Shirley Brice Heath – författare

Ways with Words, first published in 1983, is a classic study of children learning to use language at home and at school in two communities only a few miles apart in the south-eastern United States. 'Roadville' is a white working-class community of families steeped for generations in the life of textile mills; 'Trackton' is an African-American working-class community whose older generations grew up farming the land, but whose existent members work in the mills. In tracing the children's language development the author shows the deep cultural differences between the two communities, whose ways with words differ as strikingly from each other as either does from the pattern of the townspeople, the 'mainstream' blacks and whites who hold power in the schools and workplaces of the region. Employing the combined skills of ethnographer, social historian, and teacher, the author raises fundamental questions about the nature of language development, the effects of literacy on oral language habits, and the sources of communication problems in schools and workplaces.

Language in the USA is a volume of specially commissioned studies on the language situation in America, how it came to be the way it is, and the forces of changes within it. The USA has its own unique pattern of languages: American English, the principal language, different in structure and use from other kinds of English in the world; two hundred American Indian languages, some of them flourishing as never before; Spanish, spoken in North America before English and now the second most important language in the country; a cost of immigrant languages, each with a different history of accommodation to the American scene. The book explains the place of these various languages and how they are used in education, the professions, and general communication. Language in the USA is a work of reference, which gives an accessible account of the very considerable research in this area done by linguists, sociologists, educationalists, and anthropologists.

Childhood and family life have changed significantly in recent decades. What is the nature of these changes? How have they affected the use of time, space, work and play? In what ways have they influenced face-to-face talk and the uses of technology within families and communities? Eminent anthropologist Shirley Brice Heath sets out to find answers to these and similar questions, tracking the lives of 300 black and white working-class families as they reshaped their lives in new locations, occupations and interpersonal alignments over a period of thirty years. From the 1981 recession through the economic instabilities and technological developments of the opening decade of the twenty-first century, Shirley Brice Heath shows how families constantly rearrange their patterns of work, language, play and learning in response to economic pressures. This outstanding study is a must-read for anyone interested in family life, language development and social change.

Childhood and family life have changed significantly in recent decades. What is the nature of these changes? How have they affected the use of time, space, work and play? In what ways have they influenced face-to-face talk and the uses of technology within families and communities? Eminent anthropologist Shirley Brice Heath sets out to find answers to these and similar questions, tracking the lives of 300 black and white working-class families as they reshaped their lives in new locations, occupations and interpersonal alignments over a period of thirty years. From the 1981 recession through the economic instabilities and technological developments of the opening decade of the twenty-first century, Shirley Brice Heath shows how families constantly rearrange their patterns of work, language, play and learning in response to economic pressures. This outstanding study is a must-read for anyone interested in family life, language development and social change.

In an era characterized by the rapid evolution of the concept of literacy, the Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts focuses on multiple ways in which learners gain access to knowledge and skills. The handbook explores the possibilities of broadening current conceptualizations of literacy to include the full array of the communicative arts (reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing) and to focus on the visual arts of drama, dance, film, art, video, and computer technology. The communicative and visual arts encompass everything from novels and theatrical performances to movies and video games. In today's world, new methods for transmitting information have been developed that include music, graphics, sound effects, smells, and animations. While these methods have been used by television shows and multimedia products, they often represent an unexplored resource in the field of education. By broadening our uses of these media, formats, and genres, a greater number of students will be motivated to see themselves as learners. In 64 chapters, organized in seven sections, teachers and other leading authorities in the field of literacy provide direction for the future: I. Theoretical Bases for Communicative and Visual Arts Teaching Paul Messaris, Section Editor II. Methods of Inquiry in Communicative and Visual Arts Teaching Donna Alvermann, Section Editor III. Research on Language Learners in Families, Communities, and Classrooms Vicki Chou, Section Editor IV. Research on Language Teachers: Conditions and Contexts Dorothy Strickland, Section Editor V. Expanding Instructional Environments: Teaching, Learning, and Assessing the Communicative and Visual Arts Nancy Roser, Section Editor VI. Research Perspectives on the Curricular, Extracurricular, and Policy Perspectives James Squire, Section Editor VII. Voices from the Field Bernice Cullinan and Lee Galda, Section Editors The International Reading Association has compiled in the Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts an indispensable set of papers for educators that will enable them to conceptualize literacy in much broader contexts than ever before. The information contained in this volume will be extremely useful in planning literacy programs for our students for today and tomorrow.

The Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts, Volume II brings together state-of-the-art research and practice on the evolving view of literacy as encompassing not only reading, writing, speaking, and listening, but also the multiple ways through which learners gain access to knowledge and skills. It forefronts as central to literacy education the visual, communicative, and performative arts, and the extent to which all of the technologies that have vastly expanded the meanings and uses of literacy originate and evolve through the skills and interests of the young.A project of the International Reading Association, published and distributed by Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Visit http://www.reading.org for more information about Internationl Reading Associationbooks, membership, and other services.

The Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts, Volume II brings together state-of-the-art research and practice on the evolving view of literacy as encompassing not only reading, writing, speaking, and listening, but also the multiple ways through which learners gain access to knowledge and skills. It forefronts as central to literacy education the visual, communicative, and performative arts, and the extent to which all of the technologies that have vastly expanded the meanings and uses of literacy originate and evolve through the skills and interests of the young.A project of the International Reading Association, published and distributed by Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Visit http://www.reading.org for more information about Internationl Reading Associationbooks, membership, and other services.

The authors weave together narratives of practice and theory that draw on their own field work and that of a novice ethnographer. Their stories take us outside the usual progression of how-to-do-ethnography, which moves from research question to data collection and analysis to publication. Readers learn of the motivations and mishaps behind the authors' own classic ethnographic studies of language, multimodal literacies, and community practices. The authors use their stories to illustrate the power of curiosity, connection, and continuity in ethnographic pursuits. Keeping language and literacy the central concern, this volume offers practical ways for ethnographers to sustain their attention to a constant comparative perspective and to patterns of co-occurrence in language structures, uses, and values. Appropriate for new and experienced researchers, this readable volume:Illustrates three primary learning environments for the work of ethnographers: self-directed learning, informal communities of learners, and instructional settings within formal education. Stresses that "doing ethnography" involves engagement with public life and cannot be separated out as an academic activity. Includes examples of ethnographic studies in Australia, Iran, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.