Madeline Thorne S00164565

EDLA309 Literacy Debate

3. Literacy Debate
The debate provoking article:
Adoniou, M. (2016, January 28). Literacy standards aren't falling, but they are
changing. Retrieved October 17, 2016, from http://theconversation.com/literacystandards-arent-falling-but-they-are-changing-53626
Points raised:
Employers are concerned with literacy skills of workers and blame has been
assigned to education system.
Importance of 21st literacy skills: "high-level cognitive and interpersonal skills"
Literacy going beyond reading and writing but ability to communicate in all
settings.
Political push of traditional literacy
Education expectations vs. Skills for effective members of society.
Narrow curriculum, standardized testing
Job-specific literacy education yet successful communication is common
Changes to literacy demands
(Adoniou, 2016)
Supporting arguments:
Online reading as a new way to read (Rich, 2008)
Standardized testing needs to assess proficiency online as well as print
comprehension (Rich, 2008)
Literacy as literacies (Bretag, 2009)
"Literacy is a group of evolving skills, habits, and dispositions as well as a
form of knowledge needed for thoughtful, meaningful, and effective
communication (in socially relevant contexts) and learning." (Bretag, 2009)
Refuting arguments:
Standardized testing scores declining (Rich, 2008)
Online reading is diminishing literacy (Rich, 2008)
Gaps in data mean "we cannot always track the impact of policy and practice
changes" (Fox, S; O'Connell, M, 2016)
"we dont have enough education research to answer the most pressing
questions" (Fox, S; O'Connell, M, 2016)

Madeline Thorne S00164565

EDLA309 Literacy Debate
References:
Adoniou Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESL, University of
Canberra, M. (2016, January 28). Literacy standards aren't falling, but they are
changing. Retrieved October 17, 2016, from http://theconversation.com/literacystandards-arent-falling-but-they-are-changing-53626
Bretag, R. (2009, January 03). The Great Literacy Debate. Retrieved October 17,
2016, from http://www.ryanbretag.com/blog/2009/01/the-great-literacy-debate/
Fox, S., & O'Connell, M. (2016, September 19). Gaps in education data: There are
many questions for which we don't have accurate answers. Retrieved October 17,
2016, from http://theconversation.com/gaps-in-education-data-there-are-manyquestions-for-which-we-dont-have-accurate-answers-65241
Rich, M. (2008, July 27). Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading? Retrieved
October 17, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?
_r=0