Monday, October 24, 2011

Socio-cultural Factors Impacting Literacy

Various socioeconomic and cultural factors have been shown to impact a student’s literacy acquisition.  Morrison, Bachman, and Connor (2005) discuss several of these factors in their book, Improving Literacy in America, and why these factors can contribute to illiteracy.

Primarily, socioeconomic status is measured by parental income, education, and occupation.  Generally, children of families with a lower level of parental education score lower on reading assessments than children whose parents have a higher level of education (Morrison, Bachman, and Connor 2005).  In addition, children from lower socioeconomic status families begin kindergarten and first grade behind their higher economic status peers in terms of verbal and reading skills.  In addition, long durations of poverty can have negative impacts on a child’s general verbal skills.  According to Morrison, Bachman, and Connor (2005), “Parents living in poverty tended to talk less to their children and often communicated with a more limited vocabulary than did parents with more education or financial security” (23). 

In addition, racial or other cultural factors can influence a student’s acquisition of literacy.  The racial achievement gap that exists within our society is often used to point out the discrepancies between the white achievement rate and the minority achievement rate.  While it is difficult to determine exactly how race or cultural influence literacy, several factors will be discussed.  First, centuries of systematic discrimination against minority cultures in America cannot quickly be erased by social reform.  Institutionalized racism is still present in many areas of society, including education, and this can contribute to minority children’s literacy development.  In addition, minority parents may have less experience with the education system or possess less “cultural capital” (Morrison, Bachman, and Connor 2005).  This can negatively impact the support their children receive in the educational system and can affect how parents help their children acquire literacy.

Morrison, Bachman, and Connor (2005) state, “Literacy acquisition requires environmental support, both to provide instruction and to arrange the setting and time for practice” (pg. 36).  Students are impacted by their home, school, and community environments.  If students do not have the ability to practice their literacy skills in the home, or do not receive adequate teaching in the school, student literacy will be heavily impacted.  Within a sociocultural context, various factors such as poverty, parental involvement, cultural capitol, and the institution of education itself, can contribute to a child’s illiteracy. 

1. Morrison, F.J., Bachman, H.J., & Connor, C.M.  (2005). Sociocultural factors.  Improving literacy in America (pp. 19-42).  New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

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