The “Academic Literacies” Model: Theory and Applications

Abstract

Although the term academic literacies was originally developed with regard to the study of literacies in higher education and the university, the concept also applies to K–12 education. An academic literacies perspective treats reading and writing as social practices that vary with context, culture, and genre (Barton; Hamilton, 1998; Street, 1984, 1985). Literacy practices of academic disciplines can be viewed as variable social practices associated to different communities. In addition, an academic literacies perspective also takes account of literacies not directly associated with subjects and disciplines, but having to do with broader institutional discourses and genres. From students point of view, a dominant feature of academic literacy practices is the requirement to switch their writing styles and genres from a setting to another, to deploy a repertoire of literacy practices appropriate to each setting, and to handle the social meanings and identities that each evokes.