Abstract of

Literacy & Identity
Home and Away: The Tensions of Community, Literacy, and Identity

Bronwyn T. Williams

For many students there are differences between the discourses they have learned in their families and communities and the discourses that dominate literacy education. Shaped by cultural forces such as class or ethnicity, some of these differences are significant while others may be subtler. If literacy is more than just decoding marks on a page, if it is shaped by culture and context, then the cultures and contexts we inhabit in our lives outside the classroom will necessarily influence the way we approach literacy practices in school. Sometimes, however, the home and community discourses and literacies run counter to institutional norms in ways that cause conflicts for the student, teacher, family, and community.

In this column, the author discusses how teachers often struggle with how to reconcile such conflicts in ways that are constructive and ethical, respecting students' community and home identities yet teaching them the literacies that provide cultural capital in school and beyond.

Abstract from Williams, B. (2005, December). Home and Away: The Tensions of Community, Literacy, and Identity. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(4), 342–347. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.49.4.6