LRC Position Papers
Position Paper on Multicultural Education
Position Paper on Literacy and Biliteracy
Position Paper on Adult Literacy
Position Paper on American Indian/Indigenous Education
The term "multicultural education" expresses the essential mission of the department and the university. Multicultural education is not just "about" certain subjects; it does not merely offer "perspectives" on education: It is an orientation to our purposes in education-and ultimately an orientation to life, one that values diversity of viewpoints and experiences and sees people as valuable contributors to the experience of school and society. Life in universities is a self-consciously multicultural experience, from the varieties of cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds represented in it to the full spectrum of ideas and disciplinary traditions that compose the community of scholars. Our recognition of this central tenet leads us to commit ourselves to the following general principles:
The most basic definition of literacy is the "ability to read and write"; by extension, biliteracy is "the ability to read and write two languages." However, when we consider that literacy is learned and developed by diverse human beings in a variety of complex settings, including home, school, and work; that it can be learned at different ages, and taught in any number of different ways; that it comes in different forms that are used for a variety of purposes; and that these purposes may differ from one cultural group to another, matters become considerably more complex. Furthermore, one must consider that rather than a clear division between literacy and orality, there is a continuous interaction and mutual influence between oral and literate modes in any society. Therefore, literacy and biliteracy must be thought of as intricately related to very dynamic social, cultural and institutional contexts. Hence, becoming literate implies becoming competent in what may be a broad range of practices or uses of literacy, often in two or more languages, that constitute the experience of living in a pluralistic and literate society.
These positions recognize fully the social and cultural embeddedness of literacy and the complexity of its uses within a dynamic and diverse society.
As a term, Adult Literacy has historically implied the teaching and learning of basic reading and writing skills, directed toward adults who did not gain these competencies through traditional public education programs. This definition was narrow in several ways: it implied a deficit view of Adult Literacy, focused primarily on the introduction of literacy at rudimentary levels, and concerned only reading and writing.
Today, Adult Literacy definitions incorporate reasoning and numeracy along with communications abilities. Modern definitions have also expanded the ways we view both levels and types of literacy within multiple social, cultural, technological and academic contexts.
The study of Adult Literacy incorporates many areas of interest. For example, workplace literacy addresses the education of adults on employment related tasks to upgrade abilities, adapt to different roles, change career paths and boost their esteem. Family literacy and intergenerational literacy programs involve family members in learning together and provide parents with information that will support them in the upbringing of their children. Basic skills literacy addresses the education of adults with less than a high school education. Developmental education programs in colleges and community colleges enable students to develop literacy necessary for educational success in post-secondary education settings.
Formal education for American Indians and Alaska Natives is unique in that it has historically been a federal responsibility. Until very recently, that responsibility was carried out through the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families and communities to federal boarding schools, where punitive discipline and eradication of the native language and culture were explicit curricular and pedagogical emphases. The legacy of that experience, as the Indian Nations at Risk Task Force points out, has been hugely disproportionate negative educational outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native students.
This singular sociohistorical experience and its impacts define the field of American Indian/Indigenous education. Nowhere are the issues in Indigenous education more salient than in Arizona, where 19 Indigenous languages are still spoken by members of 21 tribal groups. Issues of cultural and linguistic identity remain strong in these communities, and tribal governments as well as schools are actively involved in developing bilingual/bicultural education programs and policies.
The Department of Language, Reading and Culture has an important role to play in outreach to these communities and schools, and in furthering research, theory and practice within the field of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian education. In recognition of this, the department cosponsors the American Indian Language Development Institute, an internationally recognized teacher preparation program in American Indian linguistics and bilingual/bicultural education. Each year, AILDI brings together Indigenous educators, elders and others interested in Indigenous/multicultural education for four weeks of intensive study. AILDI also has significant outreach efforts to tribes and Indigenous schools and communities throughout the academic year.
Such efforts have given LRC prominence in American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian education and have directly and significantly influenced the recruitment of Indigenous students to LRC graduate programs. These projects and programs have also had important internal impacts within the college and university, resulting in new curriculum offerings in Indigenous language education and in the provision of multicultural learning opportunities not available elsewhere on campus.