Book Chapters (Literacy.org)
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Publication Pro-Poor Approaches to Using Technology for Human Development: Monitoring and Evaluation Perspectives(2009-01-01) Wagner, Daniel AI am pleased to be able to contribute a chapter to this volume that honors the work of Çiğdem Kağitçibaşi. In my view, Dr. Kağitçibaşi's work is unique in that it approaches, in significant and creative ways, the intersection of the science of human development with the potential of practical benefits for children and families. This may sound easy, and even obvious – but it is not. The field of child and human development has often evidenced a high though largely impreceptible wall between science and practice. That wall is even higher when cultural and international perspectives are taken into account. That is, when cross-cultural and cross-national dimensions of any phenomenon are taken into consideration, it is most often to confirm (or deny) the validity of some "universal" theory. Kağitçibaşi is one of the few scholars who has not only drawn our attention to the ethnocentric nature of simplistic theory-testing, but has tried, in her seminal work, to promote bridges that will translate theory into the practice (and vice versa) of improving children's lives. She has charted new ground consistently on a professional voyage that has allowed her to become one of the most recognized of development psychologists worldwide – which she richly deserves. The present chapter picks up on one of Kağitçibaşi's continuing themes, namely, that of how to meet the needs of poor children and youth, and understand impacts derived from interventions.Publication Langues et lettrismes au Maroc(1992) Wagner, Daniel ACes dernières décennies, plusieurs chercheurs et responsables se sont demoandés si seul l'apprentissage de la lecture dans la langue maternelle était favorable à la réussite scolaire. Il y a trente ans déjà, dans un rapport désormais classique présenté à l'une des conférences de l'Unesco, des spécialistes avaient affirmé leur adhésion totale à l-usage de la langue maternelle ou à des programmes d'éducation en langues vernaculaires...Publication New Technologies for Adult Literacy and International Development(2009-01-01) Wagner, Daniel AFew areas of social and economic development have received as much attention and as few proportionate resources as adult literacy. Across the world – in both industrialized and developing countries alike – it is widely acknowledged that at most, 5 percent of national education budgets is spent on the roughly 50 percent of the adult population in need of increased literacy skills. For several centuries, it has been variously claimed that literacy – a key (if not the key) product of schooling – would lead to economic growth, social stability, a democratic way of life, and other social 'good things.' Detailed historical reviews have not been so kind to such generalizations (see several chapters in Wagner, Venezky & Street, 1999; also UNESCO, 2005), in that literacy 'campaigns,' in particular, were often more politically inspired than practically implemented (Wagner, 1986). General notions of national economic growth have been said to have a similar set of positive consequences for the poor. However, both universal literacy and universal economic growth have suffered from what has been called at times 'development fatigue' – namely, that governments and international agencies have come to feel that significant toil and funding have led to only limited return on investment.Publication Social Factors in Literacy Acquisition(1993) Wagner, Daniel AThe acquisition of any human skill, physical or mental, depends on the interplay among a wide variety of factors. Earlier research and our own observations in Moroccan society suggested the possibility that certain social features of children's lives would be related to literacy acquisition in school. Therefore, our research was designed so that these factors might be directly and empirically studied. It was assumed that some of the factors found to affect reading achievement in the West might be related similarly to literacy in Morocco, but we also wanted to study facors specific to Morocco, such as Quranic preschooling. In this chapter, then, we present findings concerning the impact of family socioeconomic status, level of parental education, urban or rural context, gender, and preschooling on 5 years of literacy development in the primary school sample.Publication Improving Policies and Programs for Educational Quality: An Example from the Use of Learning Assessments(2013-01-01) Wagner, Daniel AIt is early morning in Kahalé village, about 45 kilometers from the capital city. It has been raining again, and the water has been flowing off the tin corrugated roof of the one-room schoolhouse at the center of the village. The rain makes it difficult for Monsieur Mamadou, a teacher, to get to his school on this Monday morning, as the rural taxi keeps getting stuck in the mud, forcing the six other passengers to help the driver get back on the road to the village. Once at school, Monsieur Mamadou waits for his school children to arrive. At 9 a.m., the room is only half-full, probably not a bad thing, as a full classroom would mean 65 children, and there are only benches enough to seat 50.Publication Smaller, Quicker, Cheaper: Improving Learning Assessments for Developing Countries(2011-01-01) Wagner, Daniel AMore and more children are going to school in developing countries. In the years since the 2000 UN Education for All Summit in Dakar, the poorest nations have made the most gains in achieving improved educational access. This is a major achievement. Such success also comes with a realization that rapid growth in school enrollments is not enough. Schooling must be of good quality for all children, and that has not been the case for too many children to date. The next push for educational development will surely focus on improving learning and educational quality. Learning assessments can play an important role to drive school reform in many countries, but many are not adaptable for developing country needs, or are not financially sustainable. Thus, it is imperative tht we develop the appropriate tools that can provide better ways of measuring learning outcomes that nations wish to achieve.Publication Des évaluations simples, rapides et abordables: Améliorer l'apprentissage dans les pays en développement(2015-01-01) Wagner, Daniel ACet ouvrage, initialement publié en anglais par l'Institut international de planification de l'éducation de l'UNESCO (IIPE-UNESCO) et le Partenariat mondial pour l'éducation (PME), rejoint les préoccupations de plusieurs États et gouvernements de la Francophonie, qui font face au défi de la qualité de l'éducation. Á l'heure du bilan des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement et de ceux de l'Éducation pour tous – qui s'achéveront en 2015 – et malgré les remarquables progrès effectués, depuis le Forum de Dakar en 2000, la scolarisation primaire universelle et la qualité de l'éducation dispensée demeurent des préoccupations majeures.Publication Reading Acquisition in Morocco(1986) Wagner, Daniel A; Spratt, Jennifer EWhile interest in reading and writing has always been important to researchers and educational policy-makers, multidisciplinary investigations of the acquisition of literacy are a relatively new enterprise. In the Arabic-speaking wrold, in particular, there have been relatively few efforts to discover what kinds of literacy abilities the child brings to the classroom, and what kinds of home, preschool, and language environments lead to various levels of literacy both in and out of school. The research described here presents data collected during the first three years of the Morocco Literacy Project, whose general aim has been to investigate the process of literacy acquisition and retention in Morocco. The present paper will consider the effects of preschool experience and language background on a sample of primary school children living in contrastin rural and urban environments in Morocco.Publication Basic Skills in Adult Education and the Digital Divide(2000-01-01) Ginsburg, Lynda; Sabatini, John; Wagner, Daniel ATraditionally, basic adult education has had a particular concern with the skills of literacy and numeracy, seeing these as essential for entry to the world of work. Adult education teachers may therefore be reluctant to adopt ICT, unsure of the part it should play, and worried about the time it takes away from the development of these basic skills. As we enter the 21st century, however, ICT has already become a necessary and important component of adult education. Formal and non-formal education are being delivered at a distance via technology — particularly the Internet — with the promise that learning can take place at any time and in any place.Publication Introduction to ICT and Learning: Supporting Out-of-School Youth and Adults(2006-01-01) Wagner, Daniel A; Sweet, RichardIn attempting to raise levels of educational achievement and attainment, countries will obtain the greatest increase in overall national performance if they raise the performance of the lowest achievers and of those with the lowest level of qualifications. These are the groups whose improvement will make the greatest difference to the national average. Policies that specifically target low achievers and those with few formal qualifications have a special relevance to two groups outside the education system: youth who have dropped out of school without having completed a secondary education qualification, and low-skilled adults. The pressures for public policy to focus on these groups come from many sources. Equity, both within and between nations, is a powerful motive. But there are also strong economic pressures to raise the educational performance of low-skilled adults and out-of-school youth. In OECD countries with ageing populations, the prospect of a shrinking labour force leads policy makers to seek ways to increase the supply of labour, and to improve overall educational performance through raising the skills of the existing workforce. These pressures intensify as countries seek to compete in the global economy on the basis of the quality of their human capital.