Search results

This report details research undertaken to inform improvements in the design and delivery of the Literacy Coordinating Council of the Philippines' (LCC's) literacy and continuing education programs throughout the Philippines. It contributes to an understanding of the complex relationship between literacy and development. It examines the social meanings of literacy in a number of marginal communities in the Philippines, in which the common characteristic is an average income below the poverty threshold. Issues investigated include the meaning of functional literacy and its measurement. The question of whether literacy always promotes development is debated. The research demonstrates that the concepts of literacy and numeracy are embedded in their social and cultural contexts. As a result, standard measures of literacy applied in industrialised countries are often inappropriate for developing societies. The findings have important implications for the design of community literacy programs.