The Cultural Practices of Literacy Study (CPLS) is situated at the University of Kentucky in the College of Education. CPLS is an "umbrella" study that includes a series of case studies of literacy practice in socio-culturally-defined communities. Each case study is framed by theory that views literacy as social and cultural practice, patterned by institutions, historical events, values, beliefs, and power relationships. Each case study is also designed with the goal of developing literacy instruction, particularly for marginalized communities, that builds on community literacy practices. Thus, CPLS also studies literacy practices within schooling contexts through either retrospective interviews or direct observations. Another project within CPLS is the development of a large database of literacy practices within different socio-cultural contexts. Essentially, this database will serve for meta-analyses across case studies.

Research Foundation of CPLS

CPLS is building on previous research-based knowledge: Young children grow up in communities and homes. Within these contexts they acquire cognitive models for how and why literacy is practiced, who does and does not do it, and foundational emergent literacy concepts. Emergent literacy knowledge strongly predicts success at learning to read and write in school. Once in school, learners achieve at higher rates to the degree that the texts they read and write reflect those that they are familiar within their homes and communities. We refer to this type of instruction as authentic literacy instruction.

CPLS Case Study Methodology

Each CPLS researcher participates in the community as either a member of that community or by contributing time and talent to the benefit of the community. Data are collected via observations/field notes, artifacts, structured and semi-structured interviews, and photographs. Researchers document texts, writing systems, historical and political contexts, social spheres within which reading and writing occur, and characteristics about participants (e.g. gender, roles, age, and education).