The Plurality of iteracy l

and its Implications for

P
Policies and rogrammes

UNESCO Education Sector Position Paper

Published in 2004
by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization
7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 PARIS 07 SP

Composed and printed

in the workshops of UNESCO
© UNESCO 2004
Printed in France
ED-2004/WS/31 cld.16763
 Contents
Introduction 5
1. The evolving notion of literacy 8
2. The many meanings and dimensions of literacy 12
Literacy and cultural identity 14
Literacy and socio-economic development 14
Approaches to literacy 15
3. Literacy for All for Education for All 16
Creating literate environments 18
Literacy and formal primary and non-formal education 19
Literacy and community learning 21
Literacy and gender equality 23
Literacy and governance 24
Literacy and civil society 25
Monitoring and assessment of literacy 26
Conclusion 29
References 31
 Introduction

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
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l iteracy lies at the heart of UNESCO’s concerns and makes up an essential
part of its mandate, being entwined with the right to education set forth
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. These concerns have to do with
promoting the meaningful acquisition and application of literacy in laying the basis for
positive social transformation, justice, and personal and collective freedom.
Despite tremendous progress made over the past 55 years, universal literacy
remains a major challenge for both developing and developed countries in terms of
commitment and action. There are over 800 million illiterate adults in today’s world
– a figure projected to remain unchanged in 2015 if current trends continue unabated.
The present deliberation on literacy as a plural notion and its implications for policy and
programme development represents a contribution towards helping solve this stubborn
problem.
The education for all movement put literacy high on the agenda among the
six Dakar goals by defining it as an essential component of basic quality education.
As occurred after the World Conference on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand, 1990),
however, the problem of literacy is once again threatened with being put aside, as limited
resources available for education largely go into the expansion of the formal primary
education system. While it is clear that meeting the goal of literacy for all requires
greater political commitment and far more action supported by adequate human and
financial resources, what is needed most of all are new approaches to literacy work at
the local, national and international levels. Towards meeting this challenge, UNESCO’s
principal role consists in drawing on its longstanding knowledge base and co-operating
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 with its network of partners. In particular, the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-

The Plurality of Literacy and 2012) represents a new opportunity to give special emphasis to the goal of universal
literacy under the motto “Literacy as Freedom”.
This motto reflects the fact that over the past few decades, the conception of lit-
eracy has moved beyond its simple notion as the set of technical skills of reading, writing
and calculating – the so-called “three Rs” – to a plural notion encompassing the manifold
meanings and dimensions of these undeniably vital competencies. Such a view, attend-
ing recent economic, political and social transformations, including globalization, and
the advancement of information and communication technologies (ICTs), recognizes
that there are many practices of literacy embedded in different cultural processes, per-
sonal circumstances and collective structures. That is the view endorsed by the United
Nations Literacy Decade and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as
part of the global effort towards Education for All. Nonetheless, much remains to be
done to incorporate this new thinking in literacy policies and programmes. While refer-
ence to the plural notion of literacy abounds in theoretical and academic studies and a
number of international declarations support it, actual literacy work has failed to keep
pace.
The United Nations Literacy Decade aims to achieve four outcomes by 2012.
These include:
✜ making significant progress towards Dakar Goal 3: meeting the learning
needs of youth and adults, Goal 4: improving literacy levels by 50%, and
Goal 5: achieving gender equality;
✜ enabling all learners to attain a mastery level in literacy and life-skills;
✜ creating sustainable and expandable literate environments; and
✜ improving the quality of life.
In order to achieve these goals, the United Nations Literacy Decade encourages
all stakeholders in literacy – communities, non governmental organizations (NGOs), civil
society, national governments and the international community itself – to take adequate
account of its many meanings and dimensions by addressing the full range of contexts,
languages, purposes, and means of acquisition and application employed by learners.
This position paper issued at the outset of the United Nations Literacy Decade,
aims to serve all stakeholders in enhancing their actual literacy work. It intends both to
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clarify the plural notion of literacy and to suggest concrete actions through which policy-
makers and programme providers might more effectively address the needs of learners.

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
Although the term “literacy” is often used metaphorically to designate basic competen-
cies in domains other than those immediately concerned with written texts, such skills
as “computer literacy”, “media literacy”, “health literacy”, “eco-literacy”, “emotional
literacy” and the like do not form part of the plural notion of literacy at issue here.
Part 1 briefly traces the recent evolution of the notion of literacy as well as some
of the lessons UNESCO has learnt along the way. Drawing on theoretical and empirical

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research, Part 2 explores the plurality of literacy in matters of expression and com-
munication, cultural identity, and socio-economic development as well as in its practical
ramifications. In turn, Part 3 situates this plurality in the context of global commitments
and strategies for achieving literacy for all and education for all, recommending a number
of specific points of action for Member States, especially for literacy planners and pro-
viders in each area of concern. The Conclusion recapitulates some central concerns
with literacy.
A number of literacy experts have contributed to the conception of this position
paper, and UNESCO wishes to extend its sincere appreciation to all of them.

7
The Plurality of Literacy and 1. The evolving
notion of literacy

s ince its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been at the forefront of literacy
efforts and dedicated to keeping these high on national, regional and inter-
national education agendas. Beginning with its report on Fundamental Education (1947),
UNESCO has taken great interest in literacy as part of its efforts to promote basic
education.
Just as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights defined education as a fun-
damental right, literacy has also been considered something to which every person
is entitled – until the mid-1960s, a right primarily understood as a set of technical
skills: reading, writing and calculating. Promoting literacy was fundamentally a matter of
enabling individuals to acquire these skills, irrespective of the contents and methods
of their provision. The nature of literacy work consisted in making it possible for the
maximum number of individuals to acquire these skills. This conception led to mass
literacy campaigns aimed at the “eradication of illiteracy” within a few years (cf. the
Second International Conference on Adult Education, Montreal, 1960). Contrary to their
intention, such campaigns – whose influence is still felt – revealed that literacy cannot be
sustained by short-term operations or by top-down and unisectoral actions primarily
directed towards the acquisition of technical skills that do not give due consideration
to the contexts and motivations of learners and follow up closely on accomplishments.
Another lesson learnt in the more successful campaigns, often carried out in overtly
political frameworks, has to do with the important role played by political will and social
mobilization in literacy efforts (Bhola, 1984).
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 The 1960s and 1970s brought attention to the ways in which literacy is linked
with socio-economic development, and the concept of “functional literacy” was born.

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
Programmes for functional literacy – designed to promote reading and writing as well
as arithmetical skills necessary for increased productivity – were the subject of many
national and international campaigns. During this period, for example, UNESCO was
involved in the Experimental World Literacy Programme (EWLP) conducted in con-
junction with the United Nations’ first Development Decade, for which literacy was
valued as a technical solution to socio-economic problems. In the mid-1970s, the

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programme cycle for the Experimental World Literacy Programme expired, yielding two
key results:
✜ its single-model approach was too limited; and
✜ the direct socio-economic returns of literacy could not be proven
(UNESCO/UNDP, 1976).
For all that, the concept of “functional literacy” marked a turning point in the
modern history of education. It allied education and especially literacy with social and
economic development and expanded the understanding of literacy beyond the impart-
ing of basic technical skills (World Congress of Ministers of Education on the Eradica-
tion of Illiteracy, Teheran, 1965), if only with a view to increased productivity.
Contributing to this expanded understanding, Paulo Freire – honoured by
UNESCO for his literacy work in 1975 – spotlighted the political dimension of literacy.
He developed a method for teaching literacy in terms of cultural actions immediately
relevant to the learner. Best known is his method of “conscientization”, which encour-
ages the learner to question why things are the way they are and to undertake changing
them for the better (Freire, 1972). This approach moved literacy beyond the narrow
socio-economic confines of the Experimental World Literacy Programme and located it
squarely in the political arena, emphasizing connections between literacy and politically
active participation in social and economic transformation (International Symposium for
Literacy, Persepolis, 1975).
In the 1980s and 1990s, this work served as the basis for the further elaboration
of what literacy means and how it is acquired and applied. During International Literacy
Year (ILY) in 1990, UNESCO and the international community addressed literacy issues
for all age groups in both industrialized and developing countries. The ILY Secretariat in
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 UNESCO promoted a positive approach to defining literacy needs and de-mystifying

The Plurality of Literacy and definitions, standards, and measurements of literacy. A more analytical perspective came
to distinguish literacy as a technical skill from literacy as a set of practices defined by
social relations and cultural processes – a view exploring the range of uses of literacy
in the entire spectrum of daily life from the exercise of civil and political rights through
matters of work, commerce and childcare to self-instruction, spiritual enlightenment and
even recreation.
Finally, the World Declaration on Education for All (1990) introduced the concept
of “basic learning needs”, featuring literacy in a continuum encompassing formal and non-
formal education for children, youth and adults. This concept, together with the “four
pillars of education” – learning to know, to do, to live together and to be – proposed
by the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, chaired by
Jacques Delors, in 1996, is solidly linked with that of “lifelong learning” and the foun-
dational contribution of literacy. Subsequent international pronouncements such as
the Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning (1997), the Dakar Framework for Action
(2000) and the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the United Nations
Literacy Decade (2002) portrayed the evolving notion of literacy as a key element of
lifelong learning in its lived context. Linking such a plural notion of literacy with citi-
zenship, cultural identity, socio-economic development, human rights and equity, these
proclamations call for the context-sensitive and therewith learner-centred provision of
literacy along with the establishment of literate environments. Today, the international
community no longer sees literacy as a mere stand-alone skill, but instead as a social
practice contributing to broader purposes of lifelong learning.
At the same time, however, in view of actual practices, it cannot be alleged that
all approaches to literacy not departing from the premise of multiple literacies have
failed. Politically motivated literacy campaigns have produced striking results, including
the transformation of fundamental literacy practices in countries such as China, Cuba,
Nicaragua, the United Republic of Tanzania, the former USSR and Viet Nam. Inspired by
these models, less ideologically oriented campaigns in Ecuador, India and South Africa,
for example, have also achieved remarkable results in meeting the learning needs of
different groups, paving the way for more advanced literacy practices and continuous
learning opportunities. Likewise, small-scale functional literacy projects worldwide
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have created conditions helping transform the lives of entire communities served by a
nucleus of committed new literates performing distributive functions in their villages,

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
thus fructifying local knowledge and the employment of local languages (Easton, 1998).
Mapping such approaches along with the resources and competencies which they liber-
ate represents an essential part of promoting the lifelong learning potentials inherent in
illiterate and technologically poor communities.

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11
The Plurality of Literacy and 2. The many meanings
and dimensions
of literacy

t he way literacy is defined influences the goals and strategies adopted and
the programmes designed by policy-makers as well as the teaching and
learning methodologies, curricula and materials employed by practitioners. Its definition
also determines how progress or achievements in overcoming illiteracy are monitored
and assessed.
UNESCO in its normative function has provided a generic definition of literacy
mainly for use in international evaluations and to assist countries in coming up with their
own specific definitions. The first internationally agreed-upon definition, one which is
still often quoted, stems from the UNESCO Recommendation of 1958 concerning the
International Standardization of Educational Statistics. It states that a literate person is
one who can, with understanding, both read and write a short simple statement on his
or her everyday life. Another much-criticized but often-used definition is that from 1970,
according to which a functionally literate person is one who can engage in all those
activities in which literacy is required for the effective functioning of his or her group
and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing
and calculation for his or her own and the community’s development. The definition of
literacy employed in the Education for All 2000 Assessment is the following: “Literacy is
the ability to read and write with understanding a simple statement related to one’s daily
life. It involves a continuum of reading and writing skills, and often includes also basic
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arithmetic skills (numeracy).” Many countries have adapted this definition in their own
ways in order to determine the literacy rates of their populations.

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
Even this definition, however, is not broad enough to capture the full complexity
and diversity of literacy across the spectrum of its acquisition and application.
A proposed operational definition in particular for measurement purposes was
formulated during an international expert meeting in June 2003 at UNESCO. It states:
“Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and com-
pute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy

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involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop
their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider
society.” This proposed definition attempts to encompass several different dimensions
of literacy. Yet because even this plural notion of literacy remains centred on the life of
the individual person, more reflection should be given to incorporating into it the vari-
ous circumstances in which individual learners live their lives. An attendant challenge has
to do with accurately monitoring and assessing the multiple forms of literacy.
The plurality of literacy refers to the many ways in which literacy is employed
and the many things with which it is associated in a community or society and through-
out the life of an individual. People acquire and apply literacy for different purposes in
different situations, all of which are shaped by culture, history, language, religion and
socio-economic conditions. The plural notion of literacy latches upon these different
purposes and situations. Rather than seeing literacy as only a generic set of technical
skills, it looks at the social dimensions of acquiring and applying literacy. It emphasizes
that literacy is not uniform, but is instead culturally and linguistically and even temporally
diverse. It is shaped by social as well as educational institutions: the family, community,
workplace, religious establishments and the state. Constraints on its acquisition and
application lie not simply in the individual, but also in relations and patterns of com-
munication structured by society. Numerous examples from the critical literature on
the diverse social practices of literacy (Street, 1995, 2003; Doronila, 1996; Prinsloo and
Breier, 1996; Fagerberg-Diallo, 2001) substantiate this view of literacy as essentially situ-
ational, yet dynamic.
The plurality of literacy also implies that it takes both dominant and subordinate
forms in every society. The dominant form is transmitted through official institutions
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 such as schools, often to the neglect of other forms based on historical experiences

The Plurality of Literacy and and lived realities. Such institutional domination tends to legitimize existing social struc-
tures and therewith unequal power relations. In response, individuals and groups in sub-
ordinate positions may construct their own forms of literacy in their own language(s),
articulating their own – officially unacknowledged – meanings, knowledge and identity.
UNESCO has drawn a number of inferences from the plural notion of liter-
acy that will be useful for orienting global literacy efforts. These concern: literacy and
cultural identity, literacy and socio-economic development, and approaches to literacy.

Literacy and cultural identity

I n acknowledging the fact that literacy involves oral, written, visual and digital
forms of expression and communication, literacy efforts conceived in terms of
the plural notion of literacy intend to take account of the ways in which these differ-
ent processes interrelate in a given social context. Because all such processes involve
expressing and communicating cultural identity, the promotion of literacy must foster
the capacity to express or communicate this identity in one’s own terms and especially
language(s). In a multilingual society, the plural notion of literacy entails designing multi-
lingual policies and programmes for both the mother tongue and other languages as well
as recognizing the complementary relationship between literacy and orality. Rather than
imposing a foreign literacy on an indigenous culture and so undermining existing modes
of thought and social organization, literacy policies and programmes should respect
these and build upon local knowledge and experience (Olson and Torrance, 2001, p.14).

Literacy and socio-economic development

L iteracy is not the solution to all problems such as crime, unemployment,

poverty and poor health. Blaming these problems on illiteracy deflects atten-
tion from underlying causes, including political and economic disenfranchisement or
injustice. Social cohesion, equity, the equal distribution of wealth and adequate access
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to good health care have not been shown to depend directly on levels of literacy.
Literacy does not automatically generate socio-economic development. Nonetheless, a

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
closer look at the links between literacy and such development makes clear that they
are complex and manifold. It is, moreover, certain that literacy can play an enormous
transformative role in the lives of individuals and communities. The extent to which
these links may be enhanced depends on how literacy is addressed in local social and
economic circumstances and not restricted to established educational institutions and
interventions. For this very reason, it is a societal responsibility to eliminate institutional

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obstacles depriving the illiterate of their full potential for expression, communication
and participation by creating learning opportunities for all. Doing so requires com-
mitment from and action on the part of all stakeholders, including the international
community, governments, NGOs, civil society, the private sector and local communities.

Approaches to literacy

T he fact that there are various ways of acquiring and applying literacy in daily
life – whether at home, in the classroom, in the workplace or elsewhere in
the community – means that there is no single method or approach that is uniquely
valid and that fits all circumstances. The many and diverse contexts of its acquisition and
application demand programmes and materials that are separately and locally designed,
not standardized and centrally planned. Diversified strategies and methods employing
content determined by learners’ circumstances must be sought, building on local know-
ledge and experiences as well as on the specific environment and cultural conditions.
In promoting the search for the most relevant, effective and affordable schemes of liter-
acy provision – innovative methods of participatory and interactive literacy learning and
new learner-centred strategies – UNESCO recommends flexible approaches responsive
to the individual circumstances and needs of the learner and the learning environment.

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The Plurality of Literacy and 3. Literacy for All
for Education
for All

a t Dakar in April 2000, governments, civil society organizations and inter

national agencies re-affirmed the global commitment to education for all
and pledged to achieve six goals by 2015 (World Education Forum, Dakar, 2000). Educa-
tion for all was further endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly as part of the
Millennium Development Goals (A/RES/56/326).
Understood not only as a component of basic quality education and a foun-
dation of lifelong learning but also as itself a lifelong process, literacy constitutes the
common thread running through the six Dakar goals. Embracing such a view of literacy,
the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the United Nations Literacy Decade
a focal point in education for all. This Decade is directed above all towards improving
levels of adult literacy, creating dynamic literate environments, the attainment of a mas-
tery level of literacy by all learners, and enhanced quality of life. Literacy is regarded as
a cross-cutting theme of EFA.
The United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the United Nations Decade
for the Eradication of Poverty invited UNESCO, UNICEF and the United Nations System
“to promote the inclusion of education in all anti-poverty strategies” (A/RES/55/210,
§ 17). It emphasized the crucial role of both formal and non-formal education in enabling
those living in poverty to take control of their own lives.
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 As the co-ordinating agency for education for all and the United Nations
Literacy Decade, UNESCO has placed literacy at the heart of its education for all efforts

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
and anti-poverty strategies. UNESCO takes the view that – as in the case of Education
for All – the key to the success of global literacy efforts lies at the country level.
Furthermore, UNESCO considers the successful implementation of the United
Nations Literacy Decade to require that literacy occupy the centre of attention of all
plans, actions and programmes of education for all. Each must address literacy in its
relation to issues of gender equality and the needs of those without access to quality

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learning opportunities – out-of-school children and adolescents, and illiterate youths
and adults.
UNESCO recommends several strategies for literacy work at the country level
with a view towards achieving education for all – recommendations also articulated in
the International Plan of Action for the United Nations Literacy Decade (A/RES/57/218).
These are:
✜ placing literacy at the centre of national education systems and develop-
ment efforts;
✜ giving equal importance to formal and non-formal education
modalities;
✜ promoting an environment supportive of literacy and a culture of read-
ing in schools and communities;
✜ ensuring community involvement in literacy programmes as well as their
local ownership;
✜ building partnerships particularly at the national level, but also at sub-
regional, regional and international levels, between government, civil
society, the private sector and local communities; and
✜ developing at all levels systematic monitoring and assessment supported
by research and data collection.
The following discussion elaborates connections between the plural notion of
literacy and the key areas of concern in these strategies: creating a literate environment,
formal primary and non-formal education, community learning, gender equality, govern-
ance, civil society and, finally, monitoring and assessment. It also recommends several
specific points of action for Member States.
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 Creating literate environments

The Plurality of Literacy and G iven the many facets of literacy in daily life, efforts towards achieving univer-
sal literacy clearly require more than merely increased enrolment in school
or adult-education programmes. Developing rich and dynamic literate environments
– where written communication is used in sustainable ways by all for purposes and in
forms appropriate to particular contexts – represents a key to advancing literacy. A
person uses literacy in diverse ways as he or she interacts with various forms of written
communication – whether street signs, transportation schedules, administrative forms,
bank accounts, calendars, shopping lists, posters, cards, letters, books, diaries, magazines,
newspapers, television, e-mail or web pages. Stimulating literate environments at home, in
the classroom, in the workplace and elsewhere in the community are essential for facili-
tating the diverse uses of literacy. In turn, such environments presuppose wide access
to information and enhanced means of expression and communication incorporating
local content, knowledge and languages. “While ensuring the free flow of ideas by word
and image care should be exercised so that all cultures can express themselves and
make themselves known” (Article 6 of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural
Diversity). It is not simply a matter of giving space to local content, knowledge and lan-
guages, but of generating and sustaining local ownership of expression, communication
and transactions with the wider world.
Creating a dynamic literate environment also involves sectors beyond education.
According to the United Nations General Assembly: “… creating literate environments
and societies is essential for achieving the goals of eradicating poverty, reducing child
mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustain-
able development, peace and democracy” (A/RES/56/116, § 7). If not directly related in
a simple causal manner, socio-economic development and the growth of literate envi-
ronments are mutually beneficial. Their creation relies upon co-ordinated actions at all
levels undertaken by many partners, for example, ministries, civil society, the mass media
and the private sector, especially the publishing industry.
UNESCO recommends the following actions for creating literate environ-
ments:
✜ promoting and ensuring freedom of expression and communication;
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 ✜ widening access to tools for expression and communication, such as
newspapers, radio, television and information and communication tech-

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
nologies;
✜ supporting individuals and communities in building capacities for the
production and management of local content, and for textual expression
and communication in conjunction with the visual arts, dance, music,
story-telling and theatre as well as electronic information;
✜ establishing and supporting community libraries;

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✜ pursuing multilingual and multi-cultural policies, especially in education;
✜ forging multi-ministerial collaboration as integral parts of policies
and programmes relating to social, economic and cultural develop-
ment;
✜ co-operating with and supporting the growth of industries that contrib-
ute to literate environments such as those in the private sector involved
in publishing, the mass media and the information and communication
technology industry;
and
✜ engaging community-based groups, families and individuals, civil-society
organizations, universities and research institutes, the mass media and
the private sector in providing input into actions undertaken for creating
a literate environment.

Literacy and formal primary and non-formal education

T he attainment of the mastery level of reading, writing and calculating at the

stage of formal primary education is critical for achieving literacy for all.
No one doubts the major role of primary education in achieving universal literacy.
Yet the formal education system in all too many countries has failed to meet this need
fully and produced huge numbers of school dropouts. More efforts should be made
on such areas as relevant curriculum, appropriate pedagogy, well-trained teachers, and
teaching-learning materials in order to increase the quality of learning and improve
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 retention and survival rates in primary school. While countries should see to it that

The Plurality of Literacy and children attain this mastery level before they conclude formal primary education,
non-formal education programmes must address the needs of those unreached through
formal basic education.These programmes are carried out not only in the education sec-
tor but also in such diverse fields as public health, agriculture, entrepreneurship, commu-
nity and rural development, and natural-resource management. They aim to fulfil diverse
learning demands by enabling individuals and communities to develop the capacities,
skills and knowledge required for lifelong learning and sustainable economic and social
development. In line with this task, the Dakar Framework for Action asserts that “adult
and continuing education must be greatly expanded and diversified, and integrated into
the mainstream of national education and poverty reduction strategies. The vital roles
literacy plays in lifelong learning, sustainable livelihoods, good health, active citizenship
and the improved quality of life for individuals, communities and societies must be more
widely recognized” (§ 38).
The new focus on the links between literacy, livelihood and poverty highlights
the important role of literacy in acquiring the capacities, skills and knowledge needed
to secure a living. It offers education activists, practitioners and policy-makers additional
scope for elaborating effective non-formal literacy programmes within the wider con-
text of human life. How to build an integrated approach linking literacy and sustainable
livelihoods has become a central issue in strategies for socio-economic development
and poverty eradication.
Given the inherent difficulties in establishing formal education services respon-
sive to the excluded or marginalized, UNESCO believes that non-formal education com-
poses an effective and equitable alternative of providing access to learning, information,
and skills-development. A more inclusive approach answering to the learning needs of
the disadvantaged and integrating non-formal education and formal education is required
in order to achieve education for all and sustainable development.
UNESCO recommends the following actions for more productively aligning
formal and non-formal education:
✜ conducting research to identify the actual and potential uses of literacy
in conjunction with the real needs of learners before determining the
modes and content of non-formal education provision;
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✜ continuing to emphasize reading, writing and numeracy in formal
primary education curricula;

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
✜ adapting all curricula to reflect the specific needs of children and feature
local resources;
✜ encouraging all teachers to improve their instructional techniques
in reading, writing and numeracy through pre-service and in-service
training;
✜ training and upgrading the qualifications of non-formal education facili-

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tators;
✜ placing the contribution of non-formal education to literacy at the fore-
front of policy discussions and programme planning and implementation
in matters of poverty reduction, and socio-economic and educational
development;
✜ incorporating literacy in multi-sectoral programmes responding to
a wide variety of issues such as employment, entrepreneurial skills,
healthcare, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, environmental problems,
provision of water and food, political advocacy, fundraising, cultural
identity, personal and intellectual development and religious partici-
pation;
✜ using information and communication technologies for fostering diverse
modes of literacy and delivering non-formal education;
✜ connecting non-formal as well as informal and formal education within
a lifelong learning perspective by establishing equivalency programmes;
and
✜ providing guidance and counselling services in pro-active support of life-
long learning.

Literacy and community learning

C ommunity learning represents the most comprehensive aspect of non-

formal education in its response to individual and collective learning needs
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 and the promotion of lifelong learning and sustainable development. It takes the many

The Plurality of Literacy and forms of community learning centres, community education, popular education, open
learning communities, learning circles, organic learning communities, networks and
even learning cities or societies. Ideally, community learning emphasizes learning
across disciplines and age groups, as knowledge and abilities are acquired through
investigative learning directly related to real-life situations and to local culture and
language(s). At the same time, in today’s globalized world, just as “community” no
longer refers to a geographically bound collective entity, so, too, learning may now
take place at a distance, yet together with other learners elsewhere. Information and
communication technologies are, then, increasingly important in connecting local com-
munities with wider contexts and providing access to literacy. The challenge lies in
bringing about beneficial social transformation through strengthening and enriching
genuine community learning.
UNESCO recommends the following actions for making good use of community
learning:
✜ providing technical and financial support for community learning
programmes by promoting their organization, assisting interaction
between communities and governments as well as among communities
themselves, and integrating community learning into local educational
governance;
✜ facilitating public debate about literacy at local and national levels as a
form of expression and communication as well as a means for social
change;
✜ designing comprehensive and integrated local literacy programmes,
especially with a view to making it possible for communities to carry out
action research on the actual and potential uses of literacy with regard
to their own culture, knowledge and language(s), including the inter-
relation of oral and written expression and communication;
✜ supporting the participation of the illiterate in all levels of literacy
programmes; and
✜ supporting the production of local ICT-based forms of literacy and their
broader dissemination.
22
 Literacy and gender equality

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
ender-based discrimination remains one of the most intractable constraints
to realizing the right to education (Dakar Framework for Action, § 40).
Analysis of figures from the past 30 years reveals the persistent disparity between lit-
eracy rates for women and for men. Eliminating this disparity, which itself perpetu-
ates sexual discrimination, is imperative for realizing education for all. Positive effects of
increased literacy among women have been documented at the macro-level. Increases in

and Programmes
national levels of female literacy tend to accompany lower rates of infant mortality and
maternal mortality in childbirth, better children’s health, higher school-enrolment rates
among girls and even lower fertility rates. Beyond these general positive effects and the
particular instrumental advantages of literacy, its intangible benefits – self-awareness,
self-esteem and self-determination – may accomplish even more for gender equality.
These intangible benefits allow women to assess their own situations critically in the
light of broader horizons and new possibilities. As a social event, participating in literacy
provides women with a forum to share their experience of male and female gender
roles, to develop new insights and knowledge, and to support each other in bringing
about beneficial change. A closer look at the interplay between the instrumental and the
intangible benefits of women’s literacy along with the ways in which women best acquire
and apply literacy should lead to improved literacy initiatives and better understanding
of its relevance and significance for women. The topic of literacy and gender equality,
however, goes beyond issues of women’s access to literacy, encompassing fundamental
issues such as empowering women and putting in place long-term strategies address-
ing their unequal status in the social context of gender relations. All of these should be
integral elements of developing literacy policies and programmes.
UNESCO recommends the following actions for literacy from the perspective
of gender equality:
✜ maintaining this perspective in all planning, programming, implementation
and evaluation by sensitizing stakeholders to gender issues related to
literacy and basic education; eliminating gender stereotypes from pro-
gramme contents and methods as well as in management practice; and
promoting positive role models for both sexes enhancing the status of
23
 women and helping make traditionally male skills accessible to women

The Plurality of Literacy and ✜

and female skills accessible to men;
strengthening literacy programmes – whose contents may range from
vocational skills, the use of micro-credit and marketing, through confi-
dence-building and decision-making activities or group and community
organization, to HIV/AIDS prevention, and care or health and nutrition
matters – for empowering out-of-school girls and female adolescents as
well as young and adult women;
✜ encouraging the participation of women at all education levels by attend-
ing to their own priorities and perspectives in defining the means and
ends of their learning;
✜ ensuring that the focus on gender equality does not lead to exclusively
prioritizing girls (instead of children), women (instead of adults) or
mothers (instead of women), even while advancing a more diversified
conception of female identity.

Literacy and governance

T raditional patterns of centralized governance and management, although

they have in some cases achieved considerable progress, do not provide a
genuinely supportive policy framework for effectively dealing with the many meanings
and dimensions of literacy. For this reason, the Dakar Framework for Action calls for
“more decentralized and participatory decision-making, implementation and monitoring
at lower levels of accountability” (§ 55) along with improved “capacities for managing
diversity, disparity and change” (§ 56); it recognizes that “all adults have a right to basic
education, beginning with literacy” (§ 37), even as “adult and continuing education must
be greatly expanded and diversified” (§ 38). In order to secure the right to literacy on
the part of the disadvantaged, decisions about how and when literacy is acquired and
used, and about its contents and purposes must be in local hands.This entails support by
national governments and international agencies to local planning and decision-making,
“strengthening the ability of local communities and groups with common concerns to
24
develop their own organizations and resources” (World Summit for Social Develop-
ment, Copenhagen, 1995, Commitment 4[j]). Devolving decision-making to local admin-

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
istrative levels is essential for enabling truly diverse literacy work in local contexts and
making possible a range of partnerships with communities and civil society.
UNESCO recommends the following actions for relating literacy and governance:
✜ putting priority on literacy in the development agendas of Education for
All, the Millennium Development Goals and the Fast-Track Initiative in
association with economic, political and social participation;

and Programmes
✜ defining clearly the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders at dif-
ferent national levels and building their capacities in line with their
responsibilities;
and
✜ decentralizing literacy policies and practices, and allocating sufficient
financial resources to allow local communities, authorities and civil soci-
ety groups to plan, carry out and monitor their own programmes in a
way suitable to the circumstances of learners.

Literacy and civil society

V olunteers, popular educators, grassroots organizations and religious groups

have traditionally dedicated themselves to helping the illiterate become
literate. An increasing number of non-governmental organizations and civil society
organizations are now responsible for carrying out literacy programmes, while
others are involved in lobbying governments and campaigning for the right to literacy.
Still others are concerned with conducting policy dialogue with governments and inter-
national partners, drawing attention to literacy matters at regional, national and inter-
national levels, or advancing alternative thinking about literacy by linking it to broader
questions of learning, cultural identity and globalization. It is, then, not surprising that the
United Nations Literacy Decade, in the light of the Dakar Framework for Action, gives
particular attention to developing broad-based ownership of literacy planning, imple-
mentation and monitoring, meaning thereby not only governments, non-governmental
25
 organizations and international agencies, but also other groups falling under the term

The Plurality of Literacy and “civil society” such as community organizations and families or even research institu-
tions and the media.
The members of civil society, as service providers, advocates, policy partners and
critical thinkers, render an essential contribution to literacy work. While the participa-
tion of civil society in international literacy forums and mechanisms is well established,
policy dialogue at the country level often takes place without it. Despite various inter-
national agreements and regional commitments, some governments continue to define
civil-society participation in literacy efforts exclusively in terms of service provision
without regard for the formulation of education strategies. On the one hand civil soci-
ety programmes should include a greater investment in capacity-building, while on the
other, governments should not further withdraw from literacy work, leaving too great a
responsibility with civil society organizations.
UNESCO recommends the following actions for supporting civil-society partici-
pation in literacy work:
✜ facilitating public debate on the views and practices of civil society related
to literacy as well as integrating such debates in civil society movements
and initiatives;
✜ documenting the experiences of civil society with literacy work, rang-
ing from involvement in policy dialogue to conducting programmes with
local communities and for people without access to literacy;
✜ promoting access to and sharing of information among members of civil
society at all levels having to do with literacy, especially by harnessing
ICTs; and
✜ supporting sub-national or national networks of non-governmental and
civil society organizations working in the field of literacy.

Monitoring and assessment of literacy

F inally, strengthening national and international efforts towards achieving

universal literacy is closely linked with improving literacy monitoring and
26
assessment. Reliable data on literacy – hitherto largely unavailable – is required in order
to monitor and assess the current literacy situation in given countries and develop

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
appropriate interventions in both policy-making and programme design. The problem is
particularly acute in developing countries.
Literacy assessment is crucial at the beginning of the United Nations Literacy
Decade. The Decade opens a process of reflection on literacy and its definition – one
taking into consideration the plural notion of literacy by constructing new benchmarks
based on demonstrated competencies and actual uses of literacy instead of self-report-

and Programmes
ing and mere attendance at school or adult-literacy programmes. Given such context-
specificity and local variation, the challenge lies in forging a methodology for producing
reliable and comparable data on literacy proficiency at national and international levels
useful as well for policy-making and programme planning.
In this context, some of the main assessment exercises undertaken in the recent
past should be mentioned, such as: for adults, the International Adult Literacy Survey
(IALS), and the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL); and for students, the Pro-
gramme for International Student Assessment, (PISA) and the Southern and Eastern
Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) studies.
Results of the IALS, carried out since 1994 in OECD countries and more recently
in non-OECD countries, reveal:
✜ the many levels of literacy which could be identified beyond the simple
distinction of literate and illiterate;
✜ a meaningful comparison between countries of literacy levels and distri-
bution of skills, as a high percentage of items used were the same across
countries.
The importance of such studies and their data for convincing policy-makers of
the need to address the issue of literacy is also noteworthy.
In a recent effort to assist countries (especially developing countries) in improv-
ing the contents and methodologies of literacy assessment informing national and inter-
national policy decisions, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics together with other stake-
holders such as the World Bank has launched the Literacy Assessment and Monitoring
Programme (LAMP). This pathbreaking programme aims at developing a methodology
which can be adapted for use in different contexts and yet provides data for inter-
27
 national comparison. The goals of the overall programme are to improve the quality of

The Plurality of Literacy and data, especially at the national level but also for international policy development and
monitoring (including for EFA and MDGs), and for the design of literacy programmes.
The programme gathers information on both the literacy competency of adults over
15 years in age and the way in which this competency is employed in real life.
The monitoring and assessment of literacy and non-formal education has like-
wise to be put in the larger framework of the impact these have on the quality of learn-
ers’ lives, even as actually determining this effect represents a second major challenge.
UNESCO has recently developed a prototype package for monitoring non-formal edu-
cation which consists of a conceptual framework, a handbook for developing a Non-
formal Education Management Information System (NFE-MIS), data collection tools and
corresponding software. Its purpose is to provide assistance in improving policy-making,
planning and provision in non-formal education as well as the co-ordination between
providers.
As spelt out in the International Plan of Action of the United Nations Literacy
Decade, UNESCO regards the most urgent actions in monitoring and assessment as the
following:
✜ refining literacy indicators and emphasizing those measuring the qualita-
tive impact of literacy;
✜ promoting widespread and better use of census and population data;
✜ developing improved methods for assessing the literacy levels of indi-
viduals as well as for evaluating learning outcomes at the programme
level;
✜ working out and utilizing a common yet locally acceptable framework
for assessing progress towards achieving 50% improvement of levels of
literacy by 2015;
✜ building management information systems in support of literacy policies
and programmes; and
✜ studying the specific impact of literacy on the quality of life.

28
 Conclusion

I t s I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r Po l i c i e s
and Programmes
t his position paper has sought to clarify the plurality of literacy and
suggest concrete actions by which policy-makers and programme provid-
ers might expand and improve their work and thereby address the learning needs of
those deprived of learning opportunities. Its aim is not to endorse and disseminate in an
uncritical fashion the plurality of literacy as a panacea. Instead, it seeks to prompt all
stakeholders to reflect on their guiding assumptions and specific practices with a view
to a more effective orientation and improving the quality of their services.
In this regard it is noteworthy to reflect on the plurality of literacy, not only from
the perspective of supply but that of demand as well. With reference to literacy planners
and providers, the supply aspect, as set forth in this paper, represents literacy as being
pluralized by the fact that different individuals require different literacies. This is equally
true for those of the demand aspect since their needs and application of literacy change
from time to time and place to place. Hence, decision-makers must cope with the chal-
lenge to promote literacy, in a more localized and specific approach, among the people.
Decentralization of the decision-making power and technical and substantial resources,
to create a literate society in respective localities will promote this to happen.
It is also noted that the plurality of literacy ought not be fixated as distinct
entities. Their dynamic nature is indeed based on manifold communicative and social
practices, but it is not itself identical with or reducible to these multiple patterns.
In conformity with its mission, UNESCO does not advocate single models of
literacy, no matter how technically sound and culturally responsive these might be.
It seeks instead to open up and even increase possibilities for informed choices,
29
 promote different approaches to solving common problems and create opportunities

The Plurality of Literacy and for synergistic dialogue, exchange and action. In the end, however, it is not merely individ-
uals who must be targeted; for what is required is fundamentally changing the attitudes
of entire societies towards reading, writing and calculation. In moving away from the
consideration of what literacy does to people towards the consideration of what people
do or can do with literacy, we must face the challenge of creating literate societies, not
just making individuals literate. The ultimate goal is to foster social and economic condi-
tions and transactions generating a massive demand for literacy and thus to bring about
environments indispensable for using literacy-based skills and competencies.
The notion of literacy is complex and has evolved in accordance with recent
political and socio-economic transformations, globalization and the advancement of
ICTs. Yet no matter how complex this notion may be, we should address the huge and
diverse literacy needs through simpler yet relevant policies and cost-effective provision.
UNESCO hopes that this paper encourages further discussion about the plurality of
literacy. Creating a literate environment for everyone is literacy for all.

30
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