Global literacy partnerships between the Global North and Global South inevitably reside in the expansive waters of neoliberal reforms and coloniality. Global North and Global South literacy educators within global literacy partnerships must decolonize life through a liberatory praxis whereby they are convinced of the right and the duty to fight,…

The importance of literacy to the personal development of an individual and existence of any nation cannot be overemphasized. Literacy is the foundation for meaningful development of any nation. It is not a single entity but an interconnection of several fields--education, health, agriculture, and more. For example, a literate individual can have…

Free and compulsory primary education remains a priority area in the international policy perspective, starting from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 to the formulation of Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Under the impact of globalization, an impressive expansion in the access to primary education has been observed in recent…

In this paper, the authors examined health related challenges facing Nigeria. They argued that the relationship between literacy and health in today's knowledge-based economy further puts pressure on countries like Nigeria to raise its literacy rates if it is to compete in the global market. This line of thought is based on the fact that in…

Qualitative researchers are often confronted by ethical challenges when making research decisions because current guidelines and principles guiding research ethics do not wholly cover the concerns that can arise in complex social research situations. In this article, the authors explore this dilemma in relation to our experiences of conducting…

This report reviews the conceptual debates and existing data sources that relate to three ambiguous and controversial targets included in the post-2015 education framework: Relevant Learning Outcomes; Knowledge, Skills, Values, and Attitudes (for education for global citizenship and sustainable development); and Teachers and Safe, Inclusive, and…

This paper makes a case for "good politics for good education", with special reference to Nigeria. It surveys the impact of good and bad politics on the attainment of Meaningful Access to education with special focus on Nigeria's Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme. Good politics is to be likened to what the French call "la…

Parents, educators, government ministers and policymakers in all contexts and countries around the world are concerned with learning and how to improve it. There are many reasons for this, but none is more important than the fact that learning is at the heart of success at the individual, community and global levels. Learning First is the title of…

In discussions of Africa in the global North, the term "development" is one of the most often used--though its meaning can be remarkably difficult to pin down. The sustainability of development processes and outcomes is also of current concern in development discourse. If sustainable development can be described in terms of ongoing,…

Although education provision has recently improved in Bangladesh, the exclusion of children in the poorest families remains a pressing issue. Surveys in Bangladesh about school attendance have to date been confined to the dominant ethnic groups. Data are lacking for ethnic minorities such as indigenous children. To address this issue, we surveyed…

In her groundbreaking book, "The Violence of Literacy", the relevance of which has not diminished in the twelve years since its publication, J. Elspeth Stuckey argues that despite the best intentions of teachers, literacy is largely a tool of oppression rather than liberation. Learning to write, Stuckey argues, does too little to…

Both Kerala and Finland have made notable achievements in the realm of literacy: Kerala has one of the highest rates in the developing world and Finland ranks first in literacy among developed countries. Both also share a cultural history of granting women a high status in their respective societies. Using Kerala and Finland as examples, this…

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 study provides an historical account and critical appraisal of the educational policies in Ethiopia since 1941. Chapters include: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Postwar Reconstruction and the Formation of an Educational System 1941-51"; (3) "Toward the Planned Development of Education 1951-61"; (4) "A New…

Following a massive educational expansion initiative by the government of Zimbabwe since 1980, the country has achieved one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. There is legislation in Zimbabwe which makes education a right for every child. In spite of this legislation, special education in Zimbabwe still lags behind the entire educational…