This paper explores how literacy learning can support women's empowerment and the development of greater equality, benefitting not only individual women, but families, communities and economies too. It describes and reflects upon some of the most promising approaches to developing literacy and learning for women, who form the majority of the…

Specific suggestions on improving adult literacy programs, based on the author's observations in India. (SP)

A discussion of Pakistan's plans for utilizing instructional television, particularly for an adult literacy program. (HB)

For Tanzanians, education to be meaningful implies human development through education. Tanzania's commitment to build a socialist state, based on traditional African socialism, is also a commitment to socialist education, the necessary tool for social development. Since work is a lifelong duty for any socialist, work-oriented education is also a…

By the year 2000, it is estimated that there will be 1 billion illiterates, 98% of whom will be in developing regions. Oral traditions and the preponderance of local languages and dialects are among the reasons the situation is so widespread. Illiteracy is linked to contextual factors in which social class distinctions, linguistic affiliations,…

Discusses the social change that is taking place in Nicaragua, reviews the current literacy and adult education program, and examines the use of media in this program. (MBR)

Accounts differ as to the state of adult literacy education in China. One scholar says that programs are contracting severely, whereas Chinese officials contend that programs are operating with more students and more efficiency. A true picture of literacy education in China depends on research and statistics that are being gathered. The overall…

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 volume sheds light on contemporary theoretical work and research, on a range of national and international polices, and on education reform in developing countries. International Education has become an increasingly prominent and urgent matter in recent decades. Since the 1990 and 2000 Education for All conferences in Thailand, and Senegal,…

Paulo Freire's views on adult education may be categorized as belonging to the radical or social transformationist school of thought. Basically, Freire felt that the correct objective of adult education is to engage actively in the transformation of society through changing or attacking its economic, legal, and political institutions. Born and…

Literacy is embedded in social practice and has social meanings. Research and practice in adult literacy are demonstrating that, in order to bring about cultural and social transformation, literacy must be seen as an activity embedded in social and cultural practice. The traditional paradigm, which considers literacy as input for development and…

The outcomes of 43 project case studies and a country case study (Nepal) were examined to identify the impact of adult women's literacy. A look at women's situation in developing countries showed that women had multifarious roles, long working hours, and less access to education than males. The case studies revealed the following social effects of…

The case studies described in this book provide examples of initiatives illustrating the role of adult education in development and its contribution to the process of change in developing countries. The book is organized in five sections. Case studies in Part 1, "Health Education," illustrate the links between primary health care and…

The four papers in this collection form part of the nucleus of research by a task force of advanced social science doctoral students who were foreign nationals enrolled in Midwestern universities. The first three papers, each a chapter situated within an interdisciplinary context, draw from politics, sociology, and history to define constructs on…