[lg policy] State literacy question

Tue Jun 8 14:23:11 UTC 2010

I don't know how reliable is this website, but it has literacy statistics:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/edu_lit_tot_pop-education-literacy-total-population

Rusiko Amirejibi

Quoting Joseph Lo Bianco <j.lobianco at unimelb.edu.au>:

>
> In addition to the 'kinds of salt' that Anthea is quite rightly
> sprinkling on the literacy statistics I would add two others. First,
> genres of literacy and second, numeracy within literacy.  These problems
> have dogged the measurers so much that they have devised a three part
> scheme, prose, information and quantitative literacy, and the OECD data
> sets show that with the inclusion of some number work (encased within a
> written text) performance attainments fall significantly and that with
> the move from these to other kinds of information processing tasks (such
> as 'reading' a weather map) the attainments fall still further.  Given
> how deeply ICT is changing what counts as literacy, and the growing
> multilingualism in all societies, it is clear that literacy policies
> that target only some population groups based on old ways of thinking
> about literacy are inadequate.  They sometimes lead to stereotyping
> (this is the case with some adult literacy programming which implies
> that low literate people are more criminally inclined) and they miss
> many needs that inhibit the lives of all.
>
> Just like language policies, literacy policies should follow these
> criteria: they should be public, explicit and comprehensive.
>
> Cheers, Joe
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lgpolicy-list-bounces at groups.sas.upenn.edu
> [mailto:lgpolicy-list-bounces at groups.sas.upenn.edu] On Behalf Of Anthea
> Fraser Gupta
> Sent: Tuesday, 8 June 2010 10:07 PM
> To: Language Policy List
> Subject: RE: [lg policy] State literacy question
>
> Agree with Francis. The kinds of salt are what I would emphasise with
> students.
>
> Some considerations:
>
> 1) 'Literacy' has many possible thresholds, from being able to write
> one's name to being able to read a newspaper.
>
> 2) Literacy rate does not specify the language(s) of literacy.
>
> 3) In many of the places claiming 100% or near it (e.g. North Korea,
> Cuba) the literacy rate will be the literacy rate in a sole official/
> dominant language.
>
> 4) Many of the countries reporting very high literacy rates (over 97%)
> may be excluding some groups, including some categories of disabled
> people and anyone who is not a citizen. It is likely to be very hard
> indeed to establish who has been excluded.
>
> 5) Censuses are the usual source. They vary in completeness and
> coverage. They are also usually based (in the best case scenario) on
> self-declaration.
>
> 6) With all these caveats, it is nevertheless the case that states with
> an efficiently delivered universal primary education system can deliver
> a good level of functional literacy to over 95% of the population. If
> education has been effectively delivered for a century (as in Europe,
> for example), total literacy will be over 95% without doubt, and that
> literacy will be in an official language (or in official languages).
>
> Anthea
>
> *     *     *     *     *
> Anthea Fraser Gupta (Dr)
> School of English, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT
> <www.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/afg<http://www.leeds.ac.uk/english/staff/
> afg>>
> *     *     *     *     *
>
> ________________________________
> From: lgpolicy-list-bounces+a.f.gupta=leeds.ac.uk at groups.sas.upenn.edu
> [lgpolicy-list-bounces+a.f.gupta=leeds.ac.uk at groups.sas.upenn.edu] On
> Behalf Of Francis Hult [francis.hult at utsa.edu]
> Sent: 07 June 2010 23:37
> To: lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
> Subject: RE: [lg policy] State literacy question
>
> You might take a look at the UNESCO Institute for Statistics database.
> It includes national youth (ages 15-24) literacy rates from 1975-2008:
>
> http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=2
> 10
>
> The literacy rates are compiled based on various sources, including
> national reports (which, as you say, must be taken with a grain of
> salt).  Here's a general link to the statistics portal where you can
> search for other areas too:
> http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=14
> 3&IF_Language=eng
>
> Francis
>
> --
> Francis M. Hult, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies
> University of Texas at San Antonio
>
> Web: http://faculty.coehd.utsa.edu/fhult/
>
> ________________________________
> From: lgpolicy-list-bounces at groups.sas.upenn.edu on behalf of Emily
> McEwan-Fujita
> Sent: Mon 6/7/2010 3:28 PM
> To: lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu
> Subject: [lg policy] State literacy question
>
> Has any state government ever claimed to have achieved 100% literacy in
> an official state language among its population, measurable by a census
> or other survey? I would highly doubt the claim, but I am interested in
> the ideologies that would motivate such claims.
>
> Also, can anyone suggest sources that would provide information on which
> modern states have claimed the highest literacy rates among their
> populations?
>
> I am looking for cite-able sources, both for an article and for future
> course lectures.
>
> Thank you very much,
>
> Emily McEwan-Fujita
>
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