Peter Freebody
Encyclopedia
Peter Freebody is currently a Professorial Research Fellow with the Faculty of Education and Social Work and a core member of the CoCo Research Centre
at The University of Sydney in Sydney
, Australia
. His research and teaching interests include literacy education, classroom interaction and quantitative and qualitative research methods. He has served on numerous Australian State and Commonwealth literacy education and assessment advisory groups. Freebody, with Allan Luke
, originated the Four Resources Model of literacy education.
, Australia
before taking a position as Lecturer at the Center for Behavioral Studies in Education, New South Wales from 1975–1977. He served as a research assistant at the Center for the Study of Reading at the University of Illinois in the United States from 1977–1979 and as a Visiting Research Associate at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1979–1980.
Returning to Australia in 1981, Freebody took a position as Lecturer-Senior Lecturer, and in 1990 he became a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Behavioral Studies in Education, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales
. From 1992 to 2002 he was a professor with the Faculty of Education at Griffith University in Brisbane, Queensland. In 2003 he moved to Singapore as Professor and Deputy Dean (Research) at the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice National Institute of Education. Returning to Australia in 2005, Freebody took a position as Professor in the School of Education at The University of Queensland in St. Lucia.
His work has appeared in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, Harvard Educational Review, and the American Educational Research Journal. He has also contributed numerous invited entries in international handbooks and encyclopedias on literacy, critical literacy, and research methodology. He has served on numerous Australian state and national advisory groups in the area of literacy education, and is senior consultant on the national on-line curriculum initiative conducted by the Curriculum Corporation.
(Honours 1st Class) in Education from The University of Sydney
in Sydney
, Australia
in 1973. He received his Diploma in Education from the Sydney Teacher's College in 1973 and his Teaching Certificate from the New South Wales
Department of Education in 1974. In 1980 Freebody received his Ph.D.
from the School of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
, Illinois, U.S.A.
and Peter Freebody of Griffith University
introduced the Four Resources Model in literacy education. This model seeks to reconcile the debates among Whole Language
, Phonics
, critical literacy
and others. This model postulates that in order to be a fully literate citizen, a person needs:
Luke and Freebody assert that no one of these resources is sufficient by itself but that each is essential. Further, the resources are not meant to indicate a sequence of instruction. Different resources should be present in instruction in varying amounts, depending upon the needs of the students. Luke has also stated that critical competence, far from being an upper level topic, can begin to be developed in year one of education and before.
CoCo Research Centre
CoCo, The Centre for Research on Computer-supported Learning and Cognition is an education research centre within the University of Sydney that carries out research into the sciences and technologies of learning....
at The University of Sydney in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. His research and teaching interests include literacy education, classroom interaction and quantitative and qualitative research methods. He has served on numerous Australian State and Commonwealth literacy education and assessment advisory groups. Freebody, with Allan Luke
Allan Luke
Allan Luke is an educator, researcher, and theorist studying multiliteracies, linguistics, family literacy, and educational policy. Dr. Luke has written or edited over 14 books and more than 140 articles and book chapters. Luke, with Peter Freebody, originated the Four Resources Model of literacy...
, originated the Four Resources Model of literacy education.
Personal history and career
Freebody was born on 12 August 1950 in Sydney, Australia. After receiving his Diploma in Education in 1974, he taught for a year at Normanhurst Boys High School in New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
before taking a position as Lecturer at the Center for Behavioral Studies in Education, New South Wales from 1975–1977. He served as a research assistant at the Center for the Study of Reading at the University of Illinois in the United States from 1977–1979 and as a Visiting Research Associate at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1979–1980.
Returning to Australia in 1981, Freebody took a position as Lecturer-Senior Lecturer, and in 1990 he became a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Behavioral Studies in Education, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. From 1992 to 2002 he was a professor with the Faculty of Education at Griffith University in Brisbane, Queensland. In 2003 he moved to Singapore as Professor and Deputy Dean (Research) at the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice National Institute of Education. Returning to Australia in 2005, Freebody took a position as Professor in the School of Education at The University of Queensland in St. Lucia.
His work has appeared in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, Harvard Educational Review, and the American Educational Research Journal. He has also contributed numerous invited entries in international handbooks and encyclopedias on literacy, critical literacy, and research methodology. He has served on numerous Australian state and national advisory groups in the area of literacy education, and is senior consultant on the national on-line curriculum initiative conducted by the Curriculum Corporation.
Education
Peter Freebody received his Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(Honours 1st Class) in Education from The University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1973. He received his Diploma in Education from the Sydney Teacher's College in 1973 and his Teaching Certificate from the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Department of Education in 1974. In 1980 Freebody received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the School of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, Illinois, U.S.A.
Four Resources Model
In the early 1990s, Allan LukeAllan Luke
Allan Luke is an educator, researcher, and theorist studying multiliteracies, linguistics, family literacy, and educational policy. Dr. Luke has written or edited over 14 books and more than 140 articles and book chapters. Luke, with Peter Freebody, originated the Four Resources Model of literacy...
and Peter Freebody of Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
introduced the Four Resources Model in literacy education. This model seeks to reconcile the debates among Whole Language
Whole language
Whole language describes a literacy philosophy which emphasizes that children should focus on meaning and strategy instruction. It is often contrasted with phonics-based methods of teaching reading and writing which emphasize instruction for decoding and spelling. However, from whole language...
, Phonics
Phonics
Phonics refers to a method for teaching speakers of English to read and write that language. Phonics involves teaching how to connect the sounds of spoken English with letters or groups of letters and teaching them to blend the sounds of letters together to produce approximate pronunciations...
, critical literacy
Critical literacy
Critical Literacy is an instructional approach, stemming from Marxist Critical pedagogy, that advocates the adoption of "critical" perspectives toward text. Critical literacy encourages readers to actively analyze texts and offers strategies for what proponents describe as uncovering underlying...
and others. This model postulates that in order to be a fully literate citizen, a person needs:
- coding competence (the ability to decode text, i.e. phonics)
- semantic competence (the ability to make meaning, i.e. comprehension)
- pragmatic competence (every day, functional literacy, i.e. writing a check, reading the newspaper, filling out a job application, etc.)
- critical competence (the ability to critically select and analyze texts, i.e. avoiding scams, determining reliable sources of information, etc.)
Luke and Freebody assert that no one of these resources is sufficient by itself but that each is essential. Further, the resources are not meant to indicate a sequence of instruction. Different resources should be present in instruction in varying amounts, depending upon the needs of the students. Luke has also stated that critical competence, far from being an upper level topic, can begin to be developed in year one of education and before.
Suggested further reading
- Austin, H., Dwyer, B. & Freebody, P. (2001). Schooling the child: the making of students in classrooms. London: Routledge-Falmer. (pp. viii+209).
- Freebody, P. (1992). A socio-cultural approach: Resourcing four roles as a literacy learner. In A. Watson & A. Badenhop (Eds.), Prevention of reading failure (pp. 48–60). Sydney: Ashton-Scholastic.
- Freebody, P. (2003). Qualitative Research in Education: Interaction and Practice. London: Sage Press. (pp. xiv + 234).
- Freebody, P. Forrest, T. & Gunn, S. (2001) Accounting and silencing in interviews: Smooth running through the 'problem of schooling the disadvantaged'. In P. Freebody, S. Muspratt & B. Dwyer (eds.) Difference, silence, and textual practice: Studies in critical literacy. New Jersey: Hampton Press (pp. 119–151).