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Paradoxes in French‐Language Instruction: Recent Social and Historical Research on Literacy in France
Author(s) -
Rockwell Elsie,
Galvão Ana Maria
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
reading research quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.162
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1936-2722
pISSN - 0034-0553
DOI - 10.1002/rrq.023
Subject(s) - meaning (existential) , literacy , craft , sociology , value (mathematics) , face (sociological concept) , pedagogy , humanities , linguistics , social science , art , epistemology , philosophy , visual arts , computer science , machine learning
This essay on three recent books by outstanding scholars—La raison scolaire by Bernard Lahire, Histoire de l'enseignement du français du XVII e au XX e siècle by André Chervel, and L'école et la lecture obligatoire by Anne‐Marie Chartier—offers the opportunity to acquaint readers with French research on teaching written language and to show the value of historical research for understanding past and current developments. The discussion highlights issues of inequality and failure in the face of the arbitrary and changing nature of schooled literacy and the vital role that teachers have played in redefining the everyday meaning and craft of teaching.