Adult literacy is a crucial element of community and economic development in South Africa and many developing countries striving to meet Millennium Development Goals. However, few governments invest the recommended 6% of education budgets on programmes for adults. Without resources, volunteer educators and international supporters rely on their…

This article takes as its starting point a strike among African trainee literacy workers in the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1952. While the existing literature tends to concentrate on the tensions and contradictions in British colonial education policy, this article uses the strike to investigate how these agendas were…

Legislation over the past two decades has shaped the dominant view of adult literacy as addressing gaps in well-defined, measurable skills. As rural communities face unprecedented challenges, this one-size-fits-all view of adult literacy does not consider the unique local context of rural communities or involve those communities in defining their…

A reading campaign among Palestinians combined learning with community building at the level of personal and community abilities, values, and beliefs. The project created long-lasting change by combining local resources and fostering the ability to work cooperatively and solve problems collectively. (SK)

The print version of the first issue of an electronic journal, this document consists of an article by Samuel Simpson, Managua Regional Director of Adult Education in Nicaragua. Simpson's visit to the United States was sponsored by Pennsylvania State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers University, and the Syracuse University Kellogg…

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)

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…

This paper describes the extent and characteristics of extension activities undertaken by the Department of Adult Education, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. It examines the concept of community, the university-community dichotomy, arguments on university community service, literacy development, community development activities, seminars, training…

In the Community in the Classroom project, 10 Appalachian community-based groups are exploring ways in which literacy education can contribute to community development. This project is challenging assumptions about the role of education, looking beyond the traditional economic context of adult education, and shifting the focus of literacy from…

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…

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…

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)