Dissertation (Ph. D.) -- Lewis & Clark College, 2009. / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 134-151).

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the extent of difference in effectiveness of three non-formal education approaches in helping women acquire literacy skills and/or health knowledge in Nepal, and to propose hypotheses about factors or "influences" that might explain these differences. This exploratory study provides insights that program planners, researchers and policy makers can use for focusing further research on which non-formal education program designs for women will bring about the greatest increase in literacy skills and health knowledge. Four sample groups of women were compared: (1) 74 women in three different sites who attended monthly Mothers' Group health education meetings (with no literacy instruction); (2) 38 women in two different classes who completed a 6-month basic literacy course (with no health instruction); (3) 65 women in three different classes who completed a 6-month health/literacy course and 38 of these women who completed a 3-month post-literacy/health course; and (4) 50 women in two different sites who attended neither literacy course nor Mother's Group meetings. Data related to "acquisition" included literacy test scores and health knowledge oral interview scores; data related to possible "influences" included demographic data, and information about community and classroom context. Data were coded and analyzed by standard statistical procedures. The findings indicate that non-formal education of any kind is effective in helping women acquire some degree of both literacy skills and health knowledge. Type of non-formal education approach was not significantly related to greater literacy skills acquisition but it was related to greater health knowledge acquisition. Participation in the integrated health/literacy course was related to higher levels of health knowledge than was participation in health only or literacy only non-formal education approaches. Participation in the post-literacy course was associated with greater literacy skill and health knowledge acquisition than participation in either schooling or other types of non-formal education at a basic level. In addition, literacy skill acquisition appeared to be influenced by class or community factors (hours of instruction, facilitator characteristics, economic status of the community) and health knowledge acquisition was influenced by individual factors (marital status, age, radio ownership, number of children).

This study was conducted in a Chinese community located in an academic community in the United States. Ethnographic data were collected from the Chinese community in general and subsequently a close study of ten families who had school aged children was conducted. As international graduate students or visiting scholars, the parents in the families had affiliations with institutions of higher education and lived in the United States temporarily. The purpose of this study was to document, analyze, and find the meanings of the Chinese families' home literacy practices, as well as their strengths and difficulties. Theories of literacy as social and cultural practices led to the study's focus on the social and cultural backgrounds of the parents and their use of home literacy as cultural practices for achieving social goals. This study addressed the following research questions: (1) What are the home literacy practices of a group of Chinese families living in a community in the American society; (2) What are the Chinese parents' perspectives about literacy, schooling, their roles in their children's literacy development, and how have these factors influenced the families' home literacy practices; (3) How have families experienced literacy learning in the American schools, and how have these experiences influenced the families' home literacy practices. This study was ethnographic in methodology. Data were obtained through interviews and participant observation. Analysis of the data showed that the parents, who grew up in Chinese society, formed their views of literacy in that particular sociocultural environment. Those views guided them in home literacy practices. These practices served as a process of cultural transmission. Through home literacy practices, the parents helped their children construct and maintain identity with Chinese culture, traditional social relations, and the values of literacy learning. Home literacy practices also helped the families make adaptations when they came to the United States. When the families came to this country, the host culture posed as challenges to the families' lives. The children's schools served especially as the representative of the new culture to the families. The school culture made a strong impact on the families' home literacy practices. Soon the parents found that what counted as literacy in this new sociocultural environment was different from their previous experiences. They used home literacy practices to help cope with the difficulties they faced. These practices enabled them and their children to negotiate between the Chinese and the American cultures, to help the children function in American schools, and to prepare them return to home country.