Magister Educationis - MEd / This thesis constitutes an investigation into the effects of literacy in a community which is severly disadvantaged. The thesis explored various ways in which the concept of literacy could be examined and the political assuments implied in each literacy orientation. In order to explore the effects of literacy following conventional research procedures a pilot study was conducted. During the pilot the data revealed that statistical analysis could not capture the political and 'liberational'nuances generated by literacy. In the light of this, it became necessary to adopt a mode of analysis which could capture the effects of the literacy. This study therefore constitutes a description of the, advantages and disadvantages of radically switching to a different paradigm in the life of a single project.