A bluffer’s guide to academic literacies: can we communicate a complex set of ideas in simpler terms?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi32.1451

Keywords:

academic literacies, inclusivity and accessibility, theory-practice gap, concrete application

Abstract

I have often felt sceptical about the idea of academic literacies (AL), which presents a highly influential account of ‘how students learn to write at university’ (Lea and Street, 1998). AL theory has had a significant impact on the field, but some things about it bother me. Key ideas are frequently expressed in very abstract terms (it is hard to justify this comment in an academic context, but bear with me). Research has recognised difficulties in outlining AL’s core principles to students (Lea, 2016, p.91), and ‘the exact nature of the relationship between [its component] approaches’ (Hilsdon, Malone and Syska, 2019). It can be hard to convert the lofty AL aims of emancipation or transformation into practice. As theories go, it clearly thinks of itself as on ‘the right side of history’, and perhaps it is. However, having recently spent time wrangling with AL literature, I have developed more of a (grudging) respect for its insights and possible uses in practice. Drawing on theoretical writing and case studies of AL in use, this session aimed to identify the AL insights which are most relevant for the day-to-day practice of Learning Developers and present them in more concrete terms. In doing so, I hope to make this theory ‘meaningful, relevant and accessible to all’ (for Hockings’ definition of ‘inclusive’, see Hockings, 2010, p.1). After brief comments on its context and aims, I presented a short series of my ‘translations’ from AL into everyday English for use in everyday Learning Development practice.

Author Biography

Steven White, University of Southampton

Steven White is a Senior Teaching Fellow in Education Development at the University of Southampton. He has an interest in contrasting perspectives on learning and teaching. His other research interests include third-space perspectives on HE, digital and media literacy, and teaching/learning critical thinking.

References

Hilsdon, J., Malone, C. and Syska, A. (2019) ‘Academic literacies twenty years on: a community-sourced literature review’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i15.567

Hockings, C. (2010) Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education: a synthesis of research. York: HEA.

Lea, M.R. (2004) ‘Academic literacies: a pedagogy for course design’, Studies in Higher Education, 29, pp.739−756. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/0307507042000287230

Lea, M.R. (2016) ‘Academic literacies: looking back in order to look forward’, Critical Studies in Teaching and Learning, 4, pp.88−101. Available at: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/cristal/article/view/149790 (Accessed: 15 October 2024).

Lea, M.R. and Street, B.V. (1998) ‘Student writing in higher education: an academic literacies approach’, Studies in Higher Education, 23, pp.157−172. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079812331380364

Lillis, T. (2019) ‘“Academic literacies”: sustaining a critical space on writing in academia’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i15.565

Luckett, K. and Bhatt, I. (2024) ‘Getting critical about critique in higher education: provocations on the meanings of “critical perspectives”’, Teaching in Higher Education: Critical Perspectives, 29(6), pp.1690−1703. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2024.2335223

Wrigglesworth, J. (2019) ‘Pedagogical applications of academic literacies theory: a reflection and case study’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i15.552

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Published

31-10-2024

How to Cite

White, S. (2024) “A bluffer’s guide to academic literacies: can we communicate a complex set of ideas in simpler terms?”, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (32). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.vi32.1451.