Literacy Worlds of Jamaican-heritage boys in the English Educational System: Identity and Educational Development

In the UK, there are rising concerns about the underachievement of Caribbeanheritage boys, yet there remains a gap in understanding of their cultural literacy practices. This study explores the literacy landscapes of third-generation Jamaican-heritage boys with the purpose of discovering the extent to which cultural literacy influences both identity and the development of measured, formal literacy. Using qualitative methodology, the thesis explores various factors that constitute cultural literacy based on the participants’ perspectives.

Data is gathered from three Jamaican-heritage boys and their parents using interviews, pupil literacy logs and in-school records collected over three terms. The findings reveal three types of family interactions relating to home-based literacy practice, described as ‘child-directed’, ‘integrated’ and ‘parent-directed’. The thesis also discusses the contribution of community, interrogates a perceived disconnect between in-school and out-of-school literacy among minority groups, and looks at how the conversation about race and racism is simultaneously encouraged and silenced.

A significant difference is revealed between the participants’ home literacy practices and how literacy-learning is conducted and regarded at school, profoundly affecting their capability to succeed academically, as well as how they construct their identities. A restructuring of the context and situations in schools is recommended to embrace all cultural experiences and embed them systemically, valuing and legitimising their contribution to a more egalitarian route to success at formal literacy. Further studies are needed to be able to make broad generalisations.