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5.
CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE
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The international statistics on literacy in the year 2000, dramatic
as they are, do not fully reveal the endemic problems associated
with adult literacy work in today's world. The central issue,
as with the broader field of education, is the quality of the
education as it relates to the individual youth and adult learner.
National campaigns and programmes have often gone wrong because
of the need for too rapid progress and for economies of scale.
This combination of factors has led to low motivation on the
part of adult learners, and to poor outcomes in both learning
achievement and participation rates. Literacy and adult education
will need to focus more than ever before on which kinds and
what levels of literacy are required for each society, as well
as for specific groups within that society. What is needed is
a greater focus on programme quality along the following themes:
professional development, learner motivation, knowledge-based
programme design, and increased openness to new approaches.
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Professional development. The professional development of administrators,
directors, teachers, and tutors is an ongoing and critical process
for programme improvement in literacy and adult education. Volunteer-based
programmes are an important component in many countries, but
the tenure of the typical tutor is often too short to assure
quality improvement. Since most countries (rich and poor) invest
an extremely small fraction of available education resources
in the non-formal sectors of adult education (relative to the
formal school system), there is a compelling need to bring the
matter of professionalization to the attention of policy makers.
There is also a very important need to provide the teacher trainers
with new and up-to-date instructional methods. |
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Learner motivation. The motivation of adult learners is a key
dimension that either can promote participation and retention,
or, when lacking, can lead to poor take up and retention of
literacy and adult education programmes. In contrast to what
was thought over recent decades, the challenge of motivation
lies not in providing the "political will" of governments, but
rather in finding ways to provide what the private sector terms,
rather simply, "customer service." Thus, in order to reach the
unreached and the most excluded (e.g., unschooled, women, ethnic-linguistic
minorities, rural, and migrants) programmes will need to be
tailored to address diverse needs, and have direct, discernable
outcomes, and incentive-rich experiences. Building learner demand
is one of the most pressing challenges in the broad field of
adult education today. |
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Knowledge-based programme design. Much more needs to be done
in order to build the knowledge base and expertise employed
in the service of literacy and adult education. Relative to
other education areas, few research studies are being produced
in literacy and adult education in developing countries, and
donor agencies have been too reluctant up until now in their
support of serious evaluation studies or applied research. To
move the field forward will require a greater emphasis on what
works and what doesn't. Two promising avenues should be promoted
in this regard in LDCs. First, institutions of higher education
which train teachers (e.g. universities, colleges and institutes)
should become more involved in literacy and basic education
work, and provide up-to-date professional training to teachers
in these fields. Second, such institutions, which are already
well positioned in the area of Internet access, should become
the loci for both receiving and disseminating information that
can assist in building the local and regional knowledge base.
Clearly, both of these are areas in need of further support
from donor agencies. |
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Openness to new approaches. A striking aspect of adult literacy
work is its relative isolation. For the most part in both
developing and industrialized nations, literacy and adult
education specialists and practitioners have little contact
with mainstream specialists in education, and even less with
sectors outside of education. There is an overall need to
be open to the diversity of learners and in the contexts in
which they reside, as well as to the tremendous expert resources
that could be available to improve literacy work worldwide.
No new approach is more obvious than technology, which has
been taken up increasingly in the formal school settings,
but has yet to have a serious impact into adult education
in most countries. Indeed, in developing countries, the overall
limitations in fiscal and human resources have meant that
technology remains far from being implemented, even though
substantial cost-effectiveness appears to be achievable. Furthermore,
literacy and adult education work are in serious need of cross-fertilization
from other sectors as well, even though the connections with
such sectors as health, income generation, and so forth are
now well documented. Finally, the role of NGOs is very important,
as they represent a key source of innovation and dynamism
that will be essential for promoting literacy in the coming
decades through devolution and decentralization.
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