Literacy and the New Workplace: the fit between employment‐oriented literacy and Aboriginal language‐use

In recent years there has been much comment on the value‐laden and particularly political nature of language and literacy and the manner in which literacy is embedded in particular socio‐cultural systems. It is argued here that the non‐neutrality of literacy is evident in the contemporary positioning of adult language and literacy instruction within the rhetoric of current employment‐related concerns. These concerns privilege a particular vision of the workplace and workforce and these ideas have become embedded in competency‐based language and literacy schemata. In this paper, assumptions regarding the nature of workers’ participation in the ‘new’ workplace in such schemata are identified. In particular, the degree to which the vision of participation, as measured by specified language and literacy competence for the workplace, is likely to be shared by Aboriginal Australians in both remote and settled Australia is considered. Related factors impinging on adult Aboriginal acquisition and demonstrations of language and literacy competence in this context are discussed.