| The term "literacy" has varied and contradictory meanings. This study focuses on the beliefs two high school English teachers in a large urban high school bring to a conversation about meanings of literacy. The respondents in the study were taped in conversation over a four-month period of time about their own literacy experiences, their experiences with students and the curriculum they teach, and their ideas about meanings of literacy.;The respondents' conversation was then analyzed by examining recurring metaphorical patterns emerging throughout the data collection. The two teachers responded to transcripts and a respondent description was developed for each of them. The teachers were also observed in class over a four-month period of time with the inquirer assisting the teachers as a classroom aide.;The themes that emerged from the study are literacy as an investment, literacy as a tool, literacy as a language game, literacy as development, literacy as ability, literacy as growth, and literacy as thinking.;The significance of these metaphors as constructs in a teacher's understanding of literacy is developed through an analysis of two themes: literacy as a tool and literacy as a process of developmental growth. These two themes are compared to themes developed in the writing of E. D. Hirsch and Paulo Freire. The study argues for a generative metaphor for literacy that suggests English educators perceive literacy development as a form of social practice that engages children and teachers in a process extending meaning and connection. |
