4. There is no exact definition for the word
literacy.
Instead, we look at how people use
literacy, which depends on what people do in
their life and what they are exposed to.
“Literacy is a many-meaninged thing.”
-Sylvia Scribner
5.
6. My Research Question
How does
background and
upbringings affect
a person’s future
view and use of
literacy?
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. I USED THE FOLLOWING SCRIPT:
When and where were you born?
How do you define literacy?
What are some examples of your daily use of literacy?
What are your earliest memories of self writing/reading?
As a child, were you forced to read or did you do it for fun?
What writing/reading resources were available to you as a child?
Did your parents prefer that you read certain books (e.i. religious books)?
What kind of materials did you have available for school-based assignments?
Did your parents encourage you to do your best in school?
Do you think your childhood experiences affected your use/view of literacy today?
12. BEFORE STARTING EACH INTERVIEW, I
GAVE EACH INTERVIEWEE A COPY OF
MY INFORMED CONSENT FORM FOR
THEM TO READ AND SIGN, AS I DID
NOT WANT TO VIOLATE ANYONE’S
RIGHTS
14. “I d e f i n e l i t e r a c y a s
t h e a b i l i t y t o r e a d
a n d w r i t e o n e 's o w n
l a n g u a g e o r
l a n g u a g e s .”
Thiswas very much expected, as I used to
think the same thing before this class
15. “As a c h i l d , my p a r e n t s
ma d e me r e a d b o o k s .
Th e n , I we n t t o s c h o o l
a n d r e a d t h e b o o k s
t h a t t h e s c h o o l
a s s i g n e d .”
16. “Ye s , t h e y a l wa y s
e x p e c t e d me t o d o my
b e s t i n s c h o o l . Th e y
s t i l l d o .”
17. “Ev e r y d a y i n
e v e r y t h i n g I d o
w h e t h e r i t 's j u s t
t a l k i n g t o a f r i e n d o r
p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n a
c l a s s d i s c u s s i o n .”
18. “Ye s , i t d e f i n i t e l y
d o e s . As a c h i l d , I h a d
t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o g o
t o s c h o o l a n d g a i n a n
e d u c a t i o n w h i c h ma d e
me c a p a b l e o f ma k i n g
d e c i s i o n s r e g a r d i n g
Barton and Hamilton tell us that literacy
m y practicestare “culturally structured” t i o n .”
f u r h e r e d u c a
and “have their roots into the past (30).
20. What do you think of the word
literacy?
““We l l , i t m e a n s r e a d i n g
a n d w r i t i n g , o f c o u r s e .”
Once again, the answer was what Szwed said many
people thought it was:
“Literacy has typically been viewed as a yes-and-no
matter, easily determined: either one reads and writes or
one doesn’t (Szwed 5).”
21. What are your earliest memories
of self reading/writing?
“I f i r s t s t a r t e d t o r e a d
a n d wr i t e wh e n I
s t a r t e d s c h o o l a t t h e
a g e o f 6. B e f o r e t h a t , I
d i d n o t k n o w h o w t o h o w
t o r e a d a n d w r i t e . My
mo t h e r d i d n o t w a n t t o
s e “Theridingm efor literacy skills c dailyo o obvious; on the
necessity t o s in h life is l
n d around town, shopping for groceries, we all encounter
job,
b e situations requiring us to readfor produce written symbols.” s
c a u s e my a t h e r wa
s i c k ~Sylvia Scribner (37)e w a n t e d m e
a n d s h
t o s t a y h o me a n d h e l p
22. Did your parents encourage you to
work hard in school?
“M y mo t h e r w o u l d t e l l me t o
t r y t o d o my b e s t i n
s c h o o l , b u t f u r t h e r i n g my
e d u c a t i o n wa s n o t o n e o f
h e r p l a n s b e c a u s e we h a d
n o t mo n e y . My d r e a m w a s t o
b e c o me a s i n g e r . S i n c e my
mo t h e r d i d n o t h a v e
e n o u g h mo n e y , I h a d t o g o
t o Me x i c o C i t y t o w o r k ; I
c o u l d n o t p u r s u e my
23. Today…
My mom prefers to communicate by phone calls, or
face-to-face
She is not one to text message or email
This could be because she did not use text so much
when she was little, therefore text did not really
become a part of her literacy.
24.
25. “Wh e n I w a s l i t t l e , I
r e me mb e r t h a t my mo m
wo u l d a l wa y s r e a d
c h i l d r e n ’s s t o r i e s t o
me . I w e n t t o a
b i l i n g u a l s c h o o l i n
C o l o mb i a , a n d t h e r e w e
wo u l d p l a y b o a r d
g a me s a n d w e r e
a s s i g n e d l i t t l e
p r o j e c t s .”
26. “O h y e s . My mo m w a s a
t e a c h e r a n d s h e wo u l d
a l wa y s ma k e me r e a d . I
f e l t a b i t p r e s s u r e d
b e c a u s e s h e wa n t e d me
t o b e t h e b e s t
s t u d e n t .”
27. “Yes, since my mom always made me read
and wanted the best for me …I g u e s s
i t p u s h e d me t o w o r k
h a r d e r a s I g o t o l d e r .
T h a t ’s a l s o o n e o f t h e
r e a s o n s I c a me t o
c o l l e g e .”
29. EARLIEST MEMORIES OF LITERACY
My parents always made me read little books when
I was little; they would sit down with me to read.
My dad subscribed to a children’s book
company, so books were delivered to my house
once a month.
30. WAS I FORCED TO READ?
Like all children, all l wanted to do was go outside
and play.
However, my parents would make me sit and read.
They would tell me that playing outside was not
going to get me anywhere in life.
31. MY PARENTS ALWAYS ENCOURAGED ME TO DO
MY BEST
My parents always expected me to be the best
student in my class.
When l was in grade school, they told me that an 80
on an assignment was not good enough—they
wanted a 100
32. DO YOU THINK YOUR CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES
AFFECTED YOUR USE/VIEW OF LITERACY TODAY?
Definitely
If my parents had not pushed me to do my best as
a child, I would probably not even be in college
today.
I am currently a Biology pre-med student, and hope
to one day go to medical school.
33. Results
• I found that parental encouragement plays the
biggest role in influencing a person’s future
use of literacy.
• Parents act as literacy sponsors.
• Location is the 2nd factor that shapes a
person’s literacy
According to Deborah Brandt, literacy sponsors, who were
agents that either supported or discouraged literacy depending
on how the use of literacy affected them, had a big impact on
the development of literacy learning and skills over the years
(56).
34. Parental Encouragement
• Lina & Jaz, are both in college because their parents
encouraged them to pursue a higher education.
• Lina is a Political Science major and hopes to represent
the U.S. as an ambassador.
• Jaz is a pre-med student, and hopes to attend medical
school so that she can become a physician.
• My mom wanted to further her education, but her mother
made her work instead of encouraging her to follow her
dreams.
35. Location
• Lina and Jaz were able to study here in the
U.S., where academics are pushed.
• My mom grew up in a small community in
Mexico, where academics were not so important.
– Her community did not financial help, such as
scholarships
– There were not enough resources available
“Literacy practices are patterned by “Today, functional literacy is conceived
social institutions and power broadly as the level of proficiency
relationships, and some literacies are necessary for effective performance in a
more dominant, visible and influential range of settings and customary
than others.” activities.”
-Barton and Hamilton (22) -Sylvia Scribner (37)
36. Problems & Future Research
• Unfortunately, my research had to come to a
stop because of time limits.
• If I would have been allowed more time to
conduct this research, I would have studied
other factors that affect an individual’s view of
literacy.
37. Conclusion
• From my research, I have learned that a person's
activities as a young child and encouragement
from his or her parents is what helps shape his or
her literacy.
• I realized that the people interviewed only
followed their goals if their parents encouraged
them to pursue them.
• The activities they did as young children and the
place in which they grew also influenced how
each of them views literacy today.
38. References
Barton, David, and Mary Hamilton. “Literacy Practices.”
Ethnographic Inquiries in Writing. 1st ed. Ed.
Tabetha Adkins. Southlake, Texas: Fountainhead, 2010. 21-32. Print.
Brandt, Deborah. “Literacy Opportunity and Economic Change.”
Ethnographic Inquiries in Writing. 1st ed. Ed. Tabetha Adkins. Southlake, Texas:
Fountainhead, 2010. 54-85. Print.
Keur, Jaz. Personal Interview. 15 Oct. 2011.
Munevar, Lina. Personal Interview. 4 Nov. 2011.
Ramos, Maria. Personal Interview. 12 Nov. 2011.
Scribner, Sylvia. “Literacy in Three Metaphors.” Ethnographic Inquiries in Writing. 1st ed. Ed.
Tabetha Adkins. Southlake, Texas: Fountainhead, 2010. 33-53. Print.
Szwed, John F. “The Ethnography of Literacy.” Ethnographic Inquiries in Writing. 1st ed. Ed.
Tabetha Adkins. Southlake, Texas: Fountainhead, 2010. 3-18. Print.
