[lg policy] State literacy question

Wed Jun 9 07:55:16 UTC 2010

Wikipedia, websites, etc.. These websites might well be entirely 'reliable', but the individual data from the individual countries isn't either consistent or reliable.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think declared 'literacy' must be triangulated against stuff like:

GDP
provision of free and compulsory education (and its history)
infant mortality
gossip (= informed commentary)

Sri Lanka began independence with a strong basis and had some very very good years in the 1950s-80s when all its social indicators rose. Apparently, even in areas involved in the civil war, education was maintained. Sri Lanka is not a country to which many people migrate. Dubai's 100%, for example, presumably covers only citizens (a very small proportion of the total population).

Anthea

*     *     *     *     *
Anthea Fraser Gupta (Dr)
School of English, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT
<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 Joseph Lo Bianco [j.lobianco at unimelb.edu.au]
Sent: 08 June 2010 13:28
To: Language Policy List
Subject: RE: [lg policy] State literacy question

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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