Abstract
Throughout the literature on reading theory, the concept of prior knowledge, i.e. what one brings in the way of background about the topic to the printed page, occupies an important, central place. The more prior experience the reader possesses, the easier it is to reconstruct the author's meaning, thus implying that meaning does not reside solely in the print. This investigation explores the significance of prior experience by measuring two groups of plumbing apprentices' understanding of a topic in their trade training. This investigation also challenges currently popular rhetoric that claims apprentices with reading problems need 'back-to-basics' pedagogy, by posing the question: Apprentice literac y -whose responsibility?
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