This paper and the four commissioned works on which it is based are guided by the important question: How can we start valuing practices and outcomes of teaching and learning that are difficult to reduce to numbers? As the process of developing indicators for the Post-2015 education targets unfolds, some of the targets are at risk of being dropped…

This paper examines the question of why Africa has made such slow progress towards the goal of eradicating illiteracy, and why it remains an exceptionally disadvantaged region in this respect. The article surveys the history of the development of literacy in Africa from colonial times to the present day, focusing on the role of adult education in…

Millennium Development Goals were established by the United Nations to help underdeveloped countries to overcome problems of illiteracy, poverty, low health status and quality of life. Much emphasis was placed on the attainment of MDG targets in education because of its pivotal role in national development. The targets include education for all…

Describes recent activities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that are bringing printed materials to people in villages and on farms. (MKM)

While the implementation of adult literacy promotion can best be handled at the national level, some important things can be done at the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) level. A persuasive argument can be made on behalf of adult literacy in the SADCC development strategy. The people need to be educated in the…

This document, one of a series of British occasional papers on basic education, investigates adult literacy practices in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The texts and their authors are "Building a National Movement: The Caribbean Experience" (Didacus Jules); "Literacy and Empowerment: A Definition for Literacy"…

Describes a literacy program in Africa that trains new writers to produce a written literature for their new readers. (AEA)

Offers six teaching activities suggested by teachers: addressing vocabulary development; punctuation awareness; building background knowledge for English literature; a system for notetaking; a month-long unit on African folktales; and an Alzheimer patient's response to children's literature. (SR)

Suggests that the means to eliminate illiteracy are available in Africa if nations devise and implement a strategy of action based on an effective political will and adopting a methodical, rational approach. Discusses the current situation, negative factors, repercussions on development, and future demands. Argues that promoting basic education…

This working document suggests guidelines and strategies for the development of education in Africa during the 1990s. The first chapter, "Educational Development in Africa during the 1980s," identifies the following: the main educational challenges in the early 1980s and the responses proposed by the Conference of Ministers of Education…

Four papers on the role of libraries in adult education were presented at the 1984 IFLA general conference meeting of the Section on Adult Education. They include: (1) "The Library of the Pompeia Leisure Centre, Sao Paulo, Brazil," in which Apaty Peroni of Brazil provides background on the community, location, collection, personnel,…

Recent studies conducted in developing nations throughout the world have made it possible to formulate a political theory of literacy for development that clarifies relationships between development ideologies and literacy policies and thus provides a greater understanding of the choices and decisions made by policymakers and planners. Depending…

Traditionally women have been signified to be "for others", never for themselves. This conceptualisation is also present in the discourses about literacy. The traditional discourse justifies women's literacy based on the need to improve family health, well-being, educational access, and so on. Thus, it is seen as a tool for other ends…

This issue of the "Courier" examines the quality of life as it can be improved by adult education, especially in the countries of Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific. It also looks at the need for women's education. The following six articles are included: (1) "The Future of the Family" (Federico Mayor); (2) "Her Words on…

Reviews recent research in multilingualism in Southern Africa, focusing on the role of languages in education, sociolinguistics, and language policy. Much of the research is on South Africa. Topics discussed include language of instruction in schools, teacher education, higher education, adult literacy, language contact, gender and linguistic…