Ethnographic Research on Literacy Practices in Development (S9)
Presenter: Brian Street
This presentation by Dr. Brian Street followed an introductory session on Challenging Dominant Paradigms in Development. The session was designed as an opportunity for participants to report on group discussions centered on some aspects of "community," which would be necessary to explore when designing literacy projects that reflect sound ethnographic research. The discussions focused on the following topics:
- examples of local literacy practices,
- advantages and disadvantages of the written word,
- roles of literacy "specialists" and their impact on learners' needs,
- literacy practices that oppress rather than liberate,
- balancing local literacies and languages with mainstream literacies and languages of power, and
- negotiating program content with facilitators, potential students and local people.
One group reported on the impact of the written word. Benefits included documentation, and the fact that books can be distributed and read anywhere, any time and as many times as necessary. Some disadvantages of written materials are that they are useful to a limited audience, and they also restrict the use of language. Production costs may also be very high and lead to the dissemination of inferior materials. Printed materials also do not often take into account other forms of communication which are accessible to greater numbers of people, such as oral or visual communication.
Another group defined local literacy "specialists" and practitioners as teachers, community leaders, neighbors, missionaries, and extension officers. These specialists may read newspapers and share information with other people or be asked to read and write letters for individuals within a village. They act as public relations officers in these communities. Depending on the behavior and attitudes of these specialists, the needs of the local people may be inadequately addressed or overlooked, which can lead some people to reject literacy all together.
The liberating versus oppressive aspects of literacy, one group reported, included the increased ability of women to gain skills and confidence in conducting their daily lives. One potential disadvantage of acquiring these skills is that they tend to diminish group and oral activities as the learners become more independent. In addition, women who learn literacy skills but who cannot make use of them in a practical way, may feel frustrated.
All participants agreed that literacy programs must respect the learners' needs and their languages. As an example of this, participants described how in certain communities, the learners themselves write materials, which are then put together as literacy materials for other learners.
In conclusion, Street recommended that literacy programs include an ethnographic component which goes beyond studies and surveys to include interviews and observations on the local populations. Literacy programs can then be designed to more adequately meet the learners' needs, taking into account local practices rather than imposing programs from the outside with little consideration for local realities. Dr. Street also suggested that practitioners think about programs that integrate various communicative practices, in addition to the written word. Finally, he suggested that literacy programs are often monologic and as such do not lead to positive changes in learners' lives. Instead, he suggests, acquiring literacy should be a dialogic process--be based on learners' needs in order to improve learners' lives in such areas as health, development, and empowerment.
Readings: (Language and Culture, Section 4)
-Why Research Multiple Literacy Practices? (Street)
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