TRAVELLING THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY AND BYWAYS
2.11 Curriculum According to the Needs of the Learner
According to Bhola (1979), Kamper (1999), Wigg (1994) A National Adult Basic Education & Training Framework (1997) and Freire (1998a) there is concurrence that the adult literacy programmes have to be tailored as close as possible to the student's needs if they are to be successful. They also state that to hold the learner's attention one must use material that is relevant to their lives. Learning should be linked to real-life. Every course of study should be linked with a course of action that improves life in the community.
In the first example I cite Rogers (1994a) women's literacy programmes, which he asserts must be based on a desire to promote equality and justice to help oppressed women obtain liberation. He also calls for increased female participation in community and national affairs. Skills are to be given to both the rural and urban poor. Women are to decide for themselves what is best so the aim of the programme should be to help women to do what they want to do. Rogers (1994a) makes a salient point: if people learn what they desire, they will be intrinsically motivated and learning will be successful.
According to Rogers (1994a), literacy comes second only to income generation activities. He argues that they will only learn to read and write something effectively if during the learning process they can see the relevance of the skills that they are learning for the task, which they have set themselves. The women should determine literacy-teaching programmes for themselves, according to their local context and not according to what men prescribe. This is in keeping with the Freirean and the anthropological/sociolinguistic theories that place emphasis on literacy taking place within a certain social context and for specific purposes in the adult learners' lives.
From Rogers' (1994a) standpoint, the best way to promote literacy with groups of women learners is to accept their sense of priority and therefore adopt the literacy-comes-second-approach. The income-generation programmes provide the best possibility for developing literacy programmes on a literacy-comes-second
model. Rogers( 1994a) states that literacy agencies in Egypt, India, Bangladesh, and Kenya view literacy as a development, as a tool must be mastered first. He views literacy not as an essential but useful tool, which can help people cope with situations more effectively. An income-generating programme would provide the basis for literacy.
Wigg (1994) concurs with the need to use materials relevant to the learners' lives and to give incentives in a way that will impact on the outcome. The literacy material is what keeps the learner interested in the lesson. The content should have utilitarian value. The income-generating scheme is the most motivating incentive for adult literacy.
The problem as Rogers (1994a) himself finds, for income-generation activities, is that they do not provide adequate material for learning in the class. Secondly, most income-generation activities do not call for the use of literacy. Such programmes may regard the women in negative terms as ignorant or unable to help themselves. According to Rogers (1994a), such views are outdated. Thus skills training should be the focus in these literacy programmes. They should be built on a desire to promote equality and justice to assist oppressed women to obtain liberation. Women who are seen to be in need are to be given assistance from the outside. Although income-generation activities are stereotyped to what is assumed to be woman's roles, there are examples of women breaking the mould (Rogers, 1994a). In Andhra Pradesh, India, some women were taught to repair television sets and in Kenya women were learning to maintain and repair pumps which supply safe, clean water. In both the cases the women were encouraged to use their literacy skills for the task.
In the second experience I demonstrate how literacy teaching material has serious implications for literacy programmes. Rogers (1994a) cites, for example, the hand pump workers in India, who will not be motivated to learn through a general primer that uses child-oriented words, which deal with family or health. They will learn best through a hand pump manual that is relevant to their needs. The real
material that learners require in literacy programmes are more than just the primers but that which learners can use in their everyday lives: namely, newspapers, magazines, government forms, ration cards, bank withdrawal and deposit slips, advertisements, political notices, technical leaflets and public notices.
According to Gugunani & Dikskit (in The Encyclopedia of Education, 1999), literacy does not automatically empower women but it does offer keys for unlocking closed doors. In the case of the Eastern African women, participation in literacy programmes was because of the changes in the social and rural environment for men and women. The literacy programmes that motivate learners to participate are those that have practical benefits such as the following (adapted from Gugunani & Dikskit, 1999):
• Those that have links between literacy and health through nutrition and hygiene
• The prospect of greater self- reliance and control over their personal life
• A wish to participate in society in the same way as men
• A desire to help their children study
• A clearer monitoring of financial affairs
• The development of skills
• To have productive outcome in terms of income- generation
The positive factors, which promote and increase the of success of literacy programmes for women include the following (adapted from, Oglesby, 1999):
• Community support from local leaders
• A curriculum relevant to the social and political context in which the women are working
• Programmes which promote confidence in the women
• Programmes which create awareness of civic and social rights
• Clearly defined priorities and objectives
• Acknowledgement of the women's previous experience
Oglesby (1999) asserts that despite the diversity of the economic, political and cultural factors affecting motivation to attend courses, which is common in the developing countries of Asia and Africa there, is the need for vocational
education. Thus is designed to generate more income. However, the curriculum considered suitable for women is limited in range. The use of participatory training methodology and integration of women in community development projects through education would appear to be more successful in maintaining participation rates. Some of the activities involved local needs, for example, the farmer's group, sewing, clothing design and fruit preservation (The Encyclopedia of Education, 1999).
The Centre for Adult Education in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) conducted an informal survey of learning among people at Mboza, a rural community in KwaZulu-Natal (Steinberg & Suttner, 1991). The following findings revealed the kind of adult literacy programmes that might be relevant for learners in similar situations in South Africa:
• Generally people were more interested in practical skills which would make an immediate impact on their day- to -day lives
• Women said they would like to learn skills like cookery and sewing and about health and forming women's groups
• Men said they would like to learn about farming methods, carpentry, block making and driving
• Some said they wanted to learn how to read and write Zulu and to speak English.
Steinberg & Suttner (1991) assert that adults from Mbosa have practical needs, which may or may not include literacy. According to Draper & Taylor (1989), women need reading and writing skills as well as survival skills such as communication, nurturing and decision-making. They also found that women needed skills in the not so traditional roles as protectors of family and specialized skills for working.
In Turkey the Bogazici University conducted a ten-year research project for women and their families on literacy (Wagner, 2000). They developed a programme called the, Mother Child Education Programme (MOCEF), which functions as a home- based intervention project aimed at providing early enrichment to young children and literacy education for their mothers. MOCEF
targeted mothers of 6 year olds who met for 25 weeks, approximately three hours a week. They discussed issues on child development, health and nutrition;
creative play activities, discipline, parent-child interaction and expressing feeling.
This educational programme targeted women living in low-income areas of Turkey they graduated some 9000 former illiterates since 1995 (Wagner, 2000:
24). Studies comparing this curriculum to the traditional curriculum show substantial advantages of MOCEF participants. The researchers attribute the success of the programme to the sensitivity of the instructors and material designers to the needs of the women in the programme. There was an integrated curriculum design incorporating not only functional applications of literacy skills, but also comprehension of text and critical thinking. The lesson that can be learnt from the successful implementation of the MOCEF programme is the manner in which special attention was prioritized for women in low-income areas. Women in ABET require redress and Turkey has contributed to an avante garde literacy programme. The practical needs of the women have been taken into account to sustain learner consistency in the programme: learning is home-based and the programme meets with the needs of the learners and also caters for the children of the adult learners.
Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries and has a very low literacy rate amongst women. However, literacy rates have risen from 12% in 1981 to 28% in 1999. Wagner (2000: 24) explains that although these statistics are below the 35%
reported average of adult men in Nepal, there has been some improvement. The Women's Empowerment Programme was designed to increase women's literacy in the legal environment for females and encourage women's participation in the market economy. Eight international partner organizations carried out one or more of the programmes through the Nepalese NGOs in 28 districts. The programme was based on the idea that women's education and empowerment enables them to become effective agents of change in their household and communities, which has a domino effect because this enhances the well-being of their families and society at large. The women from this programme reported an increase in self-confidence and greater autonomy within their daily lives; they
showed a greater involvement in the care of their children, birth control and the control of finances at their home. As a result of this programme it was found that that there was an increase in women's involvement collectively in community and social issues. The support of outside agencies in financing such a project would have been a major contributing factor in sustaining it. From this programme that championed the cause of disenfranchised women, many were freed from oppression. This programme empowered them with legal literacy and basic literacy and encouraged them to participate in economic activities.
In the Lao People's Democratic Republic the people had undergone many years of war, isolation and widespread economic political reform and are in the process of opening to the outside world. In the countryside, the rural poor and especially the ethnic minority have little opportunity to participate in the new nation's formal education. The problem is further compounded because these disadvantaged groups speak many different indigenous languages, some of which are not written. The Minority Women's Literacy and Basic Skills Project has implemented a non-formal education programme to provide a means for disadvantaged minority women aged 15-45 years to learn one or two years of the basic elements of the primary curriculum. They are also trained in skills, trade and related activities, such as weaving, sewing, health, hygiene, agriculture, gardening and principles of income-generation. In this situation the women are encouraged to develop and market their traditional and regional handicrafts and employ modern designs and sales strategies. By selling their wares in the market place they have an opportunity to interact and participate in Latian society. The interest in money-making is also a vehicle for introducing literacy and numeracy, which benefits all aspects of their lives (Wagner, 2000: 26). From the literature reviewed income generation skills appear to be a salient factor, contributing to a successful literacy programme. The Minority Women's Literacy and Basic Skills Project has the right combination of literacy, critical life skills and income-generation for women especially in the rural countryside or low-income areas such as the
informal settlements. This programme recognizes the rich diversity of their indigenous crafts and creative talents and develops their potential.