Andrea Roman
ENG 3029-01
December 18, 2012
Research Project
Introduction
Reading is the most important content area that teachers focus on in elementary school.
Starting in Pre-K, children are already learning how to read. By the end of Kindergarten, children
should know how to read the "beginner" level books on their own. Throughout the years, I have
noticed that elementary school children are being exposed to reading earlier and earlier.
However, the means of technology has drastically altered the manner of teaching literacy in
today’s society. Today's classrooms are equipped with technology that includes: SMART boards,
laptops, computers, and iPads.
The purpose of this research project is to gather data to answer the question, “How does a
person’s literacy stay the same, and how does it change over time?” In this essay I will write
about the literacy process of an adult male. I will discuss how his process has evolved over time,
what has remained the same, and what new means of technology, if any, have altered his literacy.
I will conduct my research through two interviews, spanning a total of an hour. I will do a
literature review on the importance of literacy, and I will present my data and conclusion.
My data will show what means of technology have enhanced and/or altered the subjects
literacy. I will include parts of the interview that I conducted with the subject in order to present
the data in a clear concise manner. I will use references and/or sources that are relevant to
literacy and technology. Lastly, I will use the data to either prove or disprove my research
question.
Literature Review
I began my research with the book, Literacy in American Lives, written by Debra Brandt.
I chose this book as a reference because the author knows a tremendous amount of information
on literacy in the past, as well as, the present day. I gravitated toward chapter one: Literacy,
Opportunity, and Economic Change. The first paragraph on this page grabbed my attention. It
starts off like this, “According to Workforce 2000, the US Department of Labor says the
following: The foundation of national wealth is really people – the human capital represented by
their knowledge skills, organizations, and motivations. Just as the primary assets of a modern
corporation leave the workplace each night to go home for dinner, so the income-generating
assets of a nation are the knowledge and skills of its workers – not its industrial plants or natural
resources. As the economies of developed nations move further into the post-industrial era,
human capital plays an ever more important role in their progress. As the society becomes more
complex, the amount of education and knowledge to make a productive contribution to the
economy becomes greater (Brandt, 25)”.
Deborah Brandt mentions several factors have contributed to the spreading of mass
literacy. They include: varies economic and political stasis; push for literacy through passion,
motivation, and aspirations; religion, imperialism, career choices, population, education,
transportation, trade, and family relations. Many people think that literacy was founded on these
factors, but there are people who disagree with these findings.
Deborah Brandt is known for writing about literacy sponsorship. Literacy sponsors
provide educational opportunities, in reading and writing, to those people they are sponsoring.
Sponsors have an effect on how people use literacy in their personal lives, and in the business
world. Brandt uses an example of this; a woman named Martha Day, born in 1903, was given the
opportunity to become the manager of a newspaper, her boss became her literacy sponsor and
helped her to improve her reading and writing skills (literacy). With the help of the literacy
sponsor, Martha was able to climb the “corporate ladder” and achieved success from the literacy
sponsorship.
Another source that I used in my research is the book, Literate Lives in The Information
Age, written by Cynthia L. Selfe and Gail E. Hawisher. I chose this book as a reference because
it explains how technology has played an important role in the evolution of literacy, and what
means of technology are being used to support and promote literacy. According to Selfe and
Hawisher, children are taught how to design, create, write, analyze, and interpret material on the
Web. If they are unable to successfully use technology, they will have a more difficult time
functioning effectively as literate human beings. In the United States, policymakers and
educators have created national standards and policies for the integration of technology into the
classroom.
The integration of technology in the school environment has drastically changed literacy
through the past twenty years. However, children who do not have access to computers at home
have a higher chance of being illiterate. The communities that are affected most by this are
students of color, and who are struggling financially.
These three authors mentioned above have helped guide me to the importance of
technology in literacy. I plan to discuss how literacy changes throughout a person’s lifetime, but
technology may not be the only method for improving reading and writing. The subject has
different thoughts on how his literacy has changed since childhood, and I plan to add what he
thinks of technology today, and if it has had an impact on his literacy.
I conducted the research through two separate interviews. The first interview lasted for
about 40 minutes. The second interview lasted for about 20 minutes. I chose to do an interview
because I like to see a person’s facial gestures, body movement, and I like to look people in the
eyes when speaking to them. I get a sense of who they are, and if they are comfortable with the
topic. The interview was question and answered based. I had my inquiries written down, and I
asked the subject the prepared questions. The first interview we both were relaxed, and the
questions flowed nicely into a conversation. The second interview was brief, and I could tell that
the subject did not want to be bothered. I collected the data through taped interviews. The data
was then translated into a transcript making it easier to identify codes and patterns. After these
two interviews, as I was gathering and categorizing my data, I noticed that I had several more
questions for the subject. I decided to conduct a third interview. I followed the same protocol as
above, and it lasted for roughly ten minutes. This gave me the information to fill in any loop
holes that I was coming across in the presentation and analysis section of this research project.
The subject is a 41 year old adult male. He grew up in Perth Amboy, New Jersey with a
duel working family. His parents are from Puerto Rico. They did not speak English when they
came to New Jersey. His father graduated high school with a G.E.D. His mother, on the other
hand, graduated high school and received a license to sell insurance. Neither of his parents went
college. The subject’s parents did not value literacy, but they read to him on occasion when he
was a small child.
The subject attended parochial school until the 8th grade, and he went to Perth Amboy
High School. After his graduation from high school, the subject joined the Marine Corps which
he was in for ten years; during this time he attended college at Campbell University. Upon
coming back to New Jersey, he got a job at the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. He is
currently a Detective Lieutenant in charge of the Major Crimes Unit.
After going back and reviewing the transcript, I noticed that there was a relationship
between my subject and technology. Not necessarily a good relationship, but there is evidence
that technology has had an impact on his literacy. Secondly, there is a relationship between his
genres of literacy between childhood and adulthood.
The Presentation and Analysis of the Data
The focus of the data will include how the subject’s literacy has remained the same, how
the subject’s literacy has changed, and what forms of technology was used in his childhood vs.
his adulthood. The forms of technology include the following: books, magazines, computers,
tablets, and a cell phone.
The first category is whether or not ethnicity and social status played a role in his
literacy. According to the findings, and the literature review of Selfe and Hawisher, there is
definitely a correlation between the two. Selfe and Hawisher claim that people who do not have
access to technology are at a disadvantage to those people who do. They say it has to do with the
location and financial situation of people. The interview proved that the subject grew up in a low
to middle income family in an urban community. Both of his parents worked to make ends meet,
they did not speak English when they came to New Jersey, and their levels of education go no
higher than high school. His parents did not value literacy, and read to him sparingly. At the time
of the subject’s early education there were no computers. However, when he attended high
school, he had a computer lab in school which he says was rarely used. Was it the lack of
technological skills on the teacher’s part that kept him from using the computers? I really do not
know, but the evidence proves that people who are poorer and of a certain ethnicity do have a
disadvantage, including the subject.
The second category is the genres of books that the subject has read, and continues to
read. Throughout the interview the subject mentions how he loved to read mystery, and military
and police style books. He said that his favorite book as a child were the Hardy Boys (series).
The subject also stated in the interview that he likes to read Tom Clancy novels. These two types
of books are different in the sense of level; meaning that the Hardy Boys is a middle level book,
whereas, a Tom Clancy novel is a higher level book, both of these books contain the same theme,
which in turn, proves that his literacy has remained the same. However, his work plays an
important role in the genre as well. In the interview the subject stated that he reads rules and
regulations, guidelines and directives, criminal law, court rulings, and judicial court rulings on a
daily basis. This also fits into the category of the type of genre he is interested in reading, but the
level and content is altered in some way. Higher level thinking and comprehension skills are at
an all-time high while reading these work related materials.
The last category is how technology has altered his literacy, and how he uses it in his
everyday life, including leisure and work related material. The subject informed me that when he
was growing up, he was not exposed to technology until his high school years. Keeping in mind
that at the time technology was starting to become popular, and it was very expensive to
purchase. The subject does not recall having a computer at home. His high school had a
computer lab, but it was rarely used. It was not until he was in his early adulthood that he started
to use technology. It was first introduced to him at work. Computers were often used to type
reports, press releases, and to look up information on the internet. Deborah Brandt mentions
literacy sponsors in her book, Literacy in American Lives, meaning that the employer takes
responsibility to educate and promote literacy to an employee. For the subject, his literacy
sponsor, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, gave him the opportunity to enhance his
literacy through educational classes and/or conferences. He explains that he took a Leadership
course that lasted for three months. It provided him with the knowledge on how to read and write
professional reports, and how to be a leader to his unit. The subject said that he has taken and
been to many classes and/or conferences that he cannot recall all of them for me, but each class
or conference has benefited him in his career. The subject has mentioned the material that he
needs to read and write on a daily basis; rules and regulations, guidelines and directives,
criminal law, court rulings, and judicial court rulings. His work has helped him to become an
expert in is field. This information proves that his literacy has changed.
The subject also uses technology for leisure. He mentions that he has a Smart phone,
personal computer, and a tablet. Again, he uses all of these forms of technology every day. The
computer is used for work, the tablet or Kindle Fire is used for games and certain types of
reading (newspaper), and the Smart phone for work related materials too (emails). The subject
does not like to download books onto his Kindle Fire. He said that he likes to hold a book. I am
not sure if this is because he was not introduced to technology until he was older, or if he needs
to physical hold an object, such as, a book. This proves that his work has altered his literacy
through literacy sponsors. However, the subject has not changed the form of technology that he
uses to read for leisure; he still wants an “old fashioned” book. The chart on the following page
explains the means of technology that the subject has used and/or still uses in order to promote
his literacy.
Books
|
Newspapers
|
Magazines
|
Computers
|
Tablets
|
Cell Phone
| |
Childhood
Pre-K to 8th grade
(Elementary School)
|
Yes, picture books and Charlotte’s Web
|
No, he did not read newspapers.
|
No
|
Did not have a computer because they were not available.
|
Did not have a tablet because they were not available.
|
Did not have a cell phone because they were not available.
|
Young Adulthood 9th-12th grade
(High School)
|
Yes, Hardy Boys, military, police and mystery style.
|
Yes, he read newspapers, but not on a daily basis.
|
Yes, read magazines, but not a on a regular basis.
|
Did not use the computer in high school.
|
Did not have a tablet because they were not available.
|
Did not use a cell phone because they were not available.
|
Adulthood
College to Present Day
|
Yes, he reads Tom Clancy novels, and work related materials
|
Yes, he reads a newspaper in paperback form, and on the computer.
|
Yes, military, and police style magazines.
|
Yes, uses the computer for work related material, and leisure reading.
|
Yes, uses a tablet for leisure.
|
Yes, uses a cell phone for work related material, and leisure.
|
.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my research question, ““How does a person’s literacy stay the same, and
how does it change over time?”, has been proven that it does change, but also remains the same.
The research that has been done by Deborah Brandt has proven that literacy sponsorship does
have a positive effect on a person’s reading and writing. Work does have a positive influence on
a person’s literacy; the subject has proven this to be correct, and his work has changed his
literacy. She also includes several factors that have contributed to the spread of literacy around
the world.
As for the work of Cynthia L. Selfe and Gail E. Hawisher, their research includes the
importance of technology, and how it affects our literacy. A person’s education, ethnicity, and
social status play a huge role in literacy. Not being exposed to, or have access to technology,
because of financial restraints does have an impact on literacy; the subject has proven this to be
true.
The subject has also given insight on how his literacy has remained the same. He does
not like to use computers or tablets for leisure reading. He likes to have a book in his hand. The
genres of books have not changed either. The subject likes to read military and police style
books, as well as, mysteries. This proves that the technology he uses for leisure reading has
remained the same.
The importance of this research study was to prove that a person’s literacy changes over
time, but in some aspects it remains the same. There is still a tremendous amount of work that
needs to be conducted, because technology is forever changing and evolving. Researchers need
to look closely at the people who did not have technology, such as, computers and tablets, while
they were growing up. Opposed to, today’s people, or children, who are exposed to computers,
tablets, Smart boards, etc., in order to promote literacy. Does it make a difference or not? There
are plenty of questions that still need to be answered on the changes of literacy, and how literacy
remains the same in a person’s life.
Works Cited
Brandt, Deborah. Literacy in American Lives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2001. Electronic Book.
Selfe, Cynthia L., and Gail E. Hawisher. Literate Lives in the Information Age:
Narratives of Literacy from the United States. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrance Erlbaum Associates,
C2004. Electronic Book.
