Bambi Schieffelin

The Acquisition of Literacy: Ethnographic Perspectives Bambi Schieffelin

The nature and role of literacy in society has become a topic of interest and debate among academicians, politicians, practitioners, and parents. The definition and boundaries of literacy remain beyond agreemnt, but most people will agree that the meaning of "being literate" varies according to one's time and place and society and history. Literacy has been viewed as a way of knowing, a way of "speaking," an economic necessity, a cognitive advantage, a polital excuse. From a social perspective, it is difficult to examine literacy "objectively."The process of acquiring literacy has always had serious cultural consequencess, for individuals, social grups, societies.