A Pedagogy of Liminality: International Explorations of Adolescent Literacy in and out of School

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Issues in Literacy Roundtable 1

Abstract

This study explores the ties that bind reading and literacy in out-of-school literacy, looking at the reintegration of skills and context both theoretically and in practice. In a previous study (Authors, In Review), we argued that the current rhetoric and research into in-school and out-of-school literacy reinforces a divide between reading and literacy that has resulted in separate strands of research. In this analysis, we continue that research by exploring how international studies of adolescent literacy and out-of-school literacy privilege notions of permeability and liminality. Using meta-synthesis methodology (Major & Savin-Baden, 2011), we explored the definitions of literacy; identified specific skill sets tied to reading, writing and critical thinking; and the convergence and divergence of literacy in these two broad fields.

Authors

• Jung E. Kim, Lewis University

• Susan Anne Cridland-Hughes, Clemson University