Editing Literacy (section)

==Definition==
[[File:World illiteracy 1970-2010.svg|upright=1.2|thumb|World illiteracy halved between 1970 and 2015.]]
[[File:Literacy-rate.svg|upright=1.2|thumb|Literate and illiterate world population between 1800 and 2016]]
[[File:Illiteracy france.png|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Illiteracy rate in France in the 18th and 19th centuries]]

The range of definitions of literacy used by [[Non-governmental organization|NGOs]], [[think tank]]s, and [[advocacy group]]s since the 1990s suggests that this shift in understanding from "discrete skill" to "social practice" is both ongoing and uneven. Some definitions remain fairly closely aligned with the traditional "ability to read and write" connotation, whereas others take a broader view:
* The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (USA) included "quantitative literacy" ([[numeracy]]) in its treatment of literacy. It defined literacy as "the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential."<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) |url=https://nces.ed.gov/naal/fr_definition.asp |website=nces.ed.gov}}</ref> It included three types of adult literacy: prose (e.g., a newspaper article), documents (e.g., a bus schedule), and quantitative literacy (e.g., the use of arithmetic operations in a product advertisement).<ref>{{Cite web |year=2005 |title=Measuring Literacy: Performance Levels for Adults (2005), National Academy of Sciences |url=https://www.nap.edu/download/11267}}</ref><ref name="Carnegie-2021">{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=A Brief History of the Quantitative Literacy Movement, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching |url=https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-quantitative-literacy-movement/}}</ref>
* In 2015, the United Nations Statistics Division defined the youth literacy rate as "the percentage of the population aged 15–24 years who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement on everyday life."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Millennium Goals Indicator 2015 |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/mdg/Metadata.aspx?IndicatorId=0&SeriesId=656 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816003157/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/mdg/Metadata.aspx?IndicatorId=0&SeriesId=656 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |access-date=2 March 2021}}</ref>
* In 2016, the ''European Literacy Policy Network'' defined literacy as "the ability to read and write [...] in all media (print or electronic), including digital literacy."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=EUROPEAN DECLARATION OF THE RIGHT TO LITERACY, European Literacy Policy Network |url=http://www.eli-net.eu/fileadmin/ELINET/Redaktion/user_upload/European_Declaration_of_the_Right_to_Literacy2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815234944/http://www.eli-net.eu/fileadmin/ELINET/Redaktion/user_upload/European_Declaration_of_the_Right_to_Literacy2.pdf |archive-date=15 August 2021 |access-date=19 February 2021}}</ref>
* In 2018, [[UNESCO]] included "printed and written materials" and "varying contexts" in its definition of literacy, i.e., "the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-18 |title=Defining literacy, UNESCO |url=http://gaml.uis.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/4.6.1_07_4.6-defining-literacy.pdf}}</ref>
* In 2019, the [[OECD|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)]], in its [[Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies]] (PIAAC) adult skills surveys, included "written texts" in its definition of literacy, i.e., "the ability to understand, evaluate, use and engage with written texts in order to participate in society, achieve one's goals, and develop one's knowledge and potential."<ref name="PIAAC">{{Cite web |year=2019 |title=Skills matter, PIAAC, OECD |url=http://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/publications/Skills_Matter_Additonal_Results_from_the_Survey_of_Adult_Skills_ENG.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Skills Matter: Additional Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Skills Studies, OECD |year=2019 |publisher=OECD |isbn=978-9-264-79900-4}}</ref> Also, it treats numeracy and problem solving using technology as separate considerations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies |url=https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/}}</ref>
* In 2021, [[Education Scotland]] and the [[National Literacy Trust]] in the UK included oral communication skills (listening and speaking) under the umbrella of literacy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Literacy and English |publisher=Scottish Government |url=https://education.gov.scot/Documents/literacy-english-pp.pdf |page=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=What is literacy |publisher=National literacy trust |url=https://literacytrust.org.uk/information/what-is-literacy/ |page=1}}</ref>
* As of 2021, the [[International Literacy Association]]  uses "the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, compute, and communicate using visual, audible, and digital materials across disciplines and in any context."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-08 |title=Why literacy, International literacy association |url=https://www.literacyworldwide.org/about-us/why-literacy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204012454/https://www.literacyworldwide.org/about-us/why-literacy |archive-date=4 February 2021 |access-date=19 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=International literacy association |url=https://www.literacyworldwide.org/about-us/why-literacy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204012454/https://www.literacyworldwide.org/about-us/why-literacy |archive-date=4 February 2021 |access-date=19 February 2021}}</ref>
* The expression "reading literacy" is used by the [[Progress in International Reading Literacy Study]] (PIRLS), which has monitored international trends in reading achievement at the fourth grade level since 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center |url=https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/index.html |website=timssandpirls.bc.edu}}</ref>
* Other organizations might include numeracy skills and technology skills separately but alongside literacy skills;<ref>{{Cite web |year=2021 |title=Literacy and numeracy |publisher=Alberta Education |url=https://education.alberta.ca/literacy-and-numeracy/about-literacy-and-numeracy/}}</ref> still others emphasize the increasing involvement of computers and other digital technologies in communication that necessitates additional skills (e.g., interfacing with [[web browser]]s and [[word processing]] programs, organizing and altering the configuration of files, etc.).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kress |first=Gunther R. |title=Literacy in the new media age |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-415-25356-7 |location=New York}}</ref>
* Some researchers define literacy as "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Street |first=Brian |title=Literacy and Development: Ethnographic Perspectives |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |location=London |pages=11 |chapter=Introduction}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rowsell |first1=Jennifer |title=The Routledge Handbook of Literacy Studies |last2=Pahl |first2=Kate |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-367-50172-3}}</ref> In this view, humans in literate societies have [[Social practice|sets of practices]] for producing and consuming writing, and they also have beliefs about these practices.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Calvet |first=Louis-Jean |title=Towards an Ecology of World Languages |publisher=Polity |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-745-62956-8}}</ref> Reading, in this view, is always reading something for some purpose; writing is always writing something for someone for some purpose.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lankshear |first1=Colin |title=A New Literacies Sampler |last2=Knobel |first2=Michelle |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-820-49523-1 |location=New York |pages=2 |chapter=Sampling the 'New' in New Literacies}}</ref> Beliefs about reading and writing and their value for society and for the individual always influence the ways literacy is taught, learned, and practiced.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lindquist |first=Julie |title=Keywords in Writing Studies |publisher=Utah State UP |year=2015 |location=Logan |pages=99–102 |chapter=Literacy}}</ref>

The concept of [[multiliteracies]] has gained currency, particularly in English Language Arts curricula, on the grounds that reading "is interactive and informative, and occurs in ever-increasingly technological settings where information is part of spatial, audio, and visual patterns (Rhodes & Robnolt, 2009)".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cole |first=David R. |title=Multiple Literacies Theory: A Deleuzian Perspective |year=2009 |publisher=Sense |isbn=978-9-087-90909-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Boche |first=Benjamin |year=2014 |title=Multiliteracies in the Classroom: Emerging Conceptions of First-Year Teachers |journal=Journal of Language and Literacy Education |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=114–135}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=September 2023|reason=Which citation is the quote from and were they quoting Rhodes & Robnolt?}} Objections have been raised that this concept downplays the importance of reading instruction that focuses on "alphabetic representations".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Seidenberg |first=Mark |title=Language at the speed of sight |publisher=Basic |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-541-61715-5 |location=New York |page=279}}</ref> However, these are not [[Mutual exclusivity|mutually exclusive]], as children can become proficient in word-reading while engaging with multiliteracies.<ref name="Ontario Human Rights Commission">{{Cite book |url=https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/book/export/html/30871 |title=Right to Read inquiry report |year=2022 |publisher=Ontario Human Rights Commission |isbn=978-1-486-85827-9}}</ref>

Word reading is fundamental for multiple forms of communication.<ref name="Ontario Human Rights Commission" /> Beginning in the 1940s, the term literacy has often been used to mean having knowledge or skill in a particular field, such as:
* {{annotated link|Computer literacy}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of computer literacy |url=https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/computer-literacy |website=PCMAG}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=COMPUTER-LITERACY |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/computer-literacy}}</ref> 
* {{annotated link|Scientific literacy}}
* {{annotated link|Statistical literacy}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISLP |url=http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/islp/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227065148/http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/islp/ |archive-date=27 December 2008 |access-date=19 December 2008 |website=www.stat.auckland.ac.nz}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Critical literacy}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Selber |first=Stuart |title=Multiliteracies for a Digital Age |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-809-32551-1 |location=Carbondale}}</ref>
* Disaster literacy – Proposed model for the ability to understand and use life-saving information, including the ability to respond and recover from disasters effectively<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Lisa M. |last2=Haun |first2=Jolie N. |last3=Peterson |first3=Lindsay |date=2014 |title=A Proposed Disaster Literacy Model |journal=Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=267–275 |doi=10.1017/dmp.2014.43 |issn=1935-7893 |pmid=24992944 |s2cid=24971741}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2014-06-08 |title=A proposed disaster literacy model |pmid=24992944 |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24992944/ |last1=Brown |first1=L. M. |last2=Haun |first2=J. N. |last3=Peterson |first3=L. |journal=Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=267–275 |doi=10.1017/dmp.2014.43 }}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Ecological literacy}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World |year=1991 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-791-40874-2}}</ref> 
* {{annotated link|Financial literacy}}
* {{annotated link|Health literacy}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-01-28 |title=What Is Health Literacy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |work=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |url=https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/index.html}}</ref><ref name="Zarcadoolas-2006">{{Cite book |last1=Zarcadoolas |first1=C. |title=Advancing health literacy: A framework for understanding and action |last2=Pleasant |first2=A. |last3=Greer |first3=D. |publisher=Jossey-Bass |year=2006 |location=San Francisco, CA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Addressing Difficulties in Literacy Development: Responses at Family School Pupil and Teacher Levels |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-315-01571-2 |editor-last=Reid |editor-first=Gavin |editor-last2=Soler |editor-first2=Janet |editor-last3=Wearmouth |editor-first3=Janice |editor-link3=Janice Wearmouth}}</ref>
* [[Linguistics|Linguistic]] literacy – Ability to read, write, understand, and speak any type of language<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ravid |first1=Dorit |author-link=Dorit Ravid |last2=Tolchinsky |first2=Liliana |year=2002 |title=Developing Linguistic Literacy: a Comprehensive Model |journal=Journal of Child Language |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=417–447 |doi=10.1017/S0305000902005111 |pmid=12109379 |s2cid=9831188}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Media literacy}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Association for Media Literacy Education |url=https://namle.net/ |website=namle.net}}</ref>
* {{annotated link|Political literacy}}
* {{annotated link|Social literacy}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2019 |title=9 Ways to Teach Social Skills in Your Classroom, Reading Rockets |url=https://www.readingrockets.org/article/9-ways-teach-social-skills-your-classroom}}</ref> 
* Mathematical literacy, also called {{annotated link|numeracy}}<ref name="Carnegie-2021" />
* {{annotated link|Visual literacy}}, e.g., body language, pictures, maps, and video<ref name="Zarcadoolas-2006" />
* [[Musical literacy]] – Refers to culturally determined systems of knowledge in music and to musical abilities.<ref>p. 3. Csíkos, Csaba, and Gabriella Dohány. "Connections between music literacy and music-related background variables: An empirical investigation." ''Visions of Research in Music Education'' 28, no. 1 (2016): 2.</ref>

Classicist [[Eric Havelock]] developed a continuum for a culture's literacy, from pre-literate, through craft-literate, recitation-literate and script-literate to type-iterate.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harvey |first1=John |title=Orality and Its Implications for Biblical Studies: Recapturing an Ancient Paradigm |journal=Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society |date=2002 |url=https://etsjets.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/files_JETS-PDFs_45_45-1_45-1-PP099-109_JETS.pdf |access-date=9 March 2025}}</ref>

===Functional illiteracy===
{{main|Functional illiteracy}}
[[Functional illiteracy]]{{efn|The condition of not being able to read or write well enough to do things that are needed for living and working in society - Cambridge Dictionary{{refn|{{Cite web |date=2021-03-10 |title=Cambridge Dictionary |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/functional-illiterate}}}}}} relates to adults and has been defined in different ways:
* Inability to use reading, writing, and calculation skills for their own and their community's development.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Vágvölgyi |first1=Réka |last2=Coldea |first2=Andra |last3=Dresler |first3=Thomas |last4=Schrader |first4=Josef |last5=Nuerk |first5=Hans-Christoph |date=2016-11-10 |title=A Review about Functional Illiteracy: Definition, Cognitive, Linguistic, and Numerical Aspects |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=7 |pages=111–119 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01617 |pmc=5102880 |pmid=27891100 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* Inability to read well enough to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schlechty |first=Phillip C. |url=http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/wiley031/00009570.pdf |title=Shaking Up the Schoolhouse: How to Support and Sustain Educational Innovation |chapter=Introduction |date=2004-04-27 |publisher=Catdir.loc.gov |isbn=978-0-787-97213-4 |access-date=19 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721044638/http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/wiley031/00009570.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>
* Inability to understand complex texts despite adequate schooling, language skills, elementary reading skills, age, and IQ.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bulajić |first1=Aleksandar |last2=Despotović |first2=Miomir |last3=Lachmann |first3=Thomas |date=May 2019 |title=Understanding functional illiteracy from a policy, adult education, and cognition point of view: Towards a joint referent framework |journal=Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie |volume=30 |issue=2 |page=117 |doi=10.1024/1016-264X/a000255 |s2cid=191662777 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Functional illiteracy is distinguished from ''primary illiteracy'' (i.e., the inability to read and write a short, simple statement concerning one's own everyday life) and ''learning difficulties'' (e.g., [[dyslexia]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Réka |first1=Vágvölgyi |last2=Bergström |first2=Aleksandar |last3=Bulajić |first3=Maria Klatte |last4=Falk |first4=Huettig |date=May 2019 |title=Understanding functional illiteracy from a policy, adult education, and cognition point of view: Towards a joint referent framework |journal=Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=109–122 |doi=10.1024/1016-264X/a000255 |s2cid=191662777|doi-access=free}}</ref> These categories have been contested—as has the concept of "illiteracy" itself—for being predicated on narrow assumptions, primarily derived from school-based contexts, about what counts as reading and writing (e.g., comprehending and following instructions).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brodkey |first=Linda |title=Writing Permitted in Designated Areas Only |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-816-62806-3 |location=Minneapolis |pages=3–7 |chapter=Literacy as a Discursive Practice}}</ref>

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