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.’
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