Twenty-first century literacy

Bruce, Bertram C.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/31261 Copy

Description

Title

Twenty-first century literacy

Author(s)

Bruce, Bertram C.

Issue Date

1995-11

Keyword(s)

Literacy

Abstract

1. Future literacy needs will demand a continual rethinking of the purposes of schooling in relation to society, and in particular, an ongoing critical analysis of the way in which access to societal resources change in response to changing conceptions of literacy. 2. Literacy practices in the future may become highly collaborative enterprises, corresponding to an intensification of emphasis on coordination and communication. The traditional separations among disciplines of study and types of work are in question, implying the need for more integrated conceptions of literacy and literacy development. 3. The globalization of trade, work, language, history, and politics, is not an option, but a fact in the process of becoming ever more established and articulated. This is inevitably reconstituting and expanding our conceptions of literacy. 4. Literacy is changing along with changes in our languages. 5. Literacy is inextricable from our conceptions of and our uses of information and communication technologies, including both new technologies, like the Internet, and older ones, like the book. Questions of curriculum are not eliminated by the availability of new tools and greater access to resources, but rather are made much more vital than ever before. There are basic questions we once thought we could answer, which need to be asked all over again, among them: What is literacy? What is learning? What is teaching? What does it mean to be human? The issue of who controls the development of literacy technologies and what values are applied in making decisions is critical, but almost entirely ignored in discussions of literacy. It seems inevitable that dramatic changes will occur, have already occurred, in our literacy practices. But whether these changes will lead to a greater access to information and tools, to more liberatory education, to multicultural understanding, to improved social relations, or to a more democratic society remains to be seen. Many forces operate to prevent progressive changes, and we know well that technology alone cannot bring them about. If we are to achieve the possibilities that the new literacy holds, we must work to understand both what it is, and what it can be. There is much work to be done.

Publisher

Champaign, Ill. : University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Center for the Study of Reading.

Series/Report Name or Number

Center for the Study of Reading Technical Report ; no. 624

Type of Resource

text

Language

eng

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/31261

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Copyright 1995 Board of Trustees University of Illinois

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