The celebration of International Book Year in 1972 provided an impetus to increasing the number of people who read throughout the world. Four themes for that program were the promotion of the reading habit, development of book production and distribution, promotion of books in the service of education and peace, and encouragement of authorship and…

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…

Few nations can claim that education is not a source of conflict. Although education alone cannot overcome all social evils, two problems can be attacked through a redirection of educational policies. The problems of illiteracy and of providing a basic education to all are the objectives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural…

The International Taskforce on Literacy, which is composed of nongovernmental organizations, has carried the literacy message to people everywhere. Two particularly noteworthy activities of the Taskforce are the People's Launch of International Literacy Year at the International Council for Adult Education conference in Thailand in January 1990…

Three possible directions for literacy research in the United Kingdom (UK), in terms of three comparative perspectives are (1) cross-cultural, (2) academic/practitioner, and (3) adult/school. Walter Ong's argument that with the advent of writing human consciousness and ways of thinking were altered fundamentally, underlies many of the claims for…

Since a robust curriculum is needed to combat illiteracy in Nigeria, a study investigated whether the 4P's model of reading instruction enhanced the performance of reading comprehension teachers, promoted classroom interactions, and enhanced the language competence of students more than the classical method. Subjects were final year students and…

Whole language has the potential to boost literacy in Third World countries like Nigeria, where the language curriculum has not been given the political and economic support it deserves. The economic depression in the Third World may not allow for a robust development of whole language. One effect of the decay of education in the Third World is…

The final report of the International Symposium for Literacy, which met in Persepolis, Iran, from September 3-8, 1975, is presented. Participating were 75 individuals from around the world, including representatives from China, Vietnam, and North Korea. Chapter 1 discusses the symposium's origin and sponsoring committee activities while chapter 2,…

The 15 papers in this collection include opening remarks, reports on core programs of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), and papers from a contributed papers session. Contents are: (1) "Opening Speech of the IFLA General Conference: Stockholm 1990" (Hans-Peter Geh), in German, with an English translation; (2)…

An overview is presented in this paper of the problems involved in making education universal and available at all levels in different regions in the world. It is pointed out that a majority of the world's children have no schooling; preschool education, though widely favored, has still to become universal even in the industrialized countries. The…

Botswana's national literacy program and its role in both democracy building and national development efforts is discussed in this paper. Literacy groups can be found in villages and towns throughout the country. The proportion of literate adults has increased from 34% in 1966 to 68.9% in 1993. Yet the absence of 81% of the eligible population…

Women in development refers to the needs and problems of women in developing countries and the responsibility of industrialized countries to ensure that aid programs serve the best interests of these women. A concern of adult educators is the relationship between adult education and the challenges facing women in the development of their…

This paper critically examines the goals, processes, resources, and effectiveness of Ethiopia's efforts to teach its people to read. Of the estimated 27 million people living in Ethiopia, only ten percent are literate. In recognition of this, and with the hypothesis that literacy skills are prerequisites for building a just and egalitarian…

In practically all countries, the governing bodies seem to be conscious of the important role the ability to read well plays in all educational activities. But the tremendous demand for education has far outpaced the supply. Since World War II, many new self-governing countries have been established of which most are illiterate. Since democracy in…

Available world statistics, however limited, indicate a trend toward the universalization of literacy, reason for cautious optimism. Deep commitments and bold action are necessary to eradicate illiteracy by the year 2000. Some important facts do not appear in statistical data, for example: (1) most literacy gains result from expansion of schooling…