Recounts the history and context of the adult literacy movement in Ethiopia. Looks at delivery systems, curriculum and program development, teaching methods, teacher training and recruitment, achievements, funding, evaluation, and policies. Suggests that, since social change is always difficult and Ethiopia has undergone many hardships, the…

A model for evaluation planning of post-literacy programs involves listing possible evaluation needs, administration of evaluation, and dissemination of evaluation results for utilization by all potential users. Questions that should be pursued in evaluating post-literacy can be divided into these categories: (1) questions at the interface…

This paper presents proposals for the design and institutionalization of a system for the production and distribution of reading materials for adults, especially in developing countries. Ideas about the problems of production and distribution are developed, along with ideas for use in designing, evaluating, choosing, and promoting policy and…

Using an anthropological model of progress, a systemic model for family literacy is developed. The family is seen within a network of relationships with schools and workplaces within the context of communities and cultures. Family literacy focuses on the family as a whole and uses it as the preferred place of delivery. (SK)

The point is made that systems thinking should be combined with dialectical thinking and constructivist thinking for effective systems design and systems change. To establish a context, a set of assertions on "How the World Works" in regard to systems design and systems change in education is laid out, as value assumptions undergirding…

The author discusses the problem of worldwide illiteracy, suggesting that literacy rates strongly influence quality of life and lifespan. He describes the problem's size and scope and discusses the politics of literacy. He also criticizes the National Adult Literacy Initiative as being mostly rhetoric and little action. (CH)

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…

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…

This report contains one man's impressions of the state of adult literacy education in several countries of Africa and in India. The first country reported on is Ethiopia, where signs of a capitalist society were evident in that officially Marxist country, where literacy education was still a priority in the midst of a waning famine. Ethiopia had…

Development must offer people not only release from poverty but also social esteem and political freedom. While knowledge production has exploded, its distribution and use is still limited, especially in the Third World. Literacy is the most promising means of bringing information and technology to common people in developing nations. Each country…

After an analysis of eight mass literacy campaigns (USSR 1919-39; Vietnam, 1945-77; China, 1950-58; Cuba, 1961; Burma, 1960-1981; Brazil, 1967-80; Tanzania, 1971-81; and Somalia, 1973-75), a campaign strategy for a mass literacy campaign is proposed. A potentially successful mass literacy campaign has to be both an educational and a political…

Anecdotal evidence from literacy educators sometimes suggests that many people can do well despite being illiterate; however, this perspective ignores the essential theory of literacy. This theory rests on the premise that the most essential difference between human beings and other creatures is the human ability to make "symbolic…