Most of us believe that it is pretty important that students read and write.
But educationalist Margaret Meek challenged this literacy norm, that is ingrained in many societies, back in 1987.
In 2021, the Office for Students produced a report that pushed for the improvement of literacy standards in higher education. Susan Lapworth, director of regulation at the Office for Students, stated in a press release that “it is not possible to analyse and explore complex theories and arguments without being able to write well…”.
The suggestion that complex ideas can only be analysed through text-based means reinforces ableism. Craig Collinson discusses the idea of “lexism” – the theory that dyslexia is actually created because of society’s obsession with the written word.
