: Donny 5. In Her Own Words: Jenny 6. Print Enters the World of Donny and Jenny 7. Who Reads and Writes in My World? 8. Exclusion and Access 9. The Complexities of Culture, Language, Literacy, and Cognition Appendix: Research Procedures and Stances Notes References Index

Editorial Reviews

A powerful depiction of the literacy learning process.

Readings - Doris Bergen

An engaging book that makes a unique contribution to literacy research by offering answers to the ‘why’s’ of low literacy… [It] graphically portrays the ways in which the mainstream society and the educational system effectively exclude [the illiterate]… Other People’s Words is a highly readable and richly layered exploration of literacy learning. As qualitative research, it accomplishes what no empirical study can—it transcends the subjects of the study, making vast connections to the functions and effects of literacy practice in lives of adults, children, families, schools, and communities.

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy - Lynn Sampson

This two-year case study of the author’s work with one family is situated within a more general concern for families whom the educational system seems to be failing… Replacing a predominant deficit view of low socio-economic status minority populations, the author adopts a sociocultural view of learning and an emergent literacy perspective in this detailed account of the acquisition of literacy and the relationship between print and culture. Engagingly written and widely referenced, this is a useful book for anyone considering the nature of family literacy and the interface of literacy learning and cultural experiences, including teachers, students and parents.

National Literacy Trust’s 1997 Bibliography

This two-year case study of the author's work with one family is situated within a more general concern for families whom the educational system seems to be failing...Replacing a predominant deficit view of low socio-economic status minority populations, the author adopts a sociocultural view of learning and an emergent literacy perspective in this detailed account of the acquisition of literacy and the relationship between print and culture. Engagingly written and widely referenced, this is a useful book for anyone considering the nature of family literacy and the interface of literacy learning and cultural experiences, including teachers, students and parents.

National Literacy Trust's 1997 Bibliography

A powerful depiction of the literacy learning process.
— Doris Bergen

Readings

An engaging book that makes a unique contribution to literacy research by offering answers to the 'why's' of low literacy...[It] graphically portrays the ways in which the mainstream society and the educational system effectively exclude [the illiterate]...Other People's Words is a highly readable and richly layered exploration of literacy learning. As qualitative research, it accomplishes what no empirical study can—it transcends the subjects of the study, making vast connections to the functions and effects of literacy practice in lives of adults, children, families, schools, and communities.
— Lynn Sampson

Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy