If you were to ask a range of people what they think literacy is, you are likely to find that they respond in a number of different ways. It may be that they equate literacy with being able to read and write–but read and write what? The answer will vary with the individual: it may be the ability to read a street map, read a book to a child, read the sports pages in a newspaper, or the label on a bottle of medicine. From this point of view, literacy is seen as a set of social practices. However, if you ask the same question of governments, the response will either be in terms of literacy levels of the population or in relation to employment and training. From this perspective, literacy is perceived to be a set of desirable skills or technologies required by individuals to gain employment or engage in training. In other words an ‘autonomous’ view of literacy is held (Street, 1984).
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Searle, J. (2009). Literacy and Learning: Are TVET Professionals Facilitators of Learning or Deliverers of Knowledge and Skills?. In: Maclean, R., Wilson, D. (eds) International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5281-1_83
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