Linking Literacy and Community Development: A Case Study of Women in New Orleans

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of a family literacy program in New Orleans , developed in response to lowliteracy levels, high drop-out rates, and a corresponding lack of resident participation in communitydevelopment efforts in the area. The program, Toyota Families for Learning (TFFL), worked to transcenddisciplinary barriers by linking adult literacy education and community development through a communitybasedapproach to adult literacy. TFFL continuously evolved to serve as a catalyst for transformation in thelives of the women it served, their families, and their communities. The experiences of the women in thisstudy were explored in relation to the following indicators of community building: (1) developing the abilityto express personal experiences and observed phenomena, (2) constructing one's own knowledge, (3) settingand following through on goals, (4) building a positive community environment, and (5) developing a visionof the community. Qualitative data in the form of literacy narratives informed this inquiry. The narrativeswere triangulated with field notes and focus group data collected over a six-year period commencing in1992. The findings of this research indicate that literacy programs can be structured to successfully build thecapacity of participants to engage in community development processes.