Pre-service teacher education (PSTE) has largely been excluded from investments in foundational literacy and numeracy in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This approach has consequences for sustainability due to the central role of PSTE in supporting lasting educational change. In this literature review, we examine key challenges facing…

Despite enormous progress in expanding school enrollment globally, improvements in health have not always followed, raising important questions: Does education, in fact, enable women, men and their families to be healthier? And if so, how? To fill this gap in knowledge, the GIRL Center conducted a systematic review of the evidence for the effects…

Background: For a majority of the world's children, despite substantial increases in primary school enrollment, academic learning is neither occurring at expected rates nor supplying the basic foundational skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century. The significant lag in academic achievement tells us that simply making formal education…

Literacy is a human right unequally distributed among the world's population. Despite global efforts to fight illiteracy, high illiteracy rates continue to jeopardize access for many to basic schooling, life-long learning, health, and environment safety. Illiteracy also hinders the economic prosperity of the poorest societies in this digital age.…

Evaluations of the Botswana National Literacy Program (BNLP) are reviewed, with emphasis on one internal and one external evaluation. The BNLP may be one of the most extensively evaluated national literacy programs ever conducted, with a program staff intensively trained in evaluation. One lesson of the repeated evaluations of the BNLP is that a…

Discusses the problems facing educators and children in developing nations, who must often use instructional materials prepared in English, depicting a lifestyle that is alien to them, and presented to them in books which are unavailable outside of the classroom. (FL)

Lists the recipients of the first IRA Literacy Award and presents comments made by Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, Director-General of UNESCO, on the state of literacy in the world today. (MKM)

The educational deficit in Guatemala, reflected in a high, chronic level of illiteracy, is only partly due to the existence of a large, multilingual Indian population. The high proportion of rural population and the ineffectiveness of the rural education program must be addressed to increase literacy in Guatemala. (Author/CB)

Provides an extensive overview of the literature on the links that exist among language, literacy, education, and economic development. Compares and contrasts how the trajectories of economic development and literacy differ in rich and poor countries and raises the important question of whether literacy is a cause or by-product of development.…

Presents a bibliography of materials published in English, French, Spanish, and German on literacy in developing countries. Highlights include orality and literacy; literacy and development; conceptual approaches to literacy; learners and dropouts; the role of primary education in literacy; and operational issues in implementing literacy programs.…

Intended for use by those interested in promoting books and reading in the world, this report describes the state of books and reading in Kenya. Following a brief description of Kenya, major sections of the report deal with authorship, publishing, physical production, distribution, reading habits, professional training, and legal and institutional…

This paper presents information culled from a study of 200 publications about innovative approaches towards achieving universal primary education (UPE) and its democratization. The first part of the paper addresses the topics of children's right to primary education, the role of primary education in eradicating adult illiteracy, and the difficulty…

Two decades of research on the external efficacy of educational investments in developing countries have produced a persuasive rationale for expanding access to schooling and raising educational attainment levels. Schooling has been associated with such outcomes as the following: (1) rationalistic attitudes conducive to participating in modern…

This paper discusses the progress achieved in women's education in Kuwait and its impact on their participation in the labor force. It is clear that Kuwait has made major strides in providing equal access to education for females. What this means in terms of women's roles is less clear. (Author)

Discusses problems involved with surveying and assessing literacy rates in developing nations. Defines current debates over literacy measurement, classification, and surveying. Examines and questions current assumptions linking literacy policy and economic development. Describes models for surveying and measuring literacy and numeracy skill…