160 pages
228mm x 145mm
ISBN-10: 1 85856 157 4
ISBN-13: 978 185856 157 8
March 2000

Literacy has different meanings and functions for different cultural and linguistic groups. For the families of many linguistic minority children in the English-speaking world, community literacies have symbolic meanings, associated with cultural identity. Yet in too many schools, English is seen as the only literacy in the school, the only literacy that counts. And those unable to play by the cultural and linguistic rules are disempowered.

Literacy, Power and Social Justice locates literacy learning in linguistic minority communities in a theoretical framework and brings together recent research and examples of good practice. It reports a study of the home literacy practices of linguistic minority families in Birmingham UK and is informed by the voices of Bangladeshi women describing the processes by which their children become literate. It outlines principles for developing school policy and practice, which contribute to empowerment and social justice for linguistic minority communities.

Practical approaches to incorporating minority languages and literacies into the school curriculum will make this book invaluable to teachers, researchers and policy-makers.

Adrian Blackledge is senior lecturer in English at Westhill College of Higher Education in Birmingham and editor of Teaching Bilingual Children, published by Trentham

This makes a refreshing contribution to the current literacy debate which still tends to be far too politicised, punitive and simplistic.
- Nursery World