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Introduction to Literacy: Definitions and Theoretical Perspectives
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Chapter objectives
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This chapter will increase your understanding of: ✚ definitions of literacy ✚ multiliteracies
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✚ theoretical perspectives on literacy learning ✚ affective factors in literacy learning. In this first chapter of Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education, fourth edition, you will be introduced to various definitions of literacy, including the concept of ‘multiliteracies’. You will discover that literacy
is a dynamic social practice that is used in different ways for various purposes by diverse groups. Literacy is highly influenced by context, so with rapid advances in technology and increasing globalisation, it has changed significantly since the beginning of the twenty-first century. In this chapter, we also present major theoretical perspectives on how children learn literacy and outline how these perspectives have shaped pedagogical approaches. Finally, we briefly discuss affective factors such as children’s motivation and engagement in literacy learning.
Key terms
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
✚ affective
✚ evidence-based
✚ multimodal
✚ cognitive developmental perspective
✚ maturational perspective
✚ socio-cultural perspective
✚ emergent perspective
✚ multiliteracies
✚ whole language
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