DOCUMENT RESUME ED 373 588 FL 800 754 AUTHOR Hinzen, Heribert, Ed. TITLE Literacy. INSTITUTION German Adult Education Association, Bonn (West Germany). PUB DATE Sep 88 NOTE 409p. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) JOURNAL CIT Adult Education and Development; n31 Sep 1988 EDRS PRICE MF01/PC17 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adult Basic Education; Change Strategies; Creoles; Educational Assessment; *Educational Change; Foreign Countries; Instructional Materials; *Literacy Education; Parochial Schools; Politics of Education; Program Descriptions; Reading Instruction; Translation; *Womens Education IDENTIFIERS Germany; Haiti; India; *International Literacy Year 1990; Madagascar; Morocco; Nigeria; Papua New Guinea; Saint Lucia; Senegal; Thailand; Turkey; Zimbabwe ABSTRACT A collection of articles on adult literacy education includes essays, letters, poetry, interviews, research reports, and discussions of issues in literacy and adult basic education in both developing and developed countries. The first section contains brief articles about programs and initiatives in developing countries, including Madagascar, Morocco, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, St. Lucia, Thailand, Senegal, Turkey, Papua New Guinea, and India. Subsequently, articles address general issues concerning development and promotion of literacy education. These include objectives and impact of literacy education, international cooperation, procurement of appropriate instructional materials, concerns unique to adult literacy, classroom techniques, and basic skills instruction. Several articles focus on the significance of International Literacy Year (1990).(MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education) **********************::*********************A:************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. :.;.:.A.AAA:.***7).A..:********************************************** Adult Education and Development Orality Studies Methods Materials Experiences Debate Extracts Ily 1990 September 1988 Number 31 German Adult Education Association REPRODUCE THIS U S D£PARTIMIFST OF EDUCATION PERMISSION TO e M EduCabOnal Rasaarca and Improvement MATERIAL HAS BEENGRANTED BY CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC! r'Tin document nos been reproduced an ,eCe.ved 'tom I be peS0n Orgamt 41.0e 0,,dmat.ng 14.no changes nave bee, made 10 mg3,0ve acIfeldtx.1,0,, <foamy RESOURCES Po,ntsol r,ew d beo,uns Staled r,,s diKv TO THE EDUCATIONAL merit do not Gabes-see, epreseet orNa: (ERIC) c:E RI 1:105110, o, p0bcy INFORMATION CENTER BEST COPYAVAILABLE tfl PIS =Y1990 September 1988 Number 31 GERMAN ADULT EDUCATION ASSOCIATION DVV 3 BEST COPY AVAILABLE l is a half-yearly journal for adult education in Africa, Asia and Latin America. At first, in 1973, the journal was intended by the German Adult Education Association (DVV) to help keep in touch with past participants in DVV further training seminars and to support the work of projects abroad. Today, the journal is a forum for dialogue and the exchange of information between adult educators and authors in Africa, Asia and Latin America. both among themselves and with colleagues in the industrialised nations. It is intended to disseminate and discuss new experiences and developments in the theory and practice of adult education. The main target group consists of adult educators working at so-called middle levels in teaching, organization or administration. Increasingly, staff in related fields sub`. as health education, agriculture, vocational training, cooperative organizations etc. have been included, as their tasks are clearly adult education tasks. We also aim at adult educators at higher and top levels, academics. library staff and research institu- tions both in Africa. Asia and Latin America and in the industrialised nations. We herewith invite adult educators from all parts of the world to contribute to this journal. Articles should bear a considerable reference to practice. All fields of adult education and development can be treated, i.e. adult education should be regard- ed in its widest sense. We kindly ask you to send us articles of about 1500 words: footnotes should be used as sparingly as possible. Responsible for contents are the authors. Signed articles do not always represent the opinion of the German Adult Education Association. You are invited to reproduce and reprint the articles provided acknowledgement is given and a copy is sent to us. -Adult Education and Development is published by the German Adult Education Association, Department for International Cooperation (Responsible: Jakob Horn). ADDRESS: DEUTSCHER VOLKSHOCHSCHUL-VERBAND FACHSTELLE FOR INTERNATIONALE ZUSAMMENARBEIT RHEINALLEE 1 D-5300 BONN 2 FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY Editor: Heribert Hinzen Secretariat: Marita Kowalski Composition, Leout, Repro: DK Kierzkowski, Bonn Printer: Druck Center Meckenheim 4 V Editorial The declaration of 1990 as the International Literacy Year by the United Nations is a challenge for all providers of adult education and literacy worldwide. For some in the development business it will remain just another international year of.; while for many others it will hopefully result in meaningful activities for the im- provement and widening of literacy provision for those who are ready to learn. UNESCO has already prepared a practical guide for the implemen- tation of the International Literacy Year (ILY) and the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) has invited colleagues and in- stitutions to become members of the International Task Force on Literacy, which has met twice in the meantime. You can find more information on these plans further on in this issue. The German Adult Education Association (DVV) decided to con- tribute to the preparation of ILY by publishing a special issue of its journal .Adult Education and Development.. We invited contribu- tions from all over the world, sent circular letters to potential authors, and discussed the planned outline with interested col- leagues. The response has been enormous and although we have had to fix a deadline because of production and mailing purposes, we continue to receive many good manuscripts. We are keeping these and any others which we may receive for publication at a later date. We sincerely want to thank all authors, editors, publishers and other professionals who helped us in making this issue of our jour- nal a reality. In this respect we want to give special mention to Mrs Anja Weber who has been of considerable help to us in the editorial office with this and some of the past numbers. She joins us in wishing our readers an enjoyable and fruitful reading and learning, 1 5 as well as in expressing the hope to receive comments on the man- uscripts printed and reports on experiences related to literacy ac- tivities from all over the world during ILY. I must confess that I have enjoyed working on this special issue very much; I think we have learned a lot by reading and reflecting on literally thousands of pages concerned with our theme. We hope that you agree with the editorial decision to feature, together with the many experiences, case studies, sugge:. ions for methods and materials and plans for ILY, several articles on issues concered with orality and literacy those looking at the great divide theoiles as well as the continuum in the changing modes of communication oral, written, print, electronic , and those con- cerned with the grand debate of the relationship between literacy and development. DVV in this respect appreciates that our invita- tion to the dialogue on and for literacy which we started about five years ago has created new initiatives with broader concepts related to the diversity of approaches relevant to the different cultural settings, and a hopefully growing response in international cooperation. However, the resentment expressed by adult educators regarding the over-emphasis on literacy still exists. I have just retur, 3d from a meeting in the Asian region which was attended by a good number of senior representatives from adult education institutions. Follow- ing the statement and request by one colleague to provide a con- siderable slice of the budget for literacy work, the comments by his fellow colleagues included the following: We have to realize that sometimes literacy is a burden to peo- ple. It keeps them away from farming and takes them out of the village.. »All this talking about literacy is noise by the broiler chicken, it is not noise by the village chicken.. 2 6 "No money for meetings, task forces etc.; we better use the money to buy books for the learners and readers.. "We need more information about successful stories of literacy programmes. What has worked in which context, why and how?. All these were statements by leaders of large national adult educa- tion institutions in different Asian countries. All of them are not against literacy, but all of them have had their own experiences in the past decades and have become wary of subscribing to unrea- listic promises and simplistic solutions. During the years I worked in adult education in Sierra Leone, the cooperating adult education institutions posed the question: "Are we ready for literacy in Sierra Leone?. We indeed wondered whether we as providers were ready for the huge task ahead. Later we developed a sticker which we distributed in tens of thousands in Sierra Leone; it carried the slogan: "Be ready for literacy!. This was meant as an invitation to both the providers and potential learners. Today we assume that there is still