Reflects on transnationalism, UNESCO's role, and the new realities of South Africa. Suggests the need for critical awareness of Western domination, understanding of adult education as culture and sector, the importance of rejuvenating civil society, and design of curricula from life as it is lived. (SK)

Literacy is a social process. Each person constructs his or her own "literate identity" and each community constructs its own "literate culture." At times, this local and individual process is at odds with literacy development on a large scale, undertaken through social intervention. Such social intervention is counter-social in that by trying to…

The National Literacy Program in Namibia (NLPN) was launched in 1992 with the objective of achieving 80% national literacy among adults. Several evaluations, including an evaluation of system policy and performance, have been conducted. The methodology of these evaluations and the philosophy behind them are discussed. (SLD)

The correlations between literacy and development are universally recognized, though not always fully understood. Since the individual is the locus of all learning as well as the agent of all developmental actions, psychological approaches to the study of the relationship between literacy and development should be promising. The essential question…

This paper addresses the logic and the structure of economic motivations for adult literacy promotion. It uses as an example the People's Republic of China to demonstrate how economic motivations can best serve the cause of adult literacy and suggests applying these concepts to India. The paper is organized in three parts. In the first part, the…

Advocating the literacy campaign as the most appropriate and adequate means for dealing with large-scale illiteracy, this book presents eight case studies of national campaigns as examples and illustrations of this approach. The book notes that mass literacy campaigns are not the exclusive province of any particular ideology, but are possible…

The evaluative implications of adult literacy for all, as delineated by the World Conference on Education for All (held in Jomtien, Thailand, on March 5-9, 1990), are examined. These implications are presented in four interrelated sets related to different stakeholders at different parts of the system. The Education for All (EFA) initiatives…

Training, in the article's context, is used to describe programs of preparation and orientation of project personnel and community leaders. Teachers, supervisors, forum leaders, regional and national staffs, and international experts all need training in literacy projects. Some guidelines for a training design include a discussion of six items:…

When Ethiopia launched its National Literacy Campaign (NLC) in July 1979, it was announced that illiteracy would be removed from the urban areas of the country by 1982 and from rural Ethiopia by 1987. By the end of the 12th round of the NLC in February 1985, 16.9 million youths and adults had been covered by the campaign, and 12 million (almost…

Leaders and decision makers in Africa and nations of African diaspora must face a number of challenges in their attempts to further development through literacy: (1) reinvent a concept of African development that is a product of the native genius of Africa and that is rooted in the matrix of indigenous cultural values, realities, and…

At the heart of the enterprise of providing reading materials to new readers is the writer. The writer must write before the new literates can read and must write both effectively and interestingly. Although talent helps, acquired skills play an important part in writing, especially in expository writing. More important, to enable them to produce…

The Thousand Learner Unit Project, part of the national Adult Basic Education and Training Initiative in South Africa, was evaluated with input from policymakers and program personnel. While many problems were apparent with program implementation, it was considered a success for its accomplishments in the post-apartheid era and resultant political…

Some of the trends and issues in worldwide adult literacy include the existence of the following: (1) an increasing percentage of literate people, perhaps resulting from more children's education rather than literacy initiatives for adults; (2) fuzzy definitions of literacy and inaccurate self-reported data; (3) a change in ideology, moving from…

Program design in nonformal education must take into account the cultural context in which it exists. In developing countries, it can neither reject all values of Western civilization (an impossible task), nor can it embrace Western values without regard to native cultures. The challenge, especially in literacy education, is to become culturally…

Addressed to professionals involved in program evaluation, this working paper covers various aspects of evaluation planning, including the following: planning as a sociotechnical process, steps in evaluation planning, program planning and implementation versus evaluation planning and implementation, the literacy system and its subsystems, and some…