[NLA] Evidence-based practice in Adult Literacy Education]

[George E. Demetrion]

Andrea and others:

I agree with your main point here.  When you say "we," that may be the
case with the field, but that does not apply to the "they," namely the
USDoE and their research arm, the OREI.  

With you, I also have a very high regard for the work Victoria
Purcell-Gates has done on reading theory and I accept the broad
parameters of her balanced approach, which privileges neither specific
methodologies or foundational assumptions on what is at the core of the
reading process.  I have used her Focus on Basics article in my tutor
training workshop with great effect.

I also agree with you on the importance of reading, though which may be
at the periphery as well as the center or any point in between in the
working out of the subtle relationships between the reader, the text, and
the various contexts which give shape to the learning environment. The
work of Merrifield, Fingeret, and Lytle on literacy practices has had a
great impact on my thinking of adult literacy, where the reading factor
may or may not be the most salient aspect of any learning process.  

What is important from this perspective is the learning, both that of a
more immediate nature as well as the more distal type as Catherine puts
it, stemming from broad transference of knowledge through a lot of
persistent work and development over time. Thus if I was going to
privilege anything it would be the learning that matters as determined by
students themselves both in terms of shorter term and longer term impact,
which from a research basis can be imperfectly  and contestedly discerned
 through multi-evidence based longitudinal case study analysis. 

I'll state it again.  The issue of values cannot be separated from the
selection of research projects and methodologies nor in the determination
of what is deemed by whomever as legitimate and worthy.  Still, we can
discuss and explore divergent frameworks and construct collaborative
research projects, but that requires an intellectual atmosphere of
openness and desire for honest communication.  I'm not sensing that such
values are being fostered by the current USDoE and OREI, but I could be
wrong.

George Demetrion
sophocles5 at juno.com



On Sat, 6 Apr 2002 17:01:14 EST Awilderast at aol.com writes:
>George,
>
>I really disagree with you.  We are not necessarily talking about 
>privileging anything or anyone.  Suppose a study said that the best way
to teach 
>people to read and write better was to take their context (however
defined) 
>into account? And showed how to do that in a teacherly nuts and bolts
way? 
>We might look at some real studies that actually do that.
>
>Because it's easy, I know it, and it is interesting, i suggest Victoria
Purcell-Gates book, "Other People's Words."  I  am sorry to recommend
anything to someone that requires that they go out and find a book,
because it seems a cop-out, frankly, but this book got me hooked on adult
literacy and I go back to it for clarification.
>
>I got to know VP-G and feel very fortunate I did so.  I slid into adult
literacy with this book, it's a case study.
>
>Andrea 
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