Mission statements of universities in developing countries usually include serving the surrounding communities. Often this service does not reach beyond lip service. This article puts into context the experience of developing an adult education research program responding to the needs of the surrounding community in a historically disadvantaged…

This compilation offers global examples of innovative and promising literacy and numeracy programmes that link the teaching and learning of literacy to sustainable development challenges such as health, social equality, economic empowerment and environmental sustainability. This publication is a timely contribution to the 2030 Agenda for…

In March 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged that the situation in the Chinese countryside is desperate and claimed new resources would be devoted to healthcare and education. This announcement should have pleased architects of the Chinese "learning initiative" who are building learning cities and villages. The authors describe why…

The adult basic education program of the University of Natal (South Africa), in conjunction with a rural development agency, is intended to train literacy teachers and develop English-as-a-Second-Language teaching materials. One implication was that what may have worked at the village level needs reconceptualization for large-scale adaptation. (SK)

One of the Millennium Development Goals declared by the United Nations in 2000 was to reduce by half the population of people living in extreme poverty, by 2015. Adult education can and should contribute significantly to this development goal. Nevertheless it has hardly been explored so far in the national Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers. In…

This booklet presents a discussion that focuses on the relationship between adult literacy and the economic development of a community. The principal characteristics of the currents that have had most influence in Latin American during the last decade are described, and a new alternative for community development education is presented. This…

Developed in the early 1980s, the Hill Areas Education project provides basic education to children and adults of Thailand's six ethnic minority groups, who live in the remote mountainous region of northern Thailand. The project delivers a locally relevant curriculum, equivalent to the six compulsory grades of the formal education system; promotes…

Since 1988, thousands of rural villagers across Senegal have participated in a basic education program called TOSTAN, which means "breakthrough" in Wolof, the majority language. Supported by UNICEF and implemented in the six national languages of Senegal, TOSTAN goes beyond traditional literacy programs to link literacy learning with…

This booklet should be of interest to educators and people seeking to understand the mechanisms of exclusion and the forging of new paths towards community empowerment and basic education skills. Many inhabitants of Cairo, Egypt, depend on the zabbaleen/garbage collectors but know very little of these people who make their way up and down the…

For the Aboriginal peoples of Ontario, literacy is a process involving not only individuals, but also the whole community. Literacy leads to development and empowerment, which contribute to self-determination. Once the wards of the federal government, Aboriginal communities now are assuming more control over their own affairs. Education, including…

The Adult Basic Education Program at Umgeni Water, a water authority in South Africa, is a workplace literacy program that seeks to impart skills within the workplace that can be used in community development, benefiting both the business and community involved. From a pilot project in 1989, the adult education program at Umgeni Water has grown…

Emergent reforms in education in the formal and nonformal sectors in the Philippines are changing the answers to traditional research questions and ways in which educational research will be carried out. Informal education is the ongoing process of transmission of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes by a society to its youth. Formal education…

Explains the value of radio for literacy education, gives a synopsis of the development of educational broadcasting in Brazil, and describes the Movement of Basic Education, a program designed to meet the needs of members of rural communities in their daily working lives. (EAO)

This monograph describes Save The Children's Non-Formal Education (NFE) Program implemented in rural Nepal. Since the formal education of females is not a cultural priority, NFE targets women and girls. Currently, 90-95 percent of participants are female, including adult women and out-of-school girls. Enhancing and increasing literacy is the…

Describes the ALPHA series of publications, an action-research project on literacy and education. Explains that ALPHA began as a literacy movement in Quebec, Canada, and is now focused on alternative education, basic education, and sustainable communities throughout the world. (Contains 26 references.) (NB)