Literacy in English Gypsy communities: Cultural capital manifested as negative assets
Levinson, Martin
Date: 1 March 2007
Article
Journal
American Educational Research Journal
Publisher
Sage
Publisher DOI
Related links
Abstract
The attribution of low literacy levels among Gypsy children to difficulties of
access to schools neglects underlying sociocultural explanations. There has
been little analysis in reports/studies of Gypsy attitudes toward literacy, nor
of outcomes of acquisition. Informed by new literacy theory and by the discourse
of previous ...
The attribution of low literacy levels among Gypsy children to difficulties of
access to schools neglects underlying sociocultural explanations. There has
been little analysis in reports/studies of Gypsy attitudes toward literacy, nor
of outcomes of acquisition. Informed by new literacy theory and by the discourse
of previous ethnographic studies, and by acculturation theories, this
article draws on findings from an ethnographic study of English Gypsies
(1996-2000), and data from a follow-up study, involving original and additional
participants (2005-2006). The article explores attitudes across age
groups, highlighting social reasons for resistance to literacy, and argues that
policy makers should consider effects on group membership and ways in
which formal literacy can constitute a mechanism for disempowerment.
School of Education
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Item views 0
Full item downloads 0