Exploring Literacy Practices of Primary School Pupils: A Case Study in Greek Education

Abstract

Contemporary research approaches literacy as the social skill to communicate effectively across diverse sociocultural contexts, examining it within specific social activities as literacy practices. This study aims to investigate the convergences and divergences between the in-school and out-of-school literacy practices of twenty 10-11-year-old pupils of one class. The research employs methodological triangulation, combining qualitative and quantitative tools: A pupil questionnaire and home-based observation to explore out-of-school practices, and a pupil questionnaire alongside a teacher interview to examine in-school practices. The data are then interpreted through Halliday & Hasan’s (1989) tripartite model, which differentiates between mode (means of communication), field (content of communication) and tenor (relationship among participants), in order to reveal areas of convergence and divergence between the two contexts. The results show that most convergences between in-school and out-of-school literacy practices occur at the level of mode, as pupils frequently use modern digital media in both contexts. In contrast, at the level of field and tenor, the school and the teacher overlook the children’s interests related to mass culture and restrict their agency in shaping school literacy. The neglect of pupils’ interests shown by the study confirms the home-school mismatch hypothesis, leading to significant social and learning consequences. Therefore, the study aims to serve as both an example and an encouragement for educators to adopt an ethnographic stance and systematically investigate their students’ literacy practices.