The social purposes of education are long term and oriented towards the construction and maintenance of a sustainable future. This article focuses on developing-country contexts with relatively low formal school enrolment rates, where dropout and failure rates are alarming, and where many children leave school semi-literate, soon to relapse into…

In outlining the framework offered at the UNESCO Regional Conference in support of Global Literacy (New Delhi, November 2007), it was pointed out that concepts of poverty, sustainable development and particularly of literacy and innovation have themselves been in continuous re-construction. An analysis of the context and condition for literacy…

Contends most people in Third World need functional and development-oriented literacy (FDL) if they are to contribute meaningfully to illiteracy eradication and attainment of sustainable national development in respective countries. Arguing current literacy instruction approaches in most Third World countries can't sustain FDL, suggests adoption…

Article describes India's progress in teaching farmers improved agricultural methods. (MM)

A fervent idealist whose dream was to eliminate illiteracy throughout the world, Frank C. Laubach sought to bring Christianity to the masses by giving them the ability to read and spread the teachings of the Bible. In working with people in the nonindustrialized nations, Laubach also saw the need for economic and political self-sufficiency. He…

An outline of the problems facing adult literacy workers: languages without alphabets, obstruction by social and bureaucratic institutions, and a client population difficult to reach. Literacy workers' prime error has been to underestimate the illiterates' pragmatic knowledge and creativity and capacity for abstraction. (JB)

In societies with rich oral traditions in which knowledge and wisdom are transmitted by way of mouth, through recitation, song and drama, the inability to read and write does not mean ignorance or lack of intelligence. Literacy is, however, essential for gaining legal and socioeconomic rights. Literacy campaigns should therefore involve changing…

A look at one adult literacy class in India indicated that, despite apparently ideal educational conditions, students remained almost illiterate. The author comments on the results and speculates on the reasons. (MF)

The following papers are included: "Seminar's Focus on Practice Puts Action on the Human Level" (Margaret Gayfer); "Literacy: What Do Definitions Tell Us?" (Carman Hunter); "The Practice of Literacy in the Netherlands" (Ella Bohnenn); "The Approach of Popular Literacy Groups in Quebec" (Louise Miller); "Perspectives and Lessons from the Adult…

The papers is this volume were presented at the 1981 World Assembly of the International Council of Education for Teaching, attended by representatives from over 35 nations. The papers are organized in seven sections, and all relate to the theme of the assembly, basic skills development. Section I contains one paper, an address on motivating…

Literacy education efforts of the Summer Institute of Linguistics in all parts of the world are chronicled and illustrated with photographs. Sections address specific issues, including the occurrence and persistence of widespread illiteracy, the role of Unesco's Experimental World Literacy Programme, native language instruction, advancements in…

The bibliography contains 94 English language annotations of newspaper articles and government publications about education in selected North African countries. Most of the entries were published during the period July-September 1976. Organized by country, the bibliography presents sources relating to educational philosophy and theory, teacher…

There are 101 selected entries in this annotated bibliography of Egyptian materials on education published in 1975. Materials include journal articles, books, and government documents. The bibliography covers the following topics: academic certificates and dissertations, art education, audiovisual aids, camps, civics curricula, conferences and…

The purpose of the publication is to disseminate, in circles directly concerned with the theory and practice of functional literacy training, the fundamental principles and essential pedagogical methods yielded by the pursuit of Unesco's Experimental World Literacy Program. The guide is an attempted synthesis of the many and various experiments…

Sparetime education has been developed in the Shanyang People's Commune to accomplish three major tasks. These are to wipe out illiteracy among the young and middle-aged, to disseminate knowledge about society and about agricultural technology, and to train personnel with knowledge in various social, economic, and technological fields. To meet the…