Urban Literacy: Communication, Identity and Learning in Development Contexts

Published by UNESCO’s Institute for Education, this book presents findings from a two-year international research project which explored linkages between urbanisation and literacy and the ways in which literacy is sought and employed in individual lives and livelihoods. Contributors from nine countries show it is easy to claim to make urban residents literate, but much more challenging to create and sustain literate communities. According to the publisher, views on development have for many years focused on the status of the rural economic poor living in villages dominated by traditional economic, political and social patterns. Recent discussions of poverty reduction, however, have succeeded in drawing attention to the important role played by the inhabitants of cities and towns in the dynamics of development. This publication aims to advance these discussions by thematising the relation of urbanisation and literacy, literacy practices in urban settings, and literacy and livelihoods.

According to the editor, the collection shows that it is important to:

• recognise that needs within urban communities are multiple and changing
• develop locally-specific programmes tailored to people’s specific and immediate needs and aspirations
• use a learning group, rather than a classroom-based approach: learners should be encouraged to identify, collect or develop their own reading and writing materials
• identify workplace learning opportunities
• set up drop-in centres to offer advice and immediate help with practical literacy tasks
• remember that adults learn according to their own motivations, not those imposed by others