2. Definition
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "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. In other words, humans in literate societies have sets
of practices for producing and consuming writing, and they also
have beliefs about these practices. Reading, in this view, is always
reading something for some purpose; writing is always writing something
for someone for some purpose. Beliefs about reading, writing and their
value for society and for the individual always influence the ways literacy
is taught, learned, and practiced.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy
3. Other definition
• 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“.
• In 2018, UNESCO includes "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".
• As of 2021, the International Literacy Association (Newark, Delaware,
US) uses "the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, compute,
and communicate using visual, audible, and digital materials across
disciplines and in any context".
4. Kinds of literacy
Now the term literacy has often been used to mean having knowledge or skill in a particular field, such
as:
• Computer literacy: skill in using computers and digital technology.
• Statistical literacy: ability to understand and reason with statistics and data.
• Critical literacy: ability to find embedded discrimination in media.
• Media literacy: analyses regarding production agendas, representation, propaganda, censorship,
and bias.
• Ecological literacy: ability to understand natural systems and their interactions.
• Disaster literacy: ability to know how people understand the disaster.
• Health literacy: ability to understand healthcare information.
• Linguistic (i.e. language) literacy.
• Social literacy: literacy gained through social interactions
• Quantitative literacy: ability to apply numerical concepts
• Visual literacy: the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in
the form of an image, e.g. body language, pictures, maps, and video.
5. Causes of Low Literacy
• Undiagnosed learning disabilities.
• Hearing or vision loss.
• Lack of a role model, i.e. no one in the family or household stresses reading or
education.
• Poverty or a focus on survival needs rather than education.
• Violence in the community or fear of violence, causing a student to miss large
amounts of school.
• Moving from one school to another throughout childhood, so that education didn’t
make sense and didn’t fit together.
• Leaving school at a young age to care for a sick or dying family member.
• Leaving school at a young age to provide income for the family.
• Living in a remote places where education was minimal or not available.
• Being a foreigner and needing to learn English as a second language.
https://www.literacypittsburgh.org/the-challenge/