The processes by which women living in rural areas of Nepal acquire literacy and deploy it for their own purposes were examined in an exploration of the diverse perspectives of policymakers, fieldworkers, and participants in gender, literacy, and development. The study combined ethnography with a research methodology called participatory rural appraisal (PRA), which began as a development planning methodology based on an empowering process that allows all people, including weaker and poorer people, to collate, present, and analyze information. The following were among the issues explored: approaches to women's literacy in Nepal; language policy in literacy programs; nongovernmental organizations versus the classroom; gender and language policy; new versus old approaches to literacy and numeracy teaching; and the role of literacy in development ideologies. The study documented how factors outside literacy classrooms, including facilitators' educational background and local concepts about education, necessitate adapting literacy practices developed in the West to the specific social contexts of rural areas in developing countries. The following are among the items in the 13 appendixes: a map of the case study areas; examples of PRA activities conducted during fieldwork; who's who in HIL (Health Is Life) and Save; notes on the Nepali caste system; HIL lesson sheet (English name writing method); Kosalee mathematics; HIL mathematics sheets; record forms to be completed by Save women's groups every month; and an example of a Save USA funding proposal. (Contains 195 references.) (MN).

The nature of literacy is an issue of global debate. When the National Literacy Strategy [NLS] was introduced into UK schools it was arguably the most ambitious educational reform programme in the world, and the controversy necessarily intensified. How can the impact of such reforms be assessed? In its ten year history the NLS affected every primary and secondary teacher in the country and, therefore, every child. The initiative provoked a widespread recognition of the importance of literacy for all children and attracted the attention of many other governments. This book is the first definitive and objective review and evaluation of the impact of these literacy reforms. With contributions from the most respected experts on literacy and English from the UK and from across the world, this unprecedented critical examination explores: How teaching policy and practice were impacted by the reforms How the NLS came into being, how it was operated, what it did and did not achieve What we can learn from its successes and failures The most important aspects of the reforms, from policing grammar to the impact of ‘The Literacy Game’ and ‘informed prescription’ on teaching. Whether you are a policy maker or classroom teacher, this book is an invaluable resource to anyone concerned about literacy. It provides readers from around the world with a genuine and evidence-based perspective on this immense initiative, lucidly evaluating the lessons learned from both its ambitions and its failures.

Over the last two decades, an increasingly economistic discourse has dominated discussions about adult literacy and numeracy. This book provides critiques of, and alternative narratives to the dominant discourse. Authors provide tools and methodologies of critique, including ways of seeing how policies in the countries of focus come to be captured almost completely by the interests of business and industry, as well as how to critically interpret the data that policy makers use to justify their priorities. But adult literacy and numeracy practitioners and learners find spaces and places to pursue learning that matters for the lived experiences of adults and their communities. Beyond Economic Interests presents the struggles and achievements of practitioners and learners that lead the readers of the book to critically appreciate that a counter narrative to the purely economistic discourse of adult literacy and numeracy is much needed, and possible.

This book presents a new perspective on the assumed links between women's literacy and development and explores current innovative approaches to research and policy around women's literacy.

This book combines analysis of policy and empirically based studies on gender, education, and development.

A Companion to the Anthropology of Education presents a comprehensive and state-of-the-art overview of the field, exploring the social and cultural dimension of educational processes in both formal and nonformal settings. Explores theoretical and applied approaches to cultural practice in a diverse range of educational settings around the world, in both formal and non-formal contexts Includes contributions by leading educational anthropologists Integrates work from and on many different national systems of scholarship, including China, the United States, Africa, the Middle East, Colombia, Mexico, India, the United Kingdom, and Denmark Examines the consequences of history, cultural diversity, language policies, governmental mandates, inequality, and literacy for everyday educational processes

Provides unique reflections on the capability approach and its relevance to new human development policies and political liberalism.