<p>The study set out to investigate the relationship between parental literacy levels and the literacy abilities of their children who were Grade 3 learners at a primary school in an impoverished area. The study initially hypothesized that there is a correlation beteen the literacy level of parents and the literacy abilities of their children. More specifically, it assumed that the higher the lieracy leevls of the parents, the stronger the literacy abilities of their Grade 3 child would be.</p>

<p>The study set out to investigate the relationship between parental literacy levels and the literacy abilities of their children who were Grade 3 learners at a primary school in an impoverished area. The study initially hypothesized that there is a correlation beteen the literacy level of parents and the literacy abilities of their children. More specifically, it assumed that the higher the lieracy leevls of the parents, the stronger the literacy abilities of their Grade 3 child would be.</p>

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / The study set out to investigate the relationship between parental literacy levels and the literacy abilities of their children who were Grade 3 learners at a primary school in an impoverished area. The study initially hypothesized that there is a correlation beteen the literacy level of parents and the literacy abilities of their children. More specifically, it assumed that the higher the lieracy leevls of the parents, the stronger the literacy abilities of their Grade 3 child would be. / South Africa

Thesis (EdD)--Open University.

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBibl / This research project looked at the role of public libraries in bridging the digital divide which is both a symptom and a cause of social exclusion. Public libraries offer free information services to ordinary citizens by means a wide range of media, including the Internet. But they offer more than just access as their information literacy programmes educate people in the use of the various media. Across the world there are many initiatives employed by public libraries to help bridge the digital divide. The purpose of the case study of one library district was to investigate if and how libraries in Cape Town were taking on this responsibility. The project had two parts: a survey of one district of the city’s libraries and a closer case study of one selected library in the district. The overall findings from both phases of the study were that Public libraries do help to narrow the Digital Divide by providing free internet access to the public. One of the initiatives the Public libraries that were surveyed including Masiphumelele library employed to help narrow the Digital Divide is SmartCape. Not only did Masiphumelele have SmartCape, but it also offered free computer literacy classes to its users.

This research project is aimed at investigating the reading programmes, in four schools in KwaZulu- Natal, which serve to encourage learners to read. The schools involved in this research project were single- sex schools that were either private or government funded. My research involved interviewing the Librarians and English Heads of Department (HoDs) at each school to establish their experiences and perceptions of the reading programmes that are run at each school. I also interviewed a group of Grade 10 learners at each school in an effort to gauge their experiences and perceptions of the reading programmes at each particular school. The reading programmes at each school are also described and critiqued within my investigation and offered as examples of what successful reading programmes entail. These reading programmes were defined as successful by the Librarians and English HoDs who collaboratively run these programmes. Many learners who participated in these programmes did not deem them a success and offered suggestions for the Librarians and English teachers to amend these programmes. The qualitative components of my research (interviews) were complemented by the use of a questionnaire that was randomly distributed to 50 Grade 10 learners at each school. This questionnaire constituted the quantitative aspect of my research as the results were statistically analysed in a bid to validate the results of the interviews. Other strategies employed by the Librarians and English HoDs were also assessed and are offered as suggestions to other teachers or librarians who are struggling to encourage a positive attitude towards reading amongst their learners. Through my research I was able to conclude that the reading programmes that were investigated are generally a successful means of motivating adolescents to read because all the learners involved read more than they normally would. These programmes do not, however, always instil lifelong reading habits in learners because they do not facilitate the promotion of reading as a pleasurable activity that can be enjoyed in one’s leisure time. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

There are many family literacy programmes in countries such as England, United States of America and Australia. The programmes usually include both parents and children and are presented in different forms. In South Africa there are very few family literacy programmes of any sort. This is a case study of a family literacy programme in a deeply rural area of KwaZulu-Natal. The study presents information gathered from interviews with parents and teachers on their perception of early childhood literacy and their role in its development in their children. The study contains information on the interventions of the Family Literacy Project in an attempt to assess the impact these have had on the behaviour and attitudes of the parents and teachers. Tentative conclusions are drawn and suggestions offered for future research and action. The study includes a review of related literature. This, together with the findings of the study should contribute to the discussion of how relevant family literacy programmes could be in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

UNESCO has been a forerunner in the field of mainstreaming of gender which is evident in countless conferences and publications, notably in its Checklist for the Integration of Gender Issues in the Evaluation of UNESCO&#8217;s Programmes (UNESCO 1999b ). The branch with special responsibility for questions of Adult Literacy has been the UNESCO Institute of Education (UIE). Careful historical-comparative analysis of its publications reveals a varied picture on the question of gender. On the one hand it has published evaluation manuals (Bhola 1990, Easton 1996) in which gender goes virtually unnoticed. And on the other there are collected essays of workshops organised and published by the UIE which present some of the strongest voices on the subject, notably Sara Longwe (1997, 1999a), the exponent of the evaluation tool, Women&#8217;s Empowerment Framework. While personnel changes in the UIE in the course of the nineties may be a partial explanation, there are other ambiguities in its policies and practice which are not as easily explained. When the evaluation reports of literacy programmes published as exemplary practice by the UIE are examined they reveal some striking differences. Two evaluations of literacy programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa were analysed, one in Oyo State, Nigeria (Omolewa et al. 1998) and the other being the National Literacy Programme of Namibia (Lind 1996). The methods of analysis were both the UNESCO Checklist and the Women&#8217;s Empowerment Framework. They both have received wide acceptance within this particular field. Furthermore, their use provides a means of internal comparison. What the study reveals is a striking discrepancy between such policy and the actual practice of evaluation, and at the same time it becomes clear that the Women&#8217;s Empowerment Framework is the more rigorous of the two. Particularly in the analysis of the Oyo programme evaluation it becomes evident that such a gender approach is able to uncover significant failures, particular with regard to its patriarchal notion of &#8220;empowerment&#8221;. Although it too falls short of the standards, the evaluation of the Namibian programme comes a lot closer to the requirements. An explanation for the discrepancy between the two may be located in the fact that whereas the Oyo evaluation was conducted by a team of local consultants, all of whom were male, the Namibian evaluation was a joint local-international initiative with an equal male-female balance. Further study of UIE&#8217;s other published evaluation reports would however be necessary in order to confirm such a conclusion. What the study does succeed in establishing is the way in which the role of UNESCO through the UIE&#8217;s has been that of a facilitator. By bringing different emphases into dialogue with one another it has served to open up new directions in the field of gender and literacy programme evaluation. / Public Administration / M.A.

Adult Mother-Tongue Literacy learning is a universal problem as readily available statistics indicate. In this study, I explore various aspects of adult Mother-Tongue Literacy learning, including: • a profile of a Learner typical of those who attend the Pinetown Welfare Society Adult Literacy Programme; • some indication of the success of literacy programmes around the world; • the kinds of problems experienced by Learners in the Kwadabeka Literacy Project attached to the Pinetown Welfare Society; • some relevant theoretical concepts which underpin adult learning, and particularly the learning of literacy in adults; • the perceptions of Marcel Jousse on the effect of non-literate and semi-literate milieux on the capacities of Learners; • suggestions as to how an improved understanding of the capacities of Learners can influence the choice, design and presentation of Literacy teaching and learning materials; • examples of those aspects of current programmes which answer the needs identified by Marcel Jousse. In the conclusion, I suggest: • how the theories of Marcel Jousse can be further explored and applied in the area of Mother-Tongue Literacy learning, and to a definition of literacy; • how the needs identified by Marcel Jousse can be further accommodated; • what kinds of materials need to be introduced to make Mother-Tongue Literacy less problematic and more accessible to its Learners; • how an evaluation of the Pinetown Welfare Literacy Programme might assist in improving Mother-Tongue Literacy learning. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1998.

UNESCO has been a forerunner in the field of mainstreaming of gender which is evident in countless conferences and publications, notably in its Checklist for the Integration of Gender Issues in the Evaluation of UNESCO&#8217;s Programmes (UNESCO 1999b ). The branch with special responsibility for questions of Adult Literacy has been the UNESCO Institute of Education (UIE). Careful historical-comparative analysis of its publications reveals a varied picture on the question of gender. On the one hand it has published evaluation manuals (Bhola 1990, Easton 1996) in which gender goes virtually unnoticed. And on the other there are collected essays of workshops organised and published by the UIE which present some of the strongest voices on the subject, notably Sara Longwe (1997, 1999a), the exponent of the evaluation tool, Women&#8217;s Empowerment Framework. While personnel changes in the UIE in the course of the nineties may be a partial explanation, there are other ambiguities in its policies and practice which are not as easily explained. When the evaluation reports of literacy programmes published as exemplary practice by the UIE are examined they reveal some striking differences. Two evaluations of literacy programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa were analysed, one in Oyo State, Nigeria (Omolewa et al. 1998) and the other being the National Literacy Programme of Namibia (Lind 1996). The methods of analysis were both the UNESCO Checklist and the Women&#8217;s Empowerment Framework. They both have received wide acceptance within this particular field. Furthermore, their use provides a means of internal comparison. What the study reveals is a striking discrepancy between such policy and the actual practice of evaluation, and at the same time it becomes clear that the Women&#8217;s Empowerment Framework is the more rigorous of the two. Particularly in the analysis of the Oyo programme evaluation it becomes evident that such a gender approach is able to uncover significant failures, particular with regard to its patriarchal notion of &#8220;empowerment&#8221;. Although it too falls short of the standards, the evaluation of the Namibian programme comes a lot closer to the requirements. An explanation for the discrepancy between the two may be located in the fact that whereas the Oyo evaluation was conducted by a team of local consultants, all of whom were male, the Namibian evaluation was a joint local-international initiative with an equal male-female balance. Further study of UIE&#8217;s other published evaluation reports would however be necessary in order to confirm such a conclusion. What the study does succeed in establishing is the way in which the role of UNESCO through the UIE&#8217;s has been that of a facilitator. By bringing different emphases into dialogue with one another it has served to open up new directions in the field of gender and literacy programme evaluation. / Public Administration and Management / M.A.