Sociocultural Approaches to Language and Literacy: An Interactionist Perspective

One of the most crucial areas of education--the acquisition of literacy--is examined here with an effective combination of theory and practice. The sociocultural perspective is illustrated through descriptions of learning by populations usually neglected in treatments of literacy--American Sign Language users, second-language speakers, and minority students. The book covers a broad range of ages, ethnic backgrounds, locations, and literacy concerns from preschool to law school. Although the populations and literacy issues are diverse, the book's unity is provided by a broadly shared theoretical framework.

This book deals with one of the major crises in education - the achievement of literacy skills. The approach taken is humanistic, focusing on relevant historical and cultural factors, and providing the reader with a broad range of examples of literacy development and education.