Island culture and the value of literacy on Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland

Literacy, like formal education in general, is a product of cultural values. Recognition and awareness of cultural values and practices is integral to understanding the varied meaning(s), use(s), and impact(s) of literacy specific to a given community or location because literacy cannot be studied in isolation; indeed, literacy must be studied in relation to a particular sociocultural context because the meanings and uses vary across cultural boundaries. Furthermore, cultural analysis can be challenging under the best of conditions, but it is especially challenging in the context of small island societies. In the latter, intellectual values and a commitment to formal education tends to be marginalised by the preservation and emphasis on values and traditions historically springing from economic survival—fishing and farming, for example. Through the lens of Island Studies (Nissology), I have examined the relationship between literacies and cultural practices in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. More specifically, by way of a comparative case study between one Newfoundland and one Prince Edward Island community, I have demonstrated that although literacy and education are valued and deemed important by islanders, other activities and values, such as employment, may (and often do) take greater priority.