The investigator hypothesizes that literacy, and in particular the process of learning to write, may fruitfully be viewed as a cultural behavior, and that analysis of the process from this perspective will be complementary to the more usual analysis of the psycholinguistic skills involved. In order to prepare a full-scale proposal for research on this topic, she requests a planning grant which will enable her to visit public school students of a variety of cultural backgrounds in Alaskan village settings. She will also consult with several recognized experts on spoken and written language, language acquisition, and literacy.
