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Chapter 14 - Literacies and learner differences

from Part D - The ‘How’ of Literacies

Mary Kalantzis  and
Bill Cope
Mary Kalantzis
Affiliation:
University of Illinois
Bill Cope
Affiliation:
University of Illinois
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Summary

Overview

In this chapter, we are going to explore the range of learner differences that impact upon literacies learning. We outline concepts with which to classify and interpret these differences among learners. We discuss, in general terms, how we approach learner differences in relation to literacies learning. Then we explore in depth two particularly important dimensions of learner difference: age and other-language background.

The effects of difference in literacies learning

The demographics of social groups

In the schools of today, the differences between learners are more visible and insistent than ever. We are going to start with a frame of reference that we call ‘group demographics’, the visible realities in the form of distinguishable social groupings. After that, we are going to suggest that this is only the beginning of the story – learner differences are deeper and more subtle than these categories at first glance suggest.

A litany of terms is conventionally used to describe and categorise differences in human populations called ‘demography’ – sex, gender, social class, disability, race, ethnicity. However, each of these terms is fraught with ambiguities and complexities.

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Literacies , pp. 374 - 400
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2012

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