literacy for life; EFA global monitoring report, 2006 - Institut de ...

GOOD POLICY, GOOD PRACTICE / 229
Mexico
Audience/purpose: Adult basic education (equivalence
lower secondary education)
Project/institution and date: 1. Secundaria a distancia para
adultos, since 1998; 2. Education for Society, since 1999;
3. SEPa English Programme, since 1998
Scale:
Education for Society: National (transmitted by
commercial television)
SEPa: 22 states, 183 advisers, 9,000 users in 358 groups
Outcomes:
Secundaria a distancia para adultos: Self-study text
materials + advisers and television programmes. Two levels
(beginners and advanced) in five subjects
Education for Society: Citizenship television programmes
for general public
SEPa: 61 English-language learning television programmes at
4 levels, 60 audiocassettes and 600,000 self-study packages
Nigeria
Audience/purpose: Nomadic adults
and youth (non-formal education)
Project/institution and date: Nomadic
Education Programme, 1999
Scale: 1-year pilot in Kaduna
Outcomes: Radio-listening groups for
functional literacy and numeracy, incomegenerating
activities, agricultural extension,
citizenship, vocational skills. Radio, mobile
cinema, flip charts, print, audiocassettes.
Regular monitoring. Outreach/support
centres for contact and distribution of
materials
Source: Creed and Perraton (2001).
Box 9.10
A range of media for literacy acquisition
Deciding which are the most useful and effective
media depends on cost, access and control, in
addition to educational values and benefits.
Telecommunications infrastructure and use are
expanding rapidly. The popularity and relative
affordability of text messaging, for instance,
suggest that it could be used for mass
distribution of messages to learners and for
communication among learners and between
learners and distance trainers. Nevertheless,
even the lowest-priced mobile phone handsets
and connection time are out of reach for most
non-literate people, and it is beyond the scope
of literacy programmes to provide them for
participants. Many people remain excluded
from mobile telephone use by barriers of
cost (including import duties, taxes and other
government-imposed charges), skills, electricity
supply (to charge batteries) and network
coverage. Moreover, the kind of literacy learning
available through reading and writing text
messages on a mobile phone, while potentially
useful, is extremely limited.
Radio has continuing potential for use in literacy
development. Locally produced interactive radio
instruction, along with community radio for
locally specific programme support, can allow
two-way engagement among learners and
programme providers, especially where potential
learners are widely scattered or are mobile
(such as nomads).
Cassettes offer still more potential for genuine
multimedia pedagogy to enrich functional
teaching in literacy courses. In some cases, they
could even serve as direct tools in the teaching
of basic literacy skills. Support in the form of
cassettes relies on fairly simple technology,
albeit one that includes a system of making
and distributing recordings. It also requires
extra visits by local coordinators/supervisors
to distribute cassettes, but these can also be
used for other in-service support purposes.
In South Africa, experiments have begun in the
use of computer software for teaching literacy,
with backup from a teacher. Whatever the
potential of such technology in countries that
can afford it and provide logistical support,
computer-assisted literacy teaching is not yet
an affordable option for large-scale provision in
the countries where the literacy rates are lowest
and the need for programmes is greatest.
Although television is not accessible to much
of the world’s population, it does reach very large
audiences in many countries. Its potential use as
a channel for promoting literacy is considerable.
Sources: Pennells (2005); Lauglo (2001).
Radio has
continuing
potential for
use in literacy
development