Literacy, Language, and Culture (LLC): Program Overview
How do students make sense of the texts they encounter in school?
How do community practices influence sense-making?
How can teachers best foster students’ communication of their ideas?
What happens when these processes do not work smoothly?
Faculty and students affiliated with the Literacy, Language, and Culture (LLC) area are exploring questions like these in their efforts to foster the success of children and adolescents, both at home and in the community. The LLC unit is focused particularly on issues of language and literacy learning, both typical and atypical, in school and community settings. We approach these issues from a range of perspectives, including sociocultural, cognitive, and developmental theories and methods. Students are encouraged to develop familiarity with a range of perspectives and issues, but to develop a particular specialization.
Examples of current projects include:
- Analysis of parents’ interactions with their children during joint storybook reading in a range of ethnic communities
- Evaluation of the role of children’s awareness of morphological subunits within words in their higher-level word recognition skills
- Development of instructional support for text-rich experiences in project-based science lessons
- Analysis of non-academic texts used by urban teens to communicate and establish multiple identities
- Studying the discourse of classroom instruction and professional development to understand how to provide more opportune classroom learning conditions.
- Evaluation of the influence of centralized policy decisions on literacy instruction and children’s learning
The School of Education offers Literacy, Language, and Culture degrees at both the Master's and Doctoral levels.
This degree specialization is housed within the Educational Studies program, which fosters links among students and faculty in a number of specializations sharing a commitment to the integration of theory and research on teaching, learning, and educational access in P-12 settings.
Special note about Early Childhood Education
Several faculty members in
the Literacy, Language, and Culture area have strong research programs related
to early literacy practices and policies and are prepared to support the academic
program of students who wish to focus on Early Childhood issues related to language
and literacy. Students interested in specializing in a particular age range such
as early childhood may do so by working with their advisor to choose electives,
internship experiences, and research experiences that are consistent with this
specialization.
Doctoral degree in Literacy, Language, and Culture:
The Ph.D. program in Literacy, Language, and Culture focuses on the learning and use of multiple literacies among diverse groups of people. The internationally recognized faculty brings multiple theoretical perspectives (e.g. cognitive, sociocultural , critical, and feminist) to the study of literacy and language among children, adolescents, and adults. Faculty members have expertise in disciplines such as psychology, linguistics, anthropology, and sociology. Students in this interdisciplinary Ph.D. program are members of nationally funded research groups engaged in cutting-edge scholarship to advance educational theory and practice. Graduate students also participate in school and university seminars, university teaching internships, national conferences, and other outreach efforts.
Core courses will familiarize you with a number of theoretical perspectives that have informed literacy research and teaching practices over the last 100 years, as well as with current perspectives on literacy research and practice. In addition, faculty offer special seminars related to their specific research interests on a rotating basis. Such courses are designed to provide in-depth treatment of particular areas of literacy theory, research, and practice. Examples of such courses include seminars in Comprehension Research; Youth Literacy, Culture, and Identity; Literacy as Cultural Practice; and Early Literacy Development.
Upon completion of the Ph.D., graduates are prepared for faculty positions at research and teaching universities or for positions as research scientists and post-doctoral fellows at research centers. Some graduates also take positions as curriculum and professional development leaders in literacy and language education in school districts or community organizations.
It is also worth noting that, as a unit within Michigan's Educational Studies Program, the Literacy, Language and Culture PhD program is a national partner in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate, sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of teaching.
What else would you like to learn about the Doctoral program?
I would like to see a list of LLC faculty and their research interests.
What kind of work can I do in this program?
I would like to see a list of Doctoral degree requirements.
I have questions about the Doctoral program which still need answering.
I would like to talk to an LLC Doctoral student about the program.
Master’s degree in Literacy, Language, and Culture:
The MA program in Literacy, Language, and Culture seeks to engage students in an appreciation of social, cognitive and cultural perspectives on literacy theory and research that can be applied to a variety of different vocational goals. Rather than offering a master’s degree that focuses primarily on literacy instruction at the secondary or elementary levels, we seek to provide students with a rich understanding of language and literacy that would be desirable in a number of different possible career paths after completion of the MA. One path might be in the role of classroom teacher who is particularly fluent in literacy theory and research relevant to K-12 learners. A second path might be an
The Reading Specialist (BR) Endorsement The MA program in Literacy, Language, and Culture is approved by the State of Michigan to offer an endorsement as a Reading Specialist to students who have a Michigan elementary or secondary teaching certificate and who complete the LLC degree requirments, along with a specialized internship (a 4-credit, modified version of the required ED638 Internship course). The Reading Specialist endorsement will enable a teacher to be employed as a school reading consultant/teacher consultant, to teach in special remedial or developmental programs, and to teach reading as a special subject at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. In addition to completing the LLC MA requirement, the reading subject area test must be passed in order to qualify for the endorsement. |
administrative role, which could involve such responsibilities as the development and implementation of classroom and school literacy curricula, English language arts curricula, professional development and the development of district-wide assessments in literacy across the grade levels and content areas. For either of these career paths, the program offers the option of pursuing an endorsement fromt he State of Michigan as a Reading Specialist. A third path might be that of university researcher and teacher educator. Thus, our MA offers the option of preparing to go on to pursue a Ph.D. in literacy, language and culture, to lead professional development for literacy teachers, or to engage in school-based practice informed by current perspectives on literacy theory and research.
Core courses will familiarize you with literacy theory and policy, typical and atypical patterns of development in reading and writing, instructional approaches for fostering literacy across the age span, and cultural variations in the mastery and expression of literacy skills. Although most students in the MA program are full-time, the program is also open to full-time teachers who want to pursue the degree on a part-time basis.
Upon completion of your M.A., you will have the grounding for the various career paths described above. Some graduates continue directly into a Ph.D. program, either at Michigan or other institutions. Others take positions as teacher leaders or policy personnel in school systems.
What else would you like to learn about the Master's program?
I would like to see a list of LLC faculty and their research interests.
What kind of work can I do in this program.
I would like to see a list of Master's degree course requirements.
I have questions about the Master's program which still need answering.
I would like to talk to an LLC Master's student about the program.
Can full-time teachers enroll in the program?
