ERIC Number: EJ782313
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 35
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0002-8312
EISSN: N/A
Literacy in English Gypsy Communities: Cultural Capital Manifested as Negative Assets
Levinson, Martin P.
American Educational Research Journal, v44 n1 p5-39 2007
The attribution of low literacy levels among Gypsy children to difficulties of access to schools neglects underlying sociocultural explanations. There has been little analysis in reports/studies of Gypsy attitudes toward literacy, nor of outcomes of acquisition. Informed by new literacy theory and by the discourse of previous ethnographic studies, and by acculturation theories, this article draws on findings from an ethnographic study of English Gypsies (1996-2000), and data from a follow-up study, involving original and additional participants (2005-2006). The article explores attitudes across age groups, highlighting social reasons for resistance to literacy, and argues that policy makers should consider effects on group membership and ways in which formal literacy can constitute a mechanism for disempowerment. (Contains 6 notes.)
Descriptors: Group Membership, Ethnography, Followup Studies, Gender Differences, Literacy, Minority Groups, Sociocultural Patterns, Access to Education, Acculturation, Foreign Countries, Reading Attitudes, Writing Attitudes, Cultural Traits, Social Integration, Cultural Differences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A