Learning about literacies through a literacy practices questionnaire [LPQ]

This article reports on the creation and use of a literacy practices questionnaire [LPQ] for exploring the home, school, and community literacy practices of primary-aged students in Victoria, Australia. This tool was designed to gather data at intervals, to learn about the literacies students engaged in, and the extent to which these changed over time.

The article outlines the process of developing an LPQ and utilises data from five primary school students to illustrate the types of information and insights it can provide. This article also makes suggestions for the future development and application of literacy practices questionnaires to explore learners’ literacies growth, including those of differing ages and in different learning settings. The tool is included as an appendix for readers who wish to adapt it for their own learning context.