by Alexandra Newman

Improving Levels of Adult Literacy

acnewman22 — 2015-04-26 18:45:46 UTC

Ali Newman

Reasons for Failure

acnewman22 — 2015-04-26 21:45:02 UTC

1) Weak global political commitment: Lack of funding; adult literacy not a
prime focus of education policy and has suffered as a result

2) Literacy programs/campaign are largely ineffective: Increased interest , but

ineffective due to coordination/ evaluation difficulties, lack of research, & lack of quality teachers

3) Mother tongue literacy programs: Increased focus on use of mother tongue literacy, but still no significant changes in literacy levels

4) Demand for literacy: more opportunities through, community, and technology to use and improve literacy skills, but there has been a slow pace of change that still leaves out a large number of people

Goal

acnewman22 — 2015-04-26 21:49:43 UTC

“Achiev[e] a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.” (UNESCO, 2003, p. 137)

Global Responses/Policies

acnewman22 — 2015-04-26 21:51:10 UTC

UN Literacy Decade --> UN
Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) --> UNESCO
Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) --> USAID
Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) --> UNICEF
Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) --> OECD
Skills towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) --> World Bank
Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme (LAMP) --> UIS

“One advantage of national assessments is increasing the numbers of national

stakeholders and experts dedicated to adult literacy. One disadvantage is that

external monitoring may become more difficult because national agencies have

a conflict of interest, being responsible for monitoring literacy and reducing

illiteracy rates at the same time. This dual role can create pressure to show

progress or to restrict access to data by independent assessors. ” (UNESCO, 2003, p. 143)

By the Numbers...

acnewman22 — 2015-04-26 21:55:15 UTC

About 781 million illiterate adults globally (UNESCO, 2003, p. 135)
Only 17 out of 73 countries with a literacy rate below 95% in 2000
halved their illiteracy rate by 2015 (UNESCO, 2003, p. 135)
In a survey of 25 highly literate countries, "one in seven adults
either never became proficient readers while they were in school,
or their reading abilities atrophied because they were not being used”
(UNESCO, 2003, p. 143)

Local Challenges

acnewman22 — 2015-04-26 21:56:20 UTC

- Changing definitions of literacy (not just reading and writing, but to what extent)

- Lack of comparable sources (self-declaration vs. direct assessments)

- Levels of literacy (not just literate vs. illiterate)

- Occupational gaps (reading proficiency is higher among adults whose jobs require more reading)

- Schooling attainment/quality varies by country and region

- Urban/ruraldifferences

- Gender parity

- Aging literate population... "could lead to an improvement in the adult literacy rate that is real, but achieved without a single illiterate adult becoming literate at the individual level.” (UNESCO, 2003, p. 143)

Hope for the Future

acnewman22 — 2015-04-26 22:11:27 UTC

- Mobile technology/communication could change the path of literacy as more

people have access to technology than ever before, although there is no

clear evidence of its impact on literacy yet

- Moving towards gender parity... "All countries where fewer than 90 women

for every 100 men were literate in or around 2000 have moved towards parity"

(UNESCO, 2003, p. 135)

- Although the poorest countries are struggling to achieve targets, wealthier countries

experienced a rapid decline in illiteracy

References

acnewman22 — 2015-04-26 22:19:23 UTC

UNESCO (2015). EFA Global Monitoring Report.

"Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002322/232205e.pdf