This longitudinal ethnographic study employs a New Literacy studies and a critical literacy view of literacy, as well as a feminist food justice perspective to explore how 32 former participants in the Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) Program in rural Uganda used learning from the program in their daily lives, the perceived outcomes of applying the practices learned in the program, and the meanings that literacy held for participants. Participants engaged in literacy practices such as reading contracts, signing names and calculating amounts of money during financial transactions, among others. Livelihood practices that participants engaged in included agriculture, environmental conservation, income generation, collective savings and spiritual growth among others. The findings indicate that to be more meaningful for poor populations, adult literacy programs must be rooted in peoples social realities. Participants access to resources including material, human and training shaped their application of literacy and livelihood practices, to realize instrumental, economic, cultural, and symbolic capital. However, participants contested the hegemonic influence of the Western sponsor, who determined the terms and conditions of operation for the savings and credit association, by establishing a parallel flexible savings and credit system, a social safety net that responded to their needs. Similarly, adherence to Christian teaching was challenged when participants sought recourse in traditional healers. Such experiences depict the fluidity of spirituality and melding of traditional and Christian practices.This research project contributes to scholarship on adult literacy education by demonstrating how the significance of literacy learning is linked to participants livelihoods and how literacy is used to manage spousal relationships. It also offers a cultural perspective of literacy in relation to the identities participants developed. The study adds to literature on longitudinal adult literacy by providing a nuanced view of hegemonic influences on local communities and the tension between cultural knowledge and Western knowledge about farming practices, health management, and local social safety nets.

This book will help those who plan and develop literacy initiatives; using case studies from literacy programmes in many countries including Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mali, Nigeria, the Philippines and Uganda, it demonstrates the importance of literacy, its power to improve lives, and the role literacy plays in social and economic development.

The purpose of the volume is to open up new perspectives in the study of literacy by bringing together current research findings from linguistics, psychology, sociology and anthropology. The book divides into five parts. The first part deals with theoretical questions related to the definition and the modeling of the construct of functional literacy. The second part goes into the notion of literacy development. Both societal and individual aspects of literacy development are taken into account. In the next two parts the actual achievement of literacy in various regions of the world is dealt with. In part 3 the focus is on attaining literacy in developing societies, and in part 4 on attaining literacy in industrialized societies. In the final part the question is raised how functional literacy can be promoted through education. Starting from a cross-cultural perspective the central issue is how standards of functional literacy can be established throughout the world.

This is a book for development workers who have no formal training in adult education who have to respond - as planners, trainers or teachers - to requests for literacy skills. It sets out to deepen their understanding of literacy and its importance in the process of development and change. Using examples from many countries, the authors give practical guidance, in clear language, for all stages of literacy action from planning to assessment. Besides reading, they cover the skills involved in writing, calculating and interpreting visual images. They suggest ways of using materials that are already available and how to develop new ones designed for specific situations. Authors give practical guidance in clear language for all stages of literacy action from planning to assessment.

This was a study of rural community literacy practices in Uganda. I used the social practices theory of literacy as a theoretical framework to investigate literacy use in rural community life in Bweyale. The social practices theory of literacy sees literacy as variable social practice that can only be understood within the social context of its use. Consistent with the social practices theoretical perspective and following similar research traditions in this area of literacy study, I used ethnographic research methods to collect data and grounded theory methods to analyse data on literacy use in Bweyale. The study revealed that rural people, contrary to popular perceptions about their illiteracy and hence lack of literacy, actually use reading and writing in a variety of ways in different domains of literacy use. Literacy pervades most aspects of rural community life, making rural people use literacy in many rich and creative ways. Most people, regardless of their literacy status, participate in local literacy practices. The most prominent areas of literacy use in rural community life are livelihood activities, education, religion, bureaucracy, household life, and personal life.

Women's literacy is often assumed to be the key to promoting better health, family planning and nutrition in the developing world. This has dominated much development research and has led to women's literacy being promoted by governments and aid agencies as the key to improving the lives of poor families. High dropout rates from literacy programmes suggest that the assumed link between women's literacy and development can be disputed. This book explores why women themselves want to learn to read and write and why, all too often, they decide that literacy classes are not for them. Bringing together the experiences of researchers, policy makers and practitioners working in more than a dozen countries, this edited volume presents alternative viewpoints on gender, development and literacy through detailed first-hand accounts. Rather than seeing literacy as a set of technical skills to be handed over in classrooms, these writers give new meaning to key terms such as 'barriers', 'culture', 'empowerment' and 'motivation'. Divided into three sections, this text examines new research approaches, a gendered perspective on literacy policy and programming, and implementation of literacy projects in African, Asian and South American contexts. With new insights and groundbreaking research, this collection will interest academics and professionals working in the fields of development, education and gender studies.