Abstract
This article is about women’s experiences of Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) as a means to their improved Health Promotion Behaviours in Apac District, Northern Uganda. The qualitative study of 29 participants aimed at examining women’s improved well-being resulting from using their acquired FAL knowledge and skills to participate in health promotion behaviours. The study was informed by Kabeer’s agency theory and Freire’s literacy perspective which argue on the element of conscientisation or awareness by making marginalised non-literate’s agents of promoting health behaviours. The findings revealed that from the practical skills, the women experienced more confidence, increased awareness and understanding on health-related issues and improved well-being. Therefore, the study recommends that the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD), International Donors, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society should ensure prioritisation, support and implementation of FAL training. Keywords: Women, Practical learning, Participation, Well-being DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/11-8-07 Publication date: April 30 th 2021
Highlights
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO] (2015) strongly consider education as a human right that must be accessed throughout life
The functions for which the literacy skills are learnt can determine the programme by which it is obtained, Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) programme is focused on skills for women to successfully participate in health promotion behaviours and improve their well-being
The design enabled the researcher to explore women’s lived experiences with skills gained from FAL programme, whether and in what way women participants in Apac District improved their health promotion behaviours from skills acquired from FAL training
Summary
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO] (2015) strongly consider education as a human right that must be accessed throughout life. The debate pointed to the fact that all individuals (women, men, girls and boys) through multiple, flexible pathways and entry points must at least possess some basic functional literacy and numeracy skill in order to achieve some level of meaningful individual and communal development. According to UNESCO (2006), a literate person is one who can, with understanding, both read and write a short simple statement, while a functionally literate individual is one who is able to improve upon his/her quality of life and make informed decisions due to his/her acquired literacy skills. Functional literacy, lays emphasis on the utilisation of literacy skills acquired to change one’s life, while a literate person is measured by his or her ability to read and write (Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development [MoGLSD], 2007). The functions for which the literacy skills are learnt can determine the programme by which it is obtained, Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) programme is focused on skills for women to successfully participate in health promotion behaviours and improve their well-being
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