Literacies Within Classrooms: Whose and for What Purpose?

Multiple literacies have been addressed in the literature from various perspectives that represent different understandings by different people and contexts. One view addresses the ability to read and comprehend effectively different texts and types of texts. Another addresses the reader’s knowledge base given his or her background, experience, abilities, gender, and the like (Rasinsky et al., 2000). Still another view is centered on the diverse ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic understandings of individual literacies (e.g., Heath, 1991; Taylor, 1983).