Written Communication Oct 1999

What's in a Label?: Complicating Notions of the Skills-Poor Worker

GLYNDA A. HULL

Abstract

This article reports qualitative research on a perceived literacy problem in an electronics factory in the Silicon Valley of Northern California. Guided by a sociocultural framework, Hull investigates an instance of frontline workers' apparent failure to read, understand, and/or follow important manufacturing process instructions. Interviewing all parties involved, from engineers and managers to workers, Hull explores the significance of the mistake and a range of explanations for why it occurred. In so doing, she moves beyond explanations that center on deficiency in individuals and groups, and toward broader based accounts that consider institutional, social, and cultural arrangements and the relationships and practices they foster. She offers an expansive definition of what it means to be a literate, skills-rich worker, and she urges vigilance against the tendency in both schools and workplaces to label and mislabel, and thereby to miss human potential.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1999-10-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088399016004001
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research literacy studies
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Marotta (2021)
    Regulated and Nonregulated Writing: A Qualitative Study of University Custodian…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  2. Marotta (2019)
    Who Has the Right to Write? Custodian Writing and White Property in the University
    College English
  3. Wolfe et al. (2009)
    Argumentation Schema and the Myside Bias in Written Argumentation
    Written Communication
  4. Christoph (2009)
    Each One Teach One: The Legacy of Evangelism in Adult Literacy Education
    Written Communication
  5. WINSOR (2000)
    Ordering Work: Blue-Collar Literacy and the Political Nature of Genre
    Written Communication

References (61) · 2 in this index

  1. America's choice: High skills or low wages!
  2. Anderson, A. B. (1980)
    The Quarterly Newsletter of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition
  3. Appelbaum, E.
    Transforming the production system in U.S. firms. A report to the Sloan Foundation
  4. 10.1525/awr.1991.12.3.2
     ↗
  5. The bottom line: Basic skills in the workplace
Show all 61 →
  1. Carnevale, A. P.
    Workplace basics: The skills employers want
  2. Cook-Gumperz, J.
    The social construction of literacy
  3. D'Amico, D.
    Changing work, changing workers: Critical perspectives on language, literacy and skills
  4. 10.17730/humo.51.3.356l2g3101877727
     ↗
  5. Darrah, C. N.
    Changing work, changing workers: Critical perspectives on language, literacy and skills
  6. Diehl, W. (1980)
    Journal of Reading
  7. Duffy, T. M.
    Literacy instruction in the armed forces
  8. Dyson, A. H.
    On teaching writing: A review of the literature
  9. 10.1177/074171368303300301
     ↗
  10. Freedman, R. B.
    Worker representation and participation survey: Report of the findings
  11. Gee, J. P.
    The new work order: Behind the language of the new capitalism
  12. Gowen, S. G.
    The politics of workplace literacy: A case study
  13. Gowen, S. G.
    Changing work, changing workers: Critical perspectives on language, literacy and skills
  14. Grubb, W. N.
    Readin', writin', and `rithmetic one more time: The role of remediation in vocational edu…
  15. Heath, S. B.
    Ways with words
  16. Heath, S. B.
    Perspectives on literacy
  17. Hiles, J.A.M. (1993). Survey of workplace literacy programs in the state of Georgia. …
  18. 10.17763/haer.63.1.u0762m971p0645t4
     ↗
  19. Hull, G. (1995)
    Critical Forum
  20. Hull, G.
    Transitions in work and learning: Implications for assessment
  21. Hull, G. (1999)
    Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy
  22. Hull, G.
    Changing work, changing literacy? A study of skill requirements and development in a trad…
  23. HULL et al. (1989)
    Rethinking Remediation: Toward a Social-Cognitive Understanding of Problematic …
    Written Communication
  24. Hull et al. (1990)
    "This Wooden Shack Place": The Logic of an Unconventional Reading
    College Composition and Communication
  25. 10.2307/358073
     ↗
  26. Jacob, E.
    Becoming a worker
  27. Jolliffe, D.
    Changing work, changing workers: Critical perspectives on language, literacy and skills
  28. Kalman, J.
    Changing work, changing workers: Critical perspectives on language, literacy and skills
  29. Katzenbach, J. R.
    The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization
  30. Kirsch, I.S.
    Literacy: Profiles of America's young adults
  31. Lankshear, C.
    Literacy, schooling, and revolution
  32. Lund, L.
    Literacy in the work force
  33. Martin, L.M.W.
    An introduction to CNC systems: Background for learning and training research
  34. 10.2307/747527
     ↗
  35. Oakes, J.
    Keeping track: How schools structure inequality
  36. Reder, S. M.
    The future of literacy in a changing world
  37. Reich, R. (1987)
    Harvard Business Review
  38. Rush, R.
    Occupational literacy education
  39. Schultz, K.
    Changing work, changing workers: Critical perspectives on language, literacy and skills
  40. 10.1525/aeq.1985.16.3.05x1486d
     ↗
  41. Scribner, S. (1987)
    Information Update
  42. Scribner, S.
    The psychology of literacy
     ↗
  43. Scribner, S.
    Knowledge acquisition at work
  44. The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)
    Learning a living: A blueprint for high performance
  45. Siegel, L.
    CPU, an electronic bulletin board
  46. Sticht, T. G.
    Cognitive and affective learning strategies
  47. Sticht, T. G. (1988)
    Review of Research in Education
  48. Sticht, T. G.
    Cast-off youth: Policy and training methods from the military experience
  49. Sticht, T. G.
    Materials and methods in adult and continuing education
  50. Street, B.
    Literacy in theory and practice
  51. Sturgeon, T. (1991)
    Circuits Assembly
  52. Sturm, R.
    How do education and training affect a country's economic performance? A literature survey
  53. Taylor, F. W.
    The principles of scientific management
  54. Wright, B. L. (1993). Current practices of workplace literacy programs in Fortune 500 a…
  55. Ziv, O.
    Changing work, changing workers: Critical perspectives on language, literacy and skills
  56. Zuboff, S.
    In the age of the smart machine: The future of work and power
CrossRef global citation count: 12 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2026
    Surveys as UXR: Using Design Thinking to Shape a Survey-Based UX Assessment for Rural Audiences ↗
    Kaitlin J. Coyle; Derek G. Ross
    assessment technical communication qualitative research literacy studies
  2. Journal of Writing Research Feb 2026
    “It’s giving AI”: Reading ambiguously-authored texts and the role of felt sense ↗
    Elizabeth Velasquez; Christa Teston
    qualitative research literacy studies
  3. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Precarious Participation: Chinese International Students’ Transnational Digital Literacies ↗
    Zhaozhe Wang
    qualitative research digital rhetoric multilingual writers literacy studies community literacy
  4. College Composition and Communication Feb 2026
    Research Brief: Community-Engaged Writing ↗
    Jessica Pauszek; Veronica House; Paula Mathieu
    service learning teacher development collaborative writing labor and working conditions archival research qualitative research literacy studies race and writing
  5. Written Communication Jan 2026
    Writing Instruction for Adult L2-Learners: A Case Study From Three Swedish Classrooms ↗
    Clara Palm; Ann-Christin Randahl; Liss Kerstin Sylvén
    genre theory writing pedagogy teacher development qualitative research literacy studies