Communicating at University - Ballard & Clanchy

Ballard, Brigid & Clanchy, John, 1988, "Literacy in the university: an anthropological approach" in Taylor, Gordon, et al. Literacy by Degrees, The Society for Research into Higher Education & The Open University Press, Milton Keynes, pp. 7-23

Argue that "learning within the university is a process of gradual socialisation into a distinctive culture of knowledge" and that 'literacy' "must be seen in terms of the functions to which language is put into that culture".

How do Ballard/Clancy define literacy in the university?

Ballard and Clanchy assert that a definition of 'literacy' needs to go beyond 'surface correctness', it needs to address the demands of the university's culture of knowledge and disciplinary sub-cultures. Literacy refers to a student's cognitive and linguistic abilities in performing functions required by the university, in ways and at a level judged acceptable by the university.

Why is it called an 'anthropological approach'?

The Concise Oxford English dictionary defines anthropology as "the study of humankind, including the comparative study of societies and cultures". Ballard and Clanchy are taking an anthropological approach to the concept of literacy in the university, by looking at the university culture, its language, way of thinking and what it means for students who are regarded either literate, or illiterate in that culture.

How do the authors define 'culture' in this extract?

It is referred to as the "culture of knowledge", which encompasses various distinct rituals, values, styles of language which affect how its members think and behave. The values and understandings which arise from the culture are what determines if a student is 'literate', their ability to effectively argue, produce evidence - think critically. 'Distinct' because most forms of literate behaviour fly in the face of the rules by which the university culture is bound.. eg. political discourse, literature.

What are sub-cultural rules?

Sub-cultural rules have developed over time from study of different subject matter - methods of thinking become differentiated and specialised within different disciplines. There exist 'sub-cultural' disciplinary rules which govern how thinking and language may function in specific contexts of knowledge, within the wider context of the 'culture of knowledge'.

What importance do the authors place on spelling and punctuation in student's writing? Why?

Authors point out that generally, academics give higher priority to the structure and development of argument than the correctness of language. In exploring the concept of literacy, the authors are suggesting that things like spelling and punctuation are simply at the surface and to address problems at the surface does not deal with the problem entirely. While correctness of language has a place, it is more important to look deeper into the cultural demands which determine literacy.

Why is it that students can perform well in one discipline and not in another?

This is touched on a couple in one of the questions above - sub-cultural rules present in different discipline can be quite different and if the student does not recognise this it can affect their performance within two or more different disciplines.

How does this article relate to the idea of world view as discussed by Hobson (and the next reading by Bizzell)?

Hobson states that all knowledge we encounter at university is within a certain context - it is attached to a particular person or group of persons, within a particular time, culture and context. The authors in this article state that the culture of the university is a culture of knowledge, and that this is expressed and maintained through language and values.