The Dakar Framework for Action

The Dakar Framework for Action official documentation is available at  http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/ed_for_all/dakfram_eng.shtml

 I have decided to research The Dakar Framework for Action established at the World Education Forum in 2000. This is interesting and valid as it covers a recent period of history and is also looking to the future as the goals are to supposedly be achieved by 2015.

‘This document commits governments to achieving quality basic education for all by 2015, with particular emphasis on girls' schooling and a pledge from donor countries and institutions that "no country seriously committed to basic education will be thwarted in the achievement of this goal by lack of resources.’

Known as the biggest review on education in history...

 ‘The Dakar Framework for Action draws on the results of the global EFA 2000 Assessment involving more than 180 countries. Launched in 1998, this global exercise was the most comprehensive study ever made of basic education. It was carried out by national teams assisted by ten regional advisory groups, comprising UN agencies the World Bank, bilateral donor agencies, development banks and inter-governmental organizations.

Preliminary results were debated at five regional preparatory conferences and a special gathering of the nine high-population countries (E9) between December 1999 and February 2000 (in Johannesburg, South Africa; Bangkok, Thailand; Cairo, Egypt; Recife, Brazil; Warsaw, Poland; and Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic).’

This is what it found...  

‘The assessment revealed a mixed scorecard. The number of children in school soared (from 599 million in 1990 to 681 million in 1998) and many countries were approaching full primary school enrolment for the first time. On the other hand, some 113 million children were out of school, discrimination against girls was widespread and nearly a billion adults – mostly women – were illiterate. The lack of qualified teachers and learning materials was the reality for too many schools.

While the donor community was criticized for dwindling aid commitment, some countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil and Egypt were earmarking close to 6 per cent of their gross national product (GNP) for education. For some African countries, education absorbs up to a third of the national budget, although several of them spend as much on debt repayment as on health and basic education combined.

Disparities in quality were also widespread. Over-conservative systems were out of touch with young people’s needs, in sharp contrast with the plethora of initiatives that successfully adapted learning to local needs or reached out to marginalized populations. New media and virtual networks had also started to shake the dust off education systems.’

This document also looks ahead. The main challenges are seen to be:

o   How to reach out with education to people in Africa and other such regions with HIV/AIDS.

o   How to offer education to increasing numbers of refugees and displaced people.

o   How to help teachers to acquire a new understanding of their role.

o   How to help education overcome poverty.

This information was taken from  http://www.unesco.org/education

The Dakar Framework for Action

‘Educating girls is a development strategy that works.’ Kofi Annan –Dakar World Education conference

UNESCO

Day 3 Research

I have found a website called Oxford Bibliographies Online http://www.oxfordbibliographiesonline.com which features loads of articles on different subject areas. There is one article on functional literacy but unfortunately the rest are not available until October so I will keep checking.

Definition of Functional Literacy

It turns out Functional Literacy was a term coined in the 1960s when UNESCO started to look at the problem of illiteracy in developing countries. Here are some definitions:

o   The definition employed by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics sees functional literacy as a level of reading, writing, and calculation skills sufficient to function in the particular community in which an individual lives.

o   Collins, John W., III, and Nancy Patricia O’Brien, eds. 2003. The Greenwood dictionary of education. Westport, CT: Greenwood defines functional literacy as the minimum needed to meet personal and social needs in general education.

In following up the Jomtien conference of 1990 from David Barton’s article, I came across the United Nations website. The Jomtien Conference took place 5-9 March 1990 and was entitled the World Conference on Education for All. 1990 was also the International Literacy Year.

‘In 1990, the International Literacy Year, about 1,500 delegates from 155 countries met in Thailand, and called upon all countries to universalize adequate basic education. The Conference participants adopted the World Declaration on Education for All and a Framework for Action: Meeting Basic Learning Needs. The Declaration begins by stating that every person child, youth and adult shall be able to benefit from educational opportunities designed to meet their basic learning needs.’

The World Declaration on Education for All was a historic demonstration of the will and commitment of countries to establish in the area of child, adult and family education a new basis for overcoming inequality and generating new opportunities for eradicating poverty. Emphasis was placed not only on access to basic education, but also on the quality of education and actual learning outcomes.

This information talks about how education can overcome poverty. I would like to investigate further impacts of education upon development and I am sure that this in turn could lead to a decrease in poverty. The information also stated that (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Bank) all signed on to promote the programme. These could be useful contacts for further information.

‘The International Consultative Forum on Education for All, with its secretariat located at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, was established as an interagency body to guide and monitor follow-up actions to the World Conference in Jomtien.’

Six years later, there was a mid decade Education for All meeting in Amman on 16-19 June 1996.

‘This brought together some 250 decision-makers from 73 countries. Their aim: to assess the advances made since the Jomtien Conference.’

Then in April 2000 (26-28) there was a World Education Forum held in Dakar.  

‘This was the first and most important event in education at the dawn of the new century. By adopting the Dakar Framework for Action, which incorporated the six Regional Frameworks for Action, the Forum participants demonstrated a collective commitment to action to achieve the goals and targets of Education for All by 2015.’

This information was taken from the United Nations website.   www.un.org   

Day 2 Research

Just found a great article written by David Barton. I am now looking at the history of literacy programmes and this gives a good introduction. Maybe I could look at one particular programme of recent years introduced by a large organisation and discuss positives and negatives? I am sure there would be lots of information and opinions out there. These programmes, as discussed in the article, are aimed at improving economic and social development, which is exactly what I want to research further for this project. The article mentions UNESCO and the EWLP and the efforts of the 1960s. However, it also talks of more recent programmes such as REFLECT by Action Aid and World Education projects in Africa and Asia. I think it is important I look at recent developments in the field.

·         NB International Literacy Year 1990 Jomtien Conference, United Nations Literacy decade running until 2012, Education for All

The article mentions how there are many different philosophies on functional literacy and the success of these programmes. Also, how there is still a need for them to improve and adapt.

I definitely need to get focused on my project. I am planning to conduct at least half an hour each day of research for around 4-5 weeks. Hopefully this will give me a good basis for writing my essay in half term.

SMART planning...

SMART stands for:

  S - Specific - the target must say exactly what needs to be learned or done.

  M - Measurable- It must say exactly how this can be measured.

  A - Achievable - The target must not be too hard or too large, better to have several small targets leading to a larger goal.

  R - Realistic - It must be possible to get access to any training, books or help needed to meet the target.

  T - Timed - There should be a set time limit for achieving the target.

Manchester Library Research: 16/08/11

Today I have been to the Main Library at Manchester University to conduct some research. I found a great section on literacy and made some notes as the books were unfortunately only for reference. I found a book entitled Functional Literacy in Mali: Training for Development released by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). It was part of a series Educational Studies and Documents which was based upon eradicating illiteracy in the developing world and how increased literacy can lead to better economic performance. The document was released in November 1964 so it is not recent. However, this shows how literacy as an issue has progressed. It documented pilot literacy projects in Mali and also Tanzania and Iran under the Experimental World Literacy Programme (EWLP). They were aimed at increasing economic and social development in those countries.

NB. I need to look up: ‘Literacy Newsletter’, Bernard Dumont, National Literacy Centre and World Congress of Ministers of Education on the Eradication of Illiteracy. Also ZAF and UNDP (who financed the scheme).

The publication talked of how it is important to understand the country’s history before implementing such a scheme and to have a firmly established social structure. The scheme gave training to workmen to follow increased technological growth and therefore have an impact on labour productivity (the rate of output per worker.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to read the document thoroughly, but have picked up some useful leads. Such as researching:

·         Functional Literacy

·         The need for production of materials

·         The geography of a country affecting such a scheme

·         Population growth rate and its effect on literacy rates.

A potential title for my project could be ‘How successful was the …scheme on increasing economic and social development of (country) …’

This document seemed like a really good evaluation of such schemes and I think it would be interesting to look at the information and come to my own conclusion. The ‘Malian Method’ as it is known came to the conclusion that literacy led to a good effect on production, which could be realised on a wider scale and a radical renewal of cultural life. It was especially effective in rural areas.

NB. Look up Malian Institute of Functional Literacy, Functional Literacy Service, Development Operations and Ministry of Overseas Development.

The Future of Literacy in a Changing World edited by Daniel A Wagner, talked about the different levels of illiteracy. I think this is something I need to look into further, as some literacy may be passable but not lead to economic/ social development. Also, models based around literacy. It was part of the Comparative and International Education Series. Again, however, this was published a while ago in 1973. I need to find some more recent views on the subject. It also discussed subjects such as learning disabilities, colonial literacy, maps of illiteracy and ABE programmes which I need to research further.

The final book I looked through was Illiteracy: A world Problem, one of the books from my original list. It was edited by Charles Joseph Jeffries in 1967.This book talked of the history of illiteracy and several other countries which have attempted schemes to eradicate or lessen the problem.

The countries are as follows:

·         Soviet Union

·         Turkey 1923

·         Philippines (Dr. Frank C Laubach)

·         India 1930s

·         Northern Nigeria 1950s

·         Ghana-Togoland scheme

·         Uganda (ARG Prosser)

·          Cuba

Supervisor Meeting

On the 4^th June I had a meeting with my supervisor, to discuss my plans for over the summer. He says I perhaps need to think about literacy and the positive effects it can have on development, rather than the negative effects of illiteracy. He also suggested I need to find different points of view on the subject and come to my own eventual conclusion. I know I need to refine my title and I think this will come after some initial research.

We also discussed looking at one country with a few comparisons to others, so the project has more focus. I could look at how the economic situation of the country has changed over time and elements such as average standard of living. The EU trading block was also mentioned as something I could look into.