Journal Articles (Literacy.org)
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Publication Literacy Campaigns: Past, Present, and Future. Review of Robert F. Arnove and Harvey J. Graff (Eds.), National Literacy Campaigns: Historical and Comparative Aspects; Paulo Freire and Donaldo Macedo, Literacy: Reading the Word and the World; Ali Hamadache and Daniel Martin, Theory and Practice of Literacy Work: Policies, Strategies and Examples(1989-05-01) Wagner, Daniel AThe topic of literacy seems to be returning to the top of the development agenda. Since the 1960s, with UNESCO's Experimental World Literacy Programme (EWLP), there has been a drift away from large-scale literacy programs for development, if not in the minds of Third World educators, then at least in the minds of development planners in major policy-making centers such as the World Bank, UN agencies, and bilateral funding agencies. Perhaps this was due to the problems of EWLP (described in A. Gillette's chapter in Arnove & Graff) or simply to economists' reactions to literacy as a "basic human right," which may have struck policymakers as not sufficiently linked to development outcomes such as economic growth, improved agricultural practices, and so forth. At least part of the resurgence of interest in literacy stems from the realization that illiteracy is not just a Third World problem; attention to and research on illiteracy in North American and Europe have been growing rapidly over the past several years (see L. Limage's chapter in Arnove & Graff).1 The present volumes are primarily focused on the "campaign" and mass education dimensions of literacy. Each volume addresses national and international efforts to achieve greater literacy among adult populations, principally in Third World countries.Publication MOOCs for Development: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities(2015-01-01) Castillo, Nathan M; Lee, Jinsol; Wagner, Daniel A; Zahra, Fatima TThe recent rise of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has generated significant media attention for their potential to disrupt the traditional modes of education trough ease of access and free or low-cost content delivery. MOOCs offer the potential to enable access to high-quality education to students, even in the most underserved regions of the world. However, much of the excitement surrounding opportunities for MOOCs in non-OECD contexts remains unproven. Challenges with regard to infrastructure, sustainability, and evaluation have disrupted early attempts to expand inclusion for those least educated. Drawing on proceedings from a recent international conference on MOOCs for Development held at the University of Pennsylvania, this report synthesizes trends, challenges, and opportunities within the growing subfield.Publication Literacy Assessment in the Third World: An Overview and Proposed Schema for Survey Use(1990-02-01) Wagner, Daniel AMany countries have sought to increase literacy among their populations. Rationales for such efforts usually involve the consequences for economic development, as well as for human development, health, and lower fertility. Programs for increasing literacy have often involved the expansion of educational programs, in particular primary schooling, and the creation of literacy programs and campaigns. However, a central paradox in efforts to reduce illiteracy in today's world is that much effort has been invested and little knowledge gained about how best to achieve success. According to one recent analysis by a Unesco expert, the well-known Experimental World Literacy Program (EWLP) ended with very little information being used by subsequent literacy programs. Yet although adult illiteracy rates of most developing countries are thought to be relatively stable (roughly 35-55 percent in Africa and Asia), population growth has meant that the number of illiterates has actually grown significantly, from 760 million in 1970 to 857 million in 1985.1 Demographi and economic changes in the Third World have made literacy a key issue in the development programs of many countries. In spite of an increased sense of urgency, there is a lack of understanding of the breadth and depth of the "literacy program" in almost every society, particularly in societies where illiteracy appears greatest and evaluation resources are least available. Uncertainty about the nature and extent of literacy provides an important rationale for taking a new look at literacy assessment in Third World societies.2Publication Gold Standard? The Use of Randomized Controlled Trials for International Educational Policy. Review of Abhijit V. Bannerjee and Esther Duflo, Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty; Barbara Bruns, Deon Filmer, and Harry A. Patrinos, Making Schools Work: New Evidence on Accountability Reforms; Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel, More Than Good Intentions: How a New Economics is Helping to Solve Global Poverty(2014-02-01) Castillo, Nathan M; Wagner, Daniel AEdward Miguel and Michael Kremer Pioneered a new kind of development research in their 2004 study of a school deworming program in Kenya. Their experimental design incorporated the random assignment of primary school students to either a treatment or a control group for receiving medicine to eliminate intestinal parasites. Findings revealed significant benefits to the treatment group in not only improved health but also lowered school absences (Miguel and Kremer 2004). One policy consequence was an increased awareness for more evidence-based decision making under the banner of accountability reform in international development.1 The driving focus for such reform is rigorous scientific investigation — what some call the "gold standard" of methodology — that uses randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to establish a credible link between an intervention and a set of outcomes.Publication Technology and Mother-Tongue Literacy in Southern India: Impact Studies among Young Children and Out-of-School Youth(2010-01-01) Wagner, Daniel A; Daswani, C. J; Karnati, RomillaThe present research began with one main question: How can new technologies be effective for poor and illiterate children and youth in developing countries? We addressed this question through a research-based implementation project in India that included the development of local language multimedia software for literacy; a built-in, user-friendly interface; and the use of existing computer infrastructure. Two studies were undertaken in Andhra Pradesh state. One included a sample of youth and young adults who had never gone to school (or dropped out early) in peri-urban Hyderabad, and the other was composed of young second- and third-grade school children in rural West Godavari district. Based on a short-term intervention program, research results demonstrated a modest positive impact on the learning rate in reading with both groups of learners (when compared with control groups without the multimedia intervention). The findings provide support for the view that information and communications technologies for development can assist in promoting literacy among the poorest of the poor. In addition, the present results support the view that the digital divide, as it evolves over time, will only be narrowed when content-based solutions are sensitive to, and built on cultural and linguistic diversity.Publication Review of the World Bank World Development Report, Mind, Society, and Behavior(2016-08-01) Wagner, Daniel A; Buek, Katharine W; Adler, Alejandro; Castillo, Nathan M; Zahra, Fatima T; Lee, Jinsol; Chittamuru, Deepti; Lee, Selene SThe World Development Report is an annual World Bank publication that highlights the latest research and trends in international development programming. This major review carries substantial weight in setting the policy and program agenda for donor and recipient agencies around the world. The 2015 Mind, Society, and Behavior report is remarkable in that, in a field typically driven by economic principles and interventions, it focuses on the human cognitive processes that underlie social and economic decision making. This important, but often neglected, perspective is a substantial contribution to the development discussion. The report represents a noteworthy effort in identifying and compiling rigorous and up-to-date psychological research on human needs, motivations, and biases to inform key recommendations for development policy and programming investments.Publication What Happened to Literacy? Historical and Conceptual Perspectives on Literacy in UNESCO(2011-05-01) Wagner, Daniel AFor more than six decades, UNESCO has dedicated itself to be the international agency leader in literacy, even though other aspects of educational development have received greater attention and resources by the broader international community. Resources for UNESCO's literacy work have not increased, and its programmatic activities have been increasingly debated when seen in relationship to the scope of literacy challenges across the globe. Moving forward in a time of restricted budgets will require UNESCO to strengthen itself as a professional innovator and thought leader.Publication Supporting Home Language Reading through Technology in Rural South Africa(2018-03-01) Castillo, Nathan M; Wagner, Daniel AThis paper describes a short-term longitudinal study in South Africa, with children in grades 1-3, some of whom received a multimedia technology reading support program in one of three home languages and English (through exisiting computer labs in schools). Findings reveal a positive and significant impact on local language reading acquisition among children with multimedia support. The study shows that effective literacy support can help struggling rural learners make significant gains that will help them complete their schooling. The ability to accomplish a full cycle of primary school with fully developed reading skills has significant implications for life-long learning.Publication El Aprendizaje en la Base de la Pirámide: Restricciones, Comparabilidad y Política en Países en Vías de Desarrollo(2017-01-01) Wagner, Daniel A; Castillo, Nathan MLos objetivos para el desarrollo de las Naciones Unidas han asignado, de manera sostenida, una alta prioridad a la calidad educativa —y a la del aprendizaje. Esto ha llevado a avances sustanciales en ayuda para el desarrollo internacional hacia la educación, y también a una mayor atención, a nivel mundial, a la importancia del aprendizaje de los niños. Sin embargo, tales metas son principalmente normativas: tienden a representar promedios entre naciones, brindando limitada atención a las variaciones dentro de dichos países. La presente investigación proporciona un análisis de las tensiones científicas en la comprensión del aprendizaje en poblaciones pobres y marginadas: aquellos en la base de la pirámide (BdP). Si bien agencias internacionales como UNESCO y OCDE a menudo invocan a estas poblaciones como el “objetivo” de sus inversiones y evaluaciones, continúan los debates importantes sobre la ciencia empírica involucrada tanto en la investigación como en las políticas. El presente análisis concluye que los objetivos para el desarrollo post-2015 de las Naciones Unidas tienen que tomar en cuenta la necesidad critica de enfocarse en el aprendizaje de los pobres a fin de abordar adecuadamente las inequidades sociales y económicas.Publication Literacy(2018-01-01) Wagner, Daniel ALiteracy is a complex and dynamic phenomenon that varies across time, language, and geography. The origins of literacy can be traced back thousands of years, initially invented as a tool for communication to be shared amongst only a small portion of 'educated' human society. However, within the past few centuries, many societies have experienced transitions from mostly illiterate to predominantly literate populations through a variety of means involving both formal and informal learning. The present review considers literacy in a global perspective, with short sections that review: the history and definition of literacy; life-span perspectives; and finally some challenges and opportunities for the future.