ADEA BIENNALE (Libreville, Gabon, 28

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ADEA BIENNALE (Libreville, Gabon, 28 31 March
2006)Changes and trends new representations
of literacy

• Adama Ouane
• Director
• UNESCO Institute for Education

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1. Present State and Prospects of Literacy
Policies Programmes in Africa Critical Review
Innovative Approaches

• What is the reality revealing to us?
• Illiteracy is high, even growing (140 million)
• 18 out of 25 countries with more than 50
  illiteracy rate are in Africa
• Growing dichotomies and disparities
• Literacy rate between 30 and 90
• Female literacy rate between 20 and 90
• Drop-out rate between 15 and 80
• Youth/Adults
• Urban/Rural

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1. Present State and Prospects of Literacy
Policies Programmes in Africa Critical Review
Innovative Approaches

• How many are really literate? -- Overall low
  educational achievements and school life
  expectancy (10 to 75)?
• Persisting relapse into illiteracy (30-80)
• Lack of literacy practices and conducive
  environment

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1. Present State and Prospects of Literacy
Policies Programmes in Africa Critical Review
Innovative Approaches

• Yet there are achievements in literacy in Africa
• The overall literacy rates have doubled since
  1970
• Gender parity index has risen from 0,45 to 0,75
• Growing demands for literacy
• High population countries have all literacy rates
  over 60
• New requirements for another literacy / growing
  changing demand for literacies
• Challenges of globalisation, knowledge economy
  and ICT

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2. The Ruptures, Conditions Factors for
Effective Literacy Programmes

• 2.1 Main Challenge in Literacy Policies
• Lifelong learning for sustainable development
• Democratization
• Gender Perspective
• HIV/AIDS Challenge
• Conflicts Prevention
• Linguistic Cultural Policies
• Decentralization

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2. The Ruptures, Conditions Factors for
Effective Literacy Programmes

• 2.2 Trends Factors affecting Grassroots
  Programmes
• Orientation on Demands
• Responding to Demands
• Focus on Capabilities
• Outsourcing
• Recognition and Validation of different Learning
• Inter-sectoral Coordination

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2. The Ruptures, Conditions Factors for
Effective Literacy Programmes

• 2.3 Conducive Literate Environment
• Fruitful Interaction between Literacy,
  Development and Democracy
• Language Cultural Policies
• Linkages between Formal and NFE
• Inter-Sectoral Approaches Collaboration

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2. The Ruptures, Conditions Factors for
Effective Literacy Programmes

• 2.4 Institution Building
• Capacity-Building Programmes
• Capitalisation
• Resourcing
• Funding
• Partnership Mobilization
• Cost-Effective Strategies

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3. Some Innovative Approaches

• REFLECT Learning for empowerment, participation
  and community ownership
• ABET Life skills, professionalisation, income
  generation, access to world of work, etc.
• FAIRE-FAIRE Outsourcing Strategies New
  distribution of roles, new partnerships,
  expression of new demands
• ARED Identity affirmation, making of literate
  communities, emergence of new demands needing
  literacy transactions

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3. Some Innovative Approaches

• PEDAGOGY OF THE TEXT Critical approach and
  transformative learning for greater access to
  power and claim for self reliance
• ABEP/ACED (Botswana, Namibia) Focus on
  continuing learning strategies and articulation
  and compelementarity between formal and non
  formal education and training systems
• NQF (National Qualifications Framework)
  Mechanism for recognition, validation and
  accreditation of different kinds of learning

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4. New trends

• Diversification of supply and demand
• Priority to women and gender (from women and
  development to women in development and gender
  perspective)
• Focus on adolescent and young people bridging
  with formal and non formal learning and training
  systems
• Targeting groups with special needs
• Linkages between learning programmes and social
  and productive sectors
• Participatory methods
• Competence based curricula and modular approaches
  (Botswana, Namibia)
• Conducive learning environment

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5. Positive Effects

• Community participation and support
• Adaptation of programmes to local levels and
  needs
• Greater potential for expansion
• Close monitoring and supervision

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6. Conditions needed for success

• Operational tools for empowerment and
  accountability involving community participation
• National qualifications framework with key
  competencies and skills with equivalency and
  bridges between formal, non formal and informal
• Effective monitoring and evaluation methods

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7. Challenges Prospects

• Understanding Literacies
• For what?
• For whom?
• Literacy as a foundational skill for lifelong
  learning
• Literacy/Schooling/Languages
• Learning from good practices and failures

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7. Challenges Prospects

• Mainstreaming literacy in International Agendas
  (MDG, FTI, NEPAD, etc.)
• How to get out of the ghetto?
• How to make literacy attractive to
• Learners
• Communities/Municipalities
• Private Providers/Operators
• Governments
• Bilateral and Multilateral Agencies