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There is no single definition of what it means to be literate, because literacy and literacies have different meanings and functions for different groups. Besides, people who have power to decide which literacies have status in society tend to undervalue some groups’ literacies such as women and farm workers.  It is commonly believed that farm workers who might at first be labelled “illiterate” since being literate was not an important criterion or power for farm workers. Moreover,  it seems like being male was much more significant, knowledge of farming was a male domain.

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The definition of illiterate is dominated by those who are advantages in the majority language to enable to maintain and extend their advantage on defining who are literate and who are not. However, it is often ignored that injustice actually exists in the society with the social structure problems. They are usually economically disadvantaged located at the lower part of the social structure thus called structure illiterate, due to the lack of literacy skills.

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The 'social process of literacy' consisently demonstrates the lack of alignment and failure to reflect diversity and culture within formal education. It is evident that the variety and majority of literacy methods present in minority-culture homes are not valued by educators and policy makers alike. The value placed on dominant-culture reading and writing is inconsistent with practices outside of the formal education system, which have significant culture and situational attachments and determinants yet go unnoticed by the education system. This not only applies to written and spoken language, but also non-verbal linguisitcs and methods of commuincation.

One cannot separate the cirriculum from social and political expectations and values.

This leads us to the question, how do we align these factors? Is there a way to bridge the education divide between cultures? What needs to change to accomplish this?

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Literacy is a complex cultural practice that means different things to different social groups. Literacy does not have the same meaning in Britain between the minority culture family and the mainstream culture family, or between the minority culture family and the mainstream culture school. For example, minority-culture families value or support their children's literacy development, as they seem to view literacy and schooling as key to mobility, thereby preventing their children from suffering as they do.

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It is significant that Blackledge has placed value on the fact that for different cultures literacy has varied meanings, this shows that the attribution of school failure to students’ lack of effort or parental inadequacy can actually be attributed to not focusing on the correct measures for assessing minority-cultured children’s literacy. This is shown by the idea that literacy is shaped by the social situations in which literacy is practiced (Reder, 1994). It is also recognised in the Kemehameha Early Education Programme where organisation is key to compatibility amongst cultures but in many cases in school it is not acknowledged and those from minority-cultures either have to adapt into the majority-culture of the school or they resist and fall behind.

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The goal in schools is to teach all students to be literate but they are referring to a limit definition of literate. There needs to be a redress about what it means to be literate in the education system, you see it more so now than before where sign language is being taught as an equal priority in communication, there is also the case where Autistic children cannot read body language, and have extra support to develop their skills in communication. These different modes of literacy should be included in the definition to be fully inclusive; this would also redress the imbalance of power that is present amongst those who are disabled or impaired and those who are not. This changes when policy changes, those in power will be able to lead this change.

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Literacy also has cultural barriers this again shows how literacy can be understood more by one culture when in a specific context.  By also understanding that literacy doesn't have the same function in all society's, this allows us to understand the different uses literacy has.

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Later on its suggested that individuals learn through interactions with peers, this shows the link between individual skills and cultural practices by drawing on both to come together to allow learning to take place with literacy. However doesn't go on to suggest the consequences or the outcome of individuals brought up in a different culture to the society they live in and use language in different ways. Do they have two separate uses of literacy, or do they combine these so that literacy becomes a multifaceted tool.

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Literacy can be viewed as a set of individual skills or than a cultural practices. This article discuss the debate between these two ideas. The article also addresses the idea that literacy’s meaning may not be the same from different cultural perspectives, therefore this allows interpretation into what individuals identify literacy to be as well as what groups believe and accept literacy’s definition and purpose to be.

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This book gives the lie to the widespread notion that mothers who are themselves illiterate in English cannot help their children to learn to read and write English. They can!