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Throughout the in–depth description of the program, literacy will continue to
be defined as skills, tasks, practices, and critical reflection (Lytle
and Wolfe, 1989). To review, literacy as skills is seen as the accumulation
of technical reading and writing processes, such as decoding, spelling,
and grammar that are acquired sequentially and applied in a variety of
literacy activities. For example, a student might learn and study the construction
of complete sentences in order to write for work–related or home purposes.
Literacy as tasks is the application and use of literacy in day–to–day
literacy activities, such as form filling and letter writing. As an example,
a student might learn to complete a variety of different kinds of job applications
in order to help prepare him or her to seek employment. Literacy as practices
would take the job application activity one step further and into a setting
in which the activity is to be carried out. Instead of simply completing
application forms in a class setting, a literacy–as–practices view would
also include applying for the job under the conditions required by the
employer. The literacy activity is developed and supported in a situation
that is a real activity, or mimics as closely as possible real–life uses
of literacy in specific settings that incorporate the people, pressures,
actions, and tools of that setting. Finally, literacy as critical reflection
is an understanding of literacy activities and their impact on both a personal
and public level. For example, the issues that may arise from the job application
activity, as it is carried out in a specific setting, may become the focus
of critical and personal reflection. Literacy as critical reflection can
become a vehicle for personal and social change. If, for example, the student
applying for the job encountered uncomfortable issues during the application
process—he had to complete the form in front of the supervisor, she
was asked if she had children and who would care for them, or he was asked
his age—these issues could become the focus for reflection on a personal
and political level, and subsequent action. As students and instructors
share their ideas about literacy, one of these four terms will be used
to help give a shape to the notion of literacy in the employment preparation program.
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