On the eve of CONFINTEA VI, discussion and debates on promoting literacy is being revived. However, in most cases, the discussion limits itself to the definitional nuances of literacy and falls short of critiquing the global policy making inertia that violates the human rights obligations to the millions of adults remaining illiterate. This…

When, in the 1970s, industrialised countries, confident of their citizens' universal literacy, discovered that significant proportion of their adult population had difficulties in dealing with the rapid changes they were going through, a new term to explain this phenomenon was coined: functional literacy, or its negative, functional illiteracy.…

There are no official data, but it is estimated that four million adults in Germany have little or no reading, writing and numeracy skills, so that they are known as "functionally illiterate". This is a fact which was long ignored. In this contribution, literacy activities and research in Germany are analysed through a human rights-based…

Article discusses the problem of illiteracy among numerous adults in Iran. The author concludes that it is not illiteracy but a lack of writing and grammatical skills. He suggests new teaching methods geared to the experiences and sophistication of the adults. (RR)

Beyond 3Rs to learning within political action to functional literacy to life skills, the discourse on adult literacy has primarily been defined by civil society organizations. This article presents thoughts on adult literacy programs coming from educators and advocates and the underlying dilemmas of autonomy and collaboration with government for…

Edgar Snow scored an extraordinary scoop in 1936 when he persuaded Mao Zedong to tell his story. The resulting book--"Red Star Over China"--was a best-seller in the West and translated editions caused a sensation in China. Adult education was the centrepiece of Communist revolution and featured prominently in Red Star. It is now the…

Author points out some of the economic, social, cultural and political problems that make the development of education in the developing countries difficult if not impossible. (RR)

A review of recent UNESCO statistics on world illiteracy, current strategies in literacy work, the author's ideas on eclectic integrated strategy versus a single policy for functional literacy, and suggestions for possible Commonwealth action are covered in this paper which was presented to a Commonwealth adult education seminar. (EA)

The Quechuas and the Aymaras have suffered because of the Spanish definition of illiteracy. (MF)

Critical issues facing literacy educators working with women include honesty of their goals regarding empowerment; in what type of development should literacy play a role; elimination of the deficit or "rescue" perspective; literacy's contribution to the growth of community; and literacy as an instrument for the humanizing transformation…

Twelve literacy goals include new attitude toward illiteracy; clarification of the concept; articulated child-adult strategy; attention to women's needs; updating the field; attention to pedagogy; a literate environment; quality; better data; attention to preschool literacy; literacy in the context of basic education; and international cooperation…

Problems in educating women in India include social taboos, dependency, parents' discriminatory attitudes, low social status, early marriage, heavy work load, lack of motivation, and family poverty. Changes in attitudes, laws, and funding are needed to expand opportunities. (SK)

Reviews the interconnection of economic, political, and legal structures and their implications for adult education in a global context. Describes adult education's role in alleviating poverty and powerlessness and spurring social transformation by advocating equitable distribution of resources, equal educational opportunity, and peace. (SK)