Primary School
Curriculum
Handout 1 Definitions of Literacy
Definitions we shared with teachers last year...
Literacy and Numeracy
Leaving Certificate English
strategy
Syllabus
The acquisition of literacy
and numeracy skills is central
to effective learning in every
area of the curriculum and to
the child’s social and
community life outside
school. The successful
development of these
essential skills during the
primary school years will be
crucial for educational
success in post-primary
school and in enabling every
individual to realise his or
her social and vocational
potential.
UNESCO Institute for
Education, Hamburg,
Germany
Literacy arouses hopes, not
only in society as a whole but
also in the individual who is
striving for fulfilment,
happiness and personal
benefit by learning how to
read and write. Literacy...
means far more than learning
how to read and write... The
aim is to transmit...
knowledge and promote
social participation.
Parent and teacher
Literacy includes the
capacity to read, understand
and critically appreciate
various forms of
communication including
spoken language, printed
text, broadcast media, and
digital media.
This syllabus aims at
initiating students into
enriching experience with
language so that they become
more adept and thoughtful
users of it and more critically
aware of its power and
significance in their lives.
N.A.L.A.
J.D. Dreissen
Literacy involves listening
and speaking, reading,
writing, numeracy and using
everyday technology to
communicate and handle
information. It also has
personal, social and
economic dimensions.
Teacher
My vision of literacy is
Reading, writing, spelling
probably clouded by my own
experience as a teacher, a
parent, at this stage I would
say my vision of literacy
would be to enable children
to be able to engage in depth
in the world, understand
conversations, understand the
language being used and
have the confidence to live in
that world and not choose to
opt out.
Literacy is like a plant that
grows in a garden – the soil
must first be cultivated
before the seed is planted.
Once the environment is
ready the seed will flourish.
Kofi Annan
Literacy is a bridge from
misery to hope… Acquiring
literacy is an empowering
process, enabling millions to
enjoy access to knowledge
and information which
broadens horizons, increases
opportunities and creates
alternatives for building a
better life.
The main policy definitions:
1. Primary School Curriculum
The acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills is central to effective learning in every
area of the curriculum and to the child’s social and community life outside school.
The successful development of these essential skills during the primary school years
will be crucial for educational success in post-primary school and in enabling every
individual to realise his or her social and vocational potential.
2. Literacy and Numeracy Strategy
Literacy includes the capacity to read, understand and critically appreciate various
forms of communication including spoken language, printed text, broadcast media,
and digital media.
3. Leaving Certificate English Syllabus
This syllabus aims at initiating students into enriching experience with language so
that they become more adept and thoughtful users of it and more critically aware of its
power and significance in their lives.
English Teachers’ Definitions:
1. “At this stage I would say my vision of literacy would be to enable children to
engage, in depth, in the world; understand conversations, understand the language
being used; and have the confidence to live in that world, and not choose to opt out.”
2. “Literacy is the key to unlocking a world, before only glimpsed through the keyhole
and never entered.”
3. “Literacy provides the tools to enable a student to successfully negotiate, to the best
of his/her ability, his/her world, and to imagine and articulate his/her dreams and
vision.”
4. “Literacy and literature for me is enjoyment, empowerment, challenging and the
discovery of new things. Building confidence, a life-long relationship – “we need to
know we are not alone” – the three ‘R’s are important, functional English is vital but
there is also the above!!”
5. “Before the project I really thought literacy was just about the basics. Now I see it
more as an umbrella term for all of what goes on in English. I think the world itself
causes one to view it in a diminished form, the creative part disappears. Literacy
really encompasses everything, including creative thinking.”