1 An affective perspective on literacy and equality Maggie Feeley Equality Studies Centre University College Dublin

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Literacy is an equality issue Literacy work needs an equality context Economic, cultural, political and affective Literacy defined as: ‘ the full range of language capabilities that are a necessary precondition for the acquisition of all forms of economic and cultural capital and for the full and fair realisation and management of relationships of power and intimacy.’ –2

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Literacy facilitates our interdependence Literacy is relational: encoding and decoding are socially situated A vehicle for language that connects us Hypothesis: unmet literacy needs linked to learning care inequalities Learning care inequalities derived from Lynch and McLaughlin (1995) Affective inequalities linked to wealth, power and status

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Literacy dominated by issues of productivity and profitability: IALS (1997); Moser (1998);Lankshear and Knobel (2003) No recognition of care as a link to learning Care is dependent on resources Lack of learning care in childhood results in unequal educational challenges and outcomes Literacy fluency in adulthood is linked to resource and affective wellbeing that in turn determine Generational cycles of privilege and affluence Literacy, care and resources

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Literacy, care and resources A benign circle of care Care Work Resource s Education

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Learning care resources- private financial material environmental: private and public human corporal temporal credentialised

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Learning care resources- public Inequality of resource condition Disadvantaged groups and communities- disadvantaged schools and pupils:(ERC,2004) National anti-poverty strategy-1997; Review in 2002 set new targets for 2006 that will be unmet Caring about literacy: concern for profit?

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Literacy, care and relationships of power Hierarchical educational system Dominant and vernacular literacies Low status of literacy work gives limited power to advocates Illiteracy, powerlessness and abuse Multiple intelligences: Gardner (1993;1999) Sternberg (1998) Functional literacy Vested interests

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD The other side of care: Illiteracy as social harm Hillyard et al (2004) - Zemiology Illiteracy as State harm that leads to exclusion and marginalisation (ward, 2004) Nussbaum (2001): literacy as a capability Illiteracy as a violation of rights- Jamil Salmi (2004) Failure of State duty of care School as harmful – Lynch and Lodge (2002) Adult literacy and relationships of solidarity

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Literacy, care, respect and recognition Literacy and being an uncared for ‘other’ – global and national distribution reflects unequal status Cultural marginalisation – unrepresented in curriculum; denied access to culture Stigma – Goffman (1963) impacts on family circle Gendered attitudes to learning care: predominance of women in literacy work; mothers’ role as literacy tutor (Mace,1998;Smythe and Isserlis, 2003; Horsman; 2004) Need for culture of care in schools that recognises, respects and caters for diversity

Maggie Feeley - Equality Studies Centre, UCD Conclusions Learning Care Work Resources, power, respect and recognition Education