Skip to Content

College of Education

  • four boys of various races reading a book together.

Language and Literacy

In  recent years, there has been an evolution in how literacy is defined as well as our understandings of literacy attainment, education, and learning. Literacy practices are constructed from social, historical, political, linguistic, and cultural contexts and impacted by technological developments. These shifts in perspective and belief systems have served to inform the design and philosophy of Language and Literacy program at the University of South Carolina.

Would you like to enhance your understanding of literacy theories and practices? Would you like to become a literacy teacher, literacy coach, literacy specialist, or teacher of English language learners?

When you join the Language and Literacy program, you will become part of a community of educators who actively explore the relationships between language, thinking, and culture through reading, writing, and discussing as well as through practical experiences in local schools.

 

Your Course Work

Your course work will include an inquiry-based approach. You will explore the relationships among language, thinking, and culture, and examine how literacy as a process is not separate from but connected to the cultural contexts where language is used. You will have opportunities to participate in our ongoing partnerships with other educational institutions and agencies.

 

Your Career

The M.Ed. in Language and Literacy is designed to incorporate course work leading to advanced certifications in South Carolina. The Ph.D. in Language and Literacy is designed to prepare you to be a literacy leader within your school district or other professional settings, like state departments of education or institutions of higher education.

 

Language and Literacy Program Mission and Vision

Our Mission
The mission of the University of South Carolina’s nationally recognized Language and Literacy Program is to design research paths that promote educators in becoming transformational literacy leaders committed to diversity-oriented and equity-minded education.

Our Vision
As the flagship institution of South Carolina, our vision is to prepare educators and teacher educators who actively address societal conditions of power and privilege that impact literacy practices within schools, families, and communities.  Our aim is to serve as a leading research institution, offering collaborative, culturally-responsive instructional programs that support deep, rich learning for all students and faculty.  We seek to prepare exemplary, professional, and compassionate scholars and educators who specialize in providing intellectual leadership in the literacy field, and we are committed to bridging the intersection of theory and practice in our continual quest to innovate and contribute to new knowledge in the field of literacy.

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

©