Literacy as an Essential Competence for Teachers and Educators in the 21st Century

Sefedin Fehim Šehović

Faculty of Education, University of Belgrade

Education for personal and professional development

Abstract

Within the context of renewed efforts to clarify the concepts of learning, literacy, and reading, the age-old phenomenon of "well-read" or literacy gains renewed interest. Literacy, in its literal sense, refers to the extent and capacity of reading. In a broader sense, literacy serves as a conceptual determinant for a high reading culture. Trivially put, it could imply a mere registration of read works, where the well-read individual has insight into basic, bibliographically ordered authors and their works, capable of indicating at least the approximate time of creation and the theme of each work. A higher level of literacy involves the ability to systematically consider the classification and arrangement of read works based on a freely chosen criterion. This requires not only reading but also interpreting the underlying, dominant idea of each read work. It was believed that, along with professional literacy and knowledge of the field, a well-read person established an active relationship with literature in general, engaging with written sources and works in their field with curiosity, not stopping at that. A well-read individual is someone who has successfully "conversed" with others, read works of those who lived in various epochs, lived in the distant or recent past, or are living today. Literacy, or its counterpart illiteracy, can be identified in various ways but can be most directly recognized as a level of reading culture based on the expressive capabilities and characteristics of readers with such ambitions. Numerous scientific studies, critiques, reviews, evaluations, and analyses have emerged on the works of many authors, shedding light not only on how books are perceived but also on works that illuminate selected aspects of a creator and their creativity.

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