Scouting is an expanding worldwide youth movement, with more than 16 million members in 169 countries and territories. Its goal is to contribute to the physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual development of young people. Since participation in development is one of the cornerstones of their program, scouts cannot ignore the challenge that…

World Education, with a small grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, began an experimental pilot project in nonformal education at a university research center, a pilot project that eventually became the Government of Nepal's national literacy program. The program evolved gradually over 12 years (1977-89) and was molded in…

This paper overviews a proposal for implementing an adult literacy program in a small tribal community in northern Alberta (Canada). The program would enhance participants' ability to manage change affecting the community's economic, social, and educational circumstances. Recent data indicate that 24 percent of Native Americans in northern Alberta…

Efforts at education for all in India began with the expansion of the night school concept in the late 1800s. The government took responsibility for adult education in 1937. With independence came general acceptance of the broader concept of adult education. Despite literacy efforts through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the number of illiterate…

Nine adult education programs being conducted in Italy are described in the case studies in this packet. The courses range from adult basic education to continuing education courses in languages and management. Most are described in connection with the area of the country in which they are offered. The following programs are profiled: (1) public…

The participatory rural appraisal (PRA) technique was used with 1,550 women and 420 men in more than 100 villages in Uganda, El Salvador, and Bangladesh over a 2-year period to develop and pilot test an approach to literacy education called REFLECT (Regenerated Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques). The REFLECT approach, which…

This book, intended to serve as a professional reference work, proposes to define the field of Adult Basic Education in its evolution, its contribution to professional education, and the principal problems and issues. The volume contains the following treatises: "Definitions and Evolution of the Concepts" (Thomas); "Selected…

Intended for community development professionals and volunteers who work with preliterate communities, this illustrated handbook accompanies a library of visual aids that allow rural people to formulate their own projects. (The curriculum, called Pictorial Apprenticeship, transfers the process of project design into visual forms that literate and…

The number of illiterates in Africa is increasing, thereby lending urgency to the need for universal adult education and functional literacy compaigns, according to chapter 1 of this detailed research report. Chapter 2 discusses the meaning, history, and nature of adult education in other countries (briefly), and in Africa (in greater detail).…

Education has long been a development priority in Africa. The failure and limitations of formal education have led to the emergence of nonformal alternatives of various types. They include extension education, training programs, multipurpose educational programs (for middle-level professionals), cooperative self-help programs (community…

This collection contains 17 papers presented at a seminar on literacy strategies in the community movement, held in Namur, Belgium, in 1991. The following papers are included: "Introduction" (Hautecoeur); "Illiteracy: Direction? Action? Results?" (Hautecoeur); "Basic Education and Personal Development Strategies"…

This document is designed to help literacy practitioners and others establish civic literacy programs to help learners in South Carolina develop general literacy skills applied to the everyday tasks of being a citizen and active community member. The rationale for promoting civic literacy and the challenges for adult civic literacy system…

This document, which was developed to assist Peace Corps volunteers and those responsible for training them, presents an introductory booklet and six toolkits for use in the training provided to and by volunteers involved in community development. All the materials emphasize long-term participatory approaches to sustainable development and a…