Improve Literacy Levels Research Articles

Promoting Health Literacy in the Workplace Among Civil Servants: Cross-Sectional Study.

In 2022, the World Health Organization highlighted the alarming state of oral health (OH) worldwide and urged action to include OH in initiatives on noncommunicable diseases. The population needs improved OH skills and attitudes and an adequate level of OH literacy (OHL) and general health literacy (HL). The implementation of health promotion actions in the workplace, which is a part of most people's lives, appears to be an opportunity. In France, civil servants have several socioprofessional levels and represent an excellent model with results transposable to the population. This study aimed at determining the OHL and HL level of civil servants in France in order to implement specific prevention actions in their workplaces. A cross-sectional study of French civil servants was conducted in France from October 2023 to February 2024. Participants completed three validated questionnaires in French: (1) a questionnaire on OH knowledge, (2) the Oral Health Literacy Instrument, French version (OHLI-F; this is composed of reading comprehension and numeracy sections) to assess the OHL level, and (3) the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults, French version (s-TOFHLA-F) to assess the HL level. The scores for OH knowledge, the OHLI-F, and the s-TOFHLA-F were reported as means (SD) and the 95% CI. These scores were classified into 3 categories: adequate (75-100), marginal (60-74) and inadequate (0-59). ANOVA and binary logistic regression were performed. The OHLI-F reading comprehension and OHLI-F numeracy scores were compared using the Welch 2-sample t test and a paired t test (both 2-tailed). For the correlation matrix, the Pearson correlation and related tests were computed. A total of 1917 persons completed the 3 questionnaires, with adequate levels of OHL (n=1610, 84%), OH knowledge (n=1736, 90.6%), and HL (n=1915, 99.9%). The scores on the s-TOFHLA-F (mean 98.2, SD 2.8) were higher than the OHLI-F (mean 80.9, SD 7.9) and OH knowledge (mean 87.6, SD 10.5). The OHLI-F was highly correlated with OH knowledge (P<.001), but the OHLI-F and OH knowledge had a low correlation with s-TOFHLA-F (P=.43). The OHLI-F reading comprehension score was significantly higher than the OHLI-F numeracy score (P<.001). Age, education level, and professional category impacted the 3 scores (P<.001). The professional category was a determinant of adequate OHLI-F and OH knowledge scores. Some French civil servants had inadequate or marginal levels of OH knowledge (n=181, 9.5%) and OHL (n=307, 16%) but none had an inadequate level of HL. Results highlighted the relevance of implementing OH promotion programs in the workplace. They should be nonstandardized, adapted to the literacy level of professional categories of workers, and focused on numeracy skills. Thus, appropriate preventive communication and improved literacy levels are the means to achieve greater disease equity and combat the burden of noncommunicable diseases.

Implementing smart technologies for teaching Ukrainian language across secondary and higher education: case studies and practical recommendations

The article is dedicated to exploring SMART technologies in the process of teaching the Ukrainian language to students in general secondary and higher education institutions. Specifically, methodical recommendations are formulated to enhance the effectiveness of utilizing these technologies in the modern educational process. The significance of SMART technologies is substantially increasing in the innovative paradigm of the educational process under the influence of integration, globalization, and the transition to an information society. The article employs a comparative and content analysis of distance and electronic learning of the Ukrainian language. It delves into the theoretical foundations of computer-assisted language teaching as a distinct methodological approach based on “smart” technologies. The authors emphasize the effectiveness of using interactive whiteboards and multimedia presentations to implement the principle of visualizing language elements and structures, facilitating students' acquisition of lexical-grammatical material. It is identified that creating mental maps is an effective SMART teaching technology for the Ukrainian language. To this end, computer services such as MindMeister, Mindomo, Cliffy, Spinscape, Bubbl.us, MAPMYself, SpiderScribe, and others are recommended. The research concludes that the use of SMART technologies by students in general secondary and higher education institutions contributes to increased motivation for language learning, improved literacy levels, facilitates independent research efforts aimed at enhancing professional-communicative competence, and streamlines the process of knowledge assessment by educators.

Factors that Influence Place of Delivery for Women of Reproductive Age in Narok South Sub County

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to explore the factors that influence the place of delivery for women of reproductive age in Narok South Sub County.&#x0D; Methodology: The study adapted a descriptive, cross sectional study design which focused on all women of reproductive age who delivered at home after antenatal hospital care visits in the last 24 months. The research was completed in Narok South Sub County, Narok County in Kenya. The target populace included all women with children below two years of age who gave birth at home yet attended antenatal care visits in a health facility in Narok North Sub-County. The study population included all women of reproductive age which were in the age bracket of 15 and 49 years from Narok south sub-county in Narok County. The study adapted two sampling techniques (purposive sampling and simple random sampling) first, purposive sampling was used to obtain women who have had delivered in the last 24 months and also key informants like TBAs and community elders. A sample of 30% of the targeted population was selected; this is coherent with the proposition by Mugenda and Mugenda (2009) that 30% of the population is deemed to be sufficient for statistical analysis in research. A semi structured questionnaire was utilized to gather data. The study utilized primary data only. The primary data was collected through semi structured questionnaires by visiting households with women of reproductive age who gave birth in the last 24 months in a non- hospital set up. Data was analyzed using excel and statistical package for social sciences SPSS version 22.0.&#x0D; Findings: The study found that emergencies during delivery are well handled in a hospital setup and will greatly improve delivery outcome, the health of the mother and baby. The extended walking distance nearest health facility, the lesser the expectation of mothers to make use of skilled and trained delivery service. The absence of trouble-free transportation service to the nearest health facility is also an essential significant convolution. Source of information on reproductive health matters and more so about pregnancy, labor, and place of delivery can highly influence decision-making on the place of giving birth. Majority of women in rural areas receive advice on reproductive health matters from their 'mothers-in-law and extended family members. When pregnant mothers attend ANC they are taught about delivery and how to prepare for it.&#x0D; Recommendations: County Education officers in liaison with social development officers to promote adult formal education to improve literacy levels, which will go a long way in influencing reproductive health decisions. County health management team, together with the reproductive health section to network with other relevant stakeholders to increase sensitization on utilization of hospital-based deliveries. Health education by all relevant stakeholders on the advantages of hospital delivery. Establish community health units and train community health volunteers and traditional birth attendants to be safe motherhood promoters.

Evaluation of the School Literacy Movement in Primary Schools

This research aims to evaluate the implementation of a literacy program based on predetermined indicators, with the expectation that the findings will benefit future policy formulation. The research used a qualitative approach, specifically the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) evaluation. Data collection involved interviews and observations. The School Literacy Movement is a government initiative aimed at improving literacy levels in Indonesia. In the Muaro Jambi District, a primary school serving as an implementer of the School Literacy Movement experienced a decline in literacy education based on educational report card scores. After conducting the research, it was found that the school already had clear goals in the context, but it required additional inputs such as integrating the vision and mission to motivate teachers and students, establishing a School Literacy Team (TLS), implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), and optimizing the use of facilities and resources. In the process, academic supervision and creativity in finding appropriate learning media were still needed, along with personalized guidance for students to identify their learning styles to ensure that the outcomes aligned with the intended goals. The research highlights the importance of various factors in implementing the literacy program, and the findings can contribute to improving future literacy policies in schools.

Case Study Analysis: Room to Read Literacy Program in India

This article discusses India’s Room to Read literacy program, an initiative established by the nonprofit organization Room to Read to improve literacy levels in India. The article first discusses the literacy situation in India and the challenges it faces. Next, the article describes the three stages of development of the Room to Read literacy program in India and its impact and analyzes the program’s strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the article analyzes the program from two theoretical perspectives—human capital theory and human rights theory. Overall, the article demonstrates the importance of literacy and the need for effective programs to improve literacy levels in low-income countries like India.

A multilevel analysis of trends and predictors associated with teenage pregnancy in Zambia (2001–2018)

BackgroundTeenage pregnancy remains a major social and public health challenge in developing countries especially sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where prevalence rates are still increasing. Even if considerable effort has been made over the years to study determining factors of teenage pregnancy in SSA, few studies have looked at the trends and associated factors over a longer period. Furthermore, no known study has focussed on both individual and contextual factors influencing teenage pregnancy in Zambia. This study, thus sought to fill this gap in knowledge by simultaneously investigating trends of teenage pregnancy as well as its individual and contextual determining factors.MethodsA total pooled weighted sample of 10,010 teenagers (in the age group 15–19) from four waves of the Zambia Demographic and Health Surveys were extracted. Using bivariate analysis, we investigated the trends of teenage pregnancy between 2001 and 2018. Separate multilevel logistic regression models were fitted on pooled teenage pregnancy data in relation to several individual and contextual level factors. Both fixed and random effects were produced. Bayesian parameter estimates were produced using lme4 package in R statistical programming environment.ResultsResults of the trends of teenage pregnancy in Zambia have shown an overall decrease of 2% between 2001 and 2018. Almost all the socioeconomic and demographic variables were consistently associated with teenage pregnancy (p < 0.001) in a bivariate analysis across the four survey. In multilevel analysis, the odds of being pregnant were higher for teenagers who were employed (aOR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02–1.42), married (aOR = 7.71, 95% CI: 6.31–9.52) and those with knowledge of ovulation period (aOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.34–1.90). On the other hand, belonging to households in high wealth quintiles, being literate, exposure to mass-media family planning messages and delayed sexual debut were associated with decreased odds of teenage pregnancy.ConclusionThe study shows that teenage pregnancy remains a social and public health challenge in Zambia as the country has seen little decrease in the prevalence over the years under consideration. Factors associated with teenage pregnancy include marital status, and employment, knowledge of ovulation period, wealth quintile, sexual debut and exposure to mass-media family planning messaging. Concerted effort must be made to improve literacy levels, reduce poverty and enhance sexual health promotion through the mass media in view of cultural norms, which may prevent parents and children from discussion sexual education topics thus exacerbate the vice.

Championing Literacy Around the Globe: Highlights from the World Literacy Summit

In April, 2023, I attended the three-day World Literacy Summit at Oxford University in England. Sponsored by the World Literacy Foundation, the Summit brought together leaders from eighty-five countries representing over two-thirds of the world’s population, all with a single focus—advocating, championing, and educating on the vital importance of improving literacy levels across the globe.Presentations included topics of leadership in literacy, new technologies/innovation, literacy programs and goals, funding/sustainable development, girls’ literacy, First Nation/mother tongue literacy, learning disabilities, community-based interventions for literacy, early childhood/primary literacy, and more.

The Role of Access to Finances and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries. A Critical Literature Review

Purpose: Financial institutions improves the well-being of participants through job creation, increasing income and building assets (wealth). It makes poor people to be homeowners through schemes such as housing microfinance. The overall objective of this study was to examine influence of access to finances and poverty reduction in developing countries. A critical literature review&#x0D; Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps.&#x0D; Findings: This study concluded that access to home improvement finances led to improvement in living conditions from living in shanties to permanent dwellings hence better living conditions and reduction in poverty. Access to school fees loans led to higher enrolment rates in schools improving literacy levels in developing countries and hence reducing poverty. Lower interest rates led to more access to microfinance loans and in the long run a reduction in poverty, availability of collaterals meant ability to pay and credit worthiness of respondent’s hence easier access to microfinance loans which leads to poverty reduction in the long run. Favourable credit policy led to increased access to microfinance loans and vice versa.&#x0D; Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: This study recommended that financial institutions that are able to give out loans to help serve the poor, should arrange mechanisms to improve technical and business skills of the poorest through training and loan utilization. This will enhance their business skills to use credit and establish market channels for their products.

DETERMINANTS OF HOME BIRTHS AMONG WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE AFTER ANTENATAL HOSPITAL CARE VISITS IN NAROK COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the contributors associated with having a home delivery after antenatal hospital care visits in women of reproductive age in Narok South Sub-County, Kenya.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: Across-sectional survey of 323 women who delivered at home within the last two years yet attended antenatal care clinics was carried out. The survey was conducted in Narok south sub-county, and respondents were picked randomly from all the wards. Data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire; exploration of variables was done using a chi-squire test. Using odd ratio with95% confidence interval with p&lt;0.05 taken as a statistically significant association.&#x0D; Results: The One way ANOVA analysis indicated that there was a significant influence on source of income and home delivery (F=62.022, P=0.0001. All three factors (age, education, distance) had a significant positive relationship with the number of children delivered at home(r =0.574, 0.677 and 0.534 respectively). Using Pearson correlation analysis, the findings revealed that the distance to the health facility significantly influenced home delivery(r=0.53, P=0.0001).On assessing the level of knowledge associated with home delivery, many mothers were aware of bleeding and perinea tears as complications. Given opportunity majority would not deliver at home again (77.4%). Those who had no emergency backup plan were96.3% and those who stated that they would deliver at home again, had no emergency backup plan. In contrast, women who had emergency backup plans would not deliver at home again (Fishers' exact test = 3.628, P = 0.043). Awareness of the risk factors stated 95.0% were aware of the risk of placenta praevia and bleeding problems, and there was no significant difference in the number of women aware of the danger signs to those not familiar (x2 value 30000,p-value 0.224). &#x0D; Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that the County Education officers in liaison with social development officers should promote adult formal education to improve literacy levels, which will go a long way in influencing reproductive health decisions. County health management team, together with the reproductive health section should network with other relevant stakeholders to increase sensitization on utilization of hospital-based deliveries.

DETERMINANTS OF HOME BIRTHS AMONG WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE AFTER ANTENATAL HOSPITAL CARE VISITS IN NAROK COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the contributors associated with having a home delivery after antenatal hospital care visits in women of reproductive age in Narok South Sub-County, Kenya.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: Across-sectional survey of 323 women who delivered at home within the last two years yet attended antenatal care clinics was carried out. The survey was conducted in Narok south sub-county, and respondents were picked randomly from all the wards. Data was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire; exploration of variables was done using a chi-squire test. Using odd ratio with95% confidence interval with p&lt;0.05 taken as a statistically significant association.&#x0D; Results: The One way ANOVA analysis indicated that there was a significant influence on source of income and home delivery (F=62.022, P=0.0001. All three factors (age, education, distance) had a significant positive relationship with the number of children delivered at home(r =0.574, 0.677 and 0.534 respectively). Using Pearson correlation analysis, the findings revealed that the distance to the health facility significantly influenced home delivery(r=0.53, P=0.0001).On assessing the level of knowledge associated with home delivery, many mothers were aware of bleeding and perinea tears as complications. Given opportunity majority would not deliver at home again (77.4%). Those who had no emergency backup plan were96.3% and those who stated that they would deliver at home again, had no emergency backup plan. In contrast, women who had emergency backup plans would not deliver at home again (Fishers' exact test = 3.628, P = 0.043). Awareness of the risk factors stated 95.0% were aware of the risk of placenta praevia and bleeding problems, and there was no significant difference in the number of women aware of the danger signs to those not familiar (x2 value 30000,p-value 0.224). &#x0D; Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that the County Education officers in liaison with social development officers should promote adult formal education to improve literacy levels, which will go a long way in influencing reproductive health decisions. County health management team, together with the reproductive health section should network with other relevant stakeholders to increase sensitization on utilization of hospital-based deliveries.

Continuum of maternity care in Zambia: a national representative survey

BackgroundGlobally, over half of maternal deaths are related to pregnancy-related complications. Provision of a continuum of care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period results in reduced maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Hence this study determined the prevalence of the continuum of care and its determinants among women in Zambia.MethodsWe used weighted data from the Zambian Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) of 2018 for 7325 women aged 15 to 49 years. Multistage stratified sampling was used to select study participants. Complete continuum of care was considered when a woman had; at least four antenatal care (ANC) contacts, utilized a health facility for childbirth and had at least one postnatal check-up within six weeks. We conducted multivariable logistic regression to explore continuum of care in Zambia. All our analyses were done using SPSS version 25.ResultsOf the 7,325 women, 38.0% (2787/7325) (95% confidence interval (CI): 36.9-39.1) had complete continuum of maternal healthcare. Women who had attained tertiary level of education (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.93, 95% CI: 1.09-3.42) and whose partners had also attained tertiary level of education (AOR: 2.58, 95% CI: 1.54-4.32) were more likely to utilize the whole continuum of care compared to those who had no education. Women who initiated ANC after the first trimester (AOR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.39-0.53) were less likely to utilize the whole continuum of care compared to those who initiated in the first semester. Women with exposure to radio (AOR: 1.58, 95% CI: 1.27-1.96) were more likely to utilize the whole continuum of care compared to those who were not exposed to radio. Women residing in the Western province were less likely to utilize the entire continuum of care compared to those in the other nine provinces.ConclusionLevel of education of the women and of their partners, early timing of ANC initiation, residing in other provinces other than the Western province, and exposure to information through radio were positively associated with utilization of the entire continuum of care. Improving literacy levels and promoting maternity services through radio may improve the level of utilization of maternity services.

Sustainability of Book Clubs in a Rural Setting in Limpopo Province: A Case of Re-atlegile Book Club

The level of illiteracy in South Africa, especially in rural areas, is considered high. Reading clubs are one of the major tools used for improving literacy levels in rural areas. This qualitative study explored the sustainability of reading clubs in rural settings in Limpopo Province, South Africa, with a view to promoting reading. Qualitative data were collected through telephone interviews from five Re-atlegile Book Club members in Dikgale Village of Limpopo Province. Responses were thematically transcribed to obtain an indication of ways in which the reading club is sustained to promote the culture of reading in rural areas. It was found that, despite the large number of learners registered for the book club, there is a lack of reading materials and reading spaces to cater for all children. The participants indicated that they relied extensively on materials received from Nal’ibali, a national reading campaign of the University of Limpopo targeting children and lecturers. It is argued that sustaining book clubs in rural areas requires support from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but most importantly, from the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC), as it is mandated to provide information services. This study recommends that the DAC, as well as the National Library of South Africa (NLSA), should support book clubs to ensure their sustainability. This could be achieved through book donations, the creation of reading spaces in public libraries, and obtaining funds from outside sources to purchase reading materials for book clubs.

Evaluating literacy levels of patient education materials for a sickle cell transition group education programme

Objective: A multidisciplinary team from a US midwestern urban medical centre developed written patient education materials for a group education programme designed to prepare adolescents and emerging adults with sickle cell disease for transition to adult care. We evaluated the literacy levels of these materials and demonstrate how to revise the patient education materials to meet literacy standards. Method: Six tools were used to evaluate literacy levels of the patient education materials. Based on the literacy level scores of the materials, including readability, grade level, understandability and actionability, recommendations and revisions were made to improve literacy levels. The revised materials were again assessed using the same six tools. Results: Initial literacy levels of the patient education materials were higher than recommended standards. Adjustments were made to meet literacy standards. Not all standards were met. Conclusion: Patient education materials should conform as much as possible to recommended literacy standards for optimum understandability. However, not all patient education materials can fully meet all evidence-based literacy standards. Recommendations for evaluating literacy standards when creating or providing previously developed patient education materials are discussed. Extra efforts to achieve acceptable literacy standards are recommended when medically complex educational materials are necessary.

Patient-perceived value of a specialty-specific welcome letter: What you say and how you say it.

Patient experience and clinical outcomes are improved when patients know what to expect. Providing valuable, appropriate information proves challenging considering variation in patient education, literacy, and limitations specific to patients with neurologic disease. Scaffolding of what to expect, care team members, needed materials, procedures, directions to facilities, and methods of communication are core aspects of improving patient readiness. This study employed standard quality improvement methods. An existing (original) patient welcome letter was first analyzed to assess its literacy levels. Surveys were then administered to patients with neurologic disease assessing perception of readiness for ambulatory appointments and the overall value of the welcome letter. In addition to Likert-type scales, patients also provided open feedback on what should be included in the letter. A revised letter was then created with added content, improving literacy levels. The letter was further assessed through clinical and nonclinical groups including our neuromedicine Patient and Family Advisory Council. Response data were analyzed comparing the original vs the revised score using a t test assuming equal variances. The "overall value" score of the original welcome letter (3.79 of 5.0) improved to the revised score (4.63 of 5.0). Patients perceived the revised welcome letter as improving their readiness significantly as ambulatory patients with neurologic disease. Preparing patients for their neurology visits is important and affects visits' value. Sensitivity to literacy levels is an essential component of person-centered care among neurologic patients. Carefully created and assessed welcome letters help to achieve these goals by improving readiness for outpatient appointments and increases perceived overall value significantly.

Integrating physical activity into the primary school curriculum: rationale and study protocol for the \u201cThinking while Moving in English\u201d cluster randomized controlled trial

BackgroundThe current and declining physical activity levels of children is a global concern. Integrating physical activity into the school curriculum may be an effective way not only to improve children’s physical activity levels but also enhance educational outcomes. Given the recent national focus in Australia on improving the literacy levels of children in primary school, and an increasing proportion of time spent on explicitly teaching these skills, integrating physical activity into English could be a viable strategy to improve literacy levels and physical activity at the same time. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of the ‘Thinking While Moving in English’ (TWM-E) program on children’s physical activity, on-task behavior in the classroom, academic achievement, and executive function.MethodsGrade 3–4 children from 10 public schools in New South Wales, Australia will be randomly allocated to intervention (n = 5) or control (n = 5) groups. All teachers will receive 1-day workshop of registered professional learning and a TWM-E equipment pack (e.g., chalk, lettered bean bags). Intervention schools will be asked to adapt their English lessons to embed movement-based learning in their daily program for three 40-min lessons per week, over a six-week period. The primary outcome is children’s physical activity levels across the school day (measured using accelerometry). Secondary outcomes are children’s on-task behavior during English lessons, academic achievement in English, and executive function. A detailed process evaluation will be undertaken including questionnaires, fidelity checks, and teacher and student interviews.DiscussionThe TWM-E program has the potential to improve primary school children’s physical activity levels, along with academic outcomes (on-task behavior, cognition, and academic achievement), and provide stakeholders with exemplar lessons and guidelines which illustrate how to teach English to children whilst they are moving.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical trial Register ACTRN12618001009202Date registered: 15/06/2018 retrospectively registered.

Navigating the engineering literacy divide: design report collaboration practice realities

PurposeIn 2004, the Council for Higher Education (CHE) required a curriculum responsiveness to the teaching and learning of literacies at the programme level, which needed to be addressed across all disciplines. This study aims to describe a situated higher education (HE) collaboration project between mechanical engineering and the Department of Applied Language Studies (DALS) at Nelson Mandela University from 2010 to 2014. The collaboration project aimed to develop the literacies levels of engineering students, reduce the first-year attrition rate and prepare engineering students to meet the high graduate attribute expectations of a competitive workplace amid employer concerns that engineering graduate communication competencies were lacking and insufficient.Design/methodology/approachThe collaboration study used a mixed-method approach, which included student and lecturer questionnaires, as well as an interview with one engineering lecturer to determine his perceptions of the collaboration practices instituted. As the sample was purposeful, two mechanical engineer lecturers and 32 second-year mechanical engineering students from 2012 to 2013 were selected as the study’s participants, as they met the study’s specific needs. From the questionnaire responses and transcribed interview data, codes were identified to describe the themes that emerged, namely, rating the collaboration practices, attitudes to the course, report feedback provided and report template use.FindingsMost of the student participants viewed the collaboration practices positively and identified their attitude as “positive” and “enthusiastic” to the language/engineering report collaboration initiative. The report feedback practices were viewed as improving writing skills and enabling the students to relate report writing practices to workplace needs. The engineering lecturers also found that the collaboration practices were enabling and improved literacy levels, although time was identified as a constraint. During the four-year collaboration period, the language practitioner increasingly gained report content knowledge, as well as unpacking the specific rhetorical structures required to produce the report text by co-constructing knowledge with the mechanical engineering lecturers.Research limitations/implicationsStudies have shown that language practitioners and discipline lecturers need to change their conceptualisation of academic discourses as generic transferable skills and autonomous bodies of knowledge. Little benefit is derived from this model, least of all for the students who grapple with disciplinary forms of writing and the highly technical language of engineering. Discipline experts often tend to conflate understandings of language, literacy and discourse, which lead to simplistic understandings of how students may be inducted into engineering discourses. Therefore, spaces to nurture and extend language practitioner and discipline-expert collaborations are needed to embed the teaching and learning of discipline-specific literacies within disciplines.Practical implicationsFor the collaboration project, the language practitioner and mechanical engineering lecturers focused their collaboration on discussing and negotiating the rhetorical and content requirements of the Design 3 report as a genre. To achieve the goal of making tacit knowledge and discourse explicit, takes time and effort, so without the investment of time and buy-in, interaction would not be sustained, and the collaboration would have been unproductive. As a result, the collaboration project required regular meetings, class visits and negotiations, as well as a language of description so that the often tacit report discourse conventions and requirements could be mutually understood and pedagogically overt to produce “legitimate texts” (Luckett, 2012 p. 19).Social implicationsIn practice, peer collaboration is often a messy, complex and lengthy process, which requires systematic and sustained spaces to provide discourse scaffolding so that the criteria for producing legitimate design reports are not opaque, but transparent and explicit pedagogically. The study also describes the organisational circumstances that generated the collaboration, as establishing and sustaining a collaborative culture over time requires planning, on-going dialogic spaces, as well as support and buy-in at various institutional levels to maintain the feasibility of the collaboration practice.Originality/valueLiteracy and discourse collaboration tends to reduce role differentiation amongst language teachers and specialists, which results in shared expertise for problem-solving that could provide multiple solutions to literacy and discourse learning issues. This finding is important, especially as most studies focus on collaboration practices in isolation, whilst fewer studies have focused on the process of collaboration between language practitioners and disciplinary specialists as has been described in this study.

Can education innovations be sustained after the end of donor funding? The case of a reading intervention programme in Zambia

This article explores the sustainability of donor-supported innovations in the education sector. Accordingly, a case study was conducted of a programme (Primary Reading Programme) implemented in Zambian primary schools which was intended to improve literacy levels. The programme was initially supported by the Department for International Development (DFID). The study found that after the withdrawal of donor support, the programme was poorly sustained with many aspects being drastically altered or discontinued. Variables influencing programme sustainability included project-level factors associated with the programme design, stakeholder ownership/motivation, resource provision, and monitoring and evaluation. Contextual-level factors related to sustainability included school attributes, the country’s socio-economic status and changes in policies. Sustainability was also associated with the negative attitude stakeholders had towards donor-supported innovations (project mentality). A critical finding of this study is that innovations that include inputs and activities that are beyond the socio-economic capacity of the beneficiaries may prove difficult to sustain. Consequently, one of the main recommendations emanating from this research is that innovations should be designed in such a way that they do not include excessive activities or tools, or attempt to deliver benefits, that are beyond the socio-economic capacity of the beneficiaries.

#GoingEthno in the Indian Bureaucracy

Based on experience of working in the Department of School Education, Government of Haryana on a Management Information System being built to reduce administrative workload on teachers and bureaucrats, this case study describes how ethnography was used to understand and address the problem of technology adoption in a large bureaucracy. Ethnography helped the Department in framing the problem of adoption as one of lack of adequate Digital Literacy within the organization and in developing strategies to address it. Digital Literacy workshops were conducted to improve broader Digital Literacies in the Department, which improved literacy levels by 48%. For ensuring sustainability of this initiative, the Department instituted a continuous Digital Literacy program, which will support the adoption of multiple technology projects in the future.

An Assessment Of Parental Involvement In Learner Retention In Public Primary Schools Of Malindi Sub - County In Kilifi County, Kenya

Despite the Kenya government re-introducing free primary education, some school age children are still locked out of school whereas dropout and repetition continue to be pervasive. The study found out that retention rates in public primary schools in central zone of Malindi sub-county, Kenya had declined and the dropout rate was on the increase. The most prominent causes of the declining rates of access and retention of pupils in public primary schools in the zone were, illiteracy, poverty, early pregnancy, grade repetition and tourism activities. The study recommends that the government enforce adherence of the laid down policies to enhance learner retention in education. The government should also put up adult education centres to help improve literacy levels among parents.

Reflections on the PIAAC Literacy and Numeracy Frameworks

The Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) results, released in 2013, have spurred researchers to engage in rich analyses. In addition to making it possible to compare skill levels among the 23 participating nations, the PIAAC data have enabled researchers to analyze relationships among cognitive literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments skills; age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational level; and a host of personal and social outcomes including health, economic well-being, and civic engagement. In 2014 and 2015, invited researchers reported their findings at PIAAC research conferences organized by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The comments offered below comprise a revised version of discussant remarks I made in response to AIR-commissioned papers by Donna Curry and Amy Trawick presented at the 2015 conference. The authors described how the definitional frameworks for literacy and numeracy that guided the development of the PIAAC assessment tasks could also guide practice. The underlying assumption of these commissions is that in order for instruction to improve literacy levels, it should reflect current understandings of what literacy and numeracy are. I am a qualitative researcher and, admittedly, have neither the know-how to conduct highly sophisticated analyses to fruitfully mine PIAAC data, nor even the best understanding of what they mean. However, from where I sit looking at overviews and findings summarized in research conference papers, it seems PIAAC has given us a finer grained, more sophisticated description of a problem we all already know a great deal about--far too many people do not have the literacy skills they need--and we are making little, if any, progress in ameliorating the problem. In fact, Murray, Binkley, and Shillington (2015) demonstrated we are making negative progress. It is not a pretty picture. When I think about the PIAAC results, it is difficult not to feel some despair and to wonder why we cannot do better. One way to explain our lack of progress in improving adult literacy and numeracy skills comes from a guiding principle at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. According to the founder, Don Berwick (as cited in Donahue, 2015), the principle is so foundational to improvement work, it is practically tattooed on the body of everyone who works there: Every system is perfectly designed to achieve exactly the results it gets (para. 3). This suggests the PIAAC findings are simply a reflection of the current U.S. adult basic education (ABE) system. If we want to get better outcomes, we have to change the system that produces them. This is obvious and simple to understand, yet so difficult to act on. PIAAC data probably cannot be used to point out effective program and policy interventions, although they can spur us to action by highlighting the failings of the system. However, as described by Curry (2015) and Trawick (2015), the literacy and numeracy frameworks that undergird PIAAC can be the basis of applied implementation and evaluation research with potential to improve results. The frameworks define, in elaborated and complex ways, what literacy and numeracy are. If we think of PIAAC as a test, the frameworks provide helpful guidance about how to teach to the test (i.e., raise literacy levels). Usually, teaching to the test is considered a gross neglect of good practice--something to avoid not only because it games the test but also because it equates to poor learning opportunities and narrow educational outcomes. But if the test measures things we really care about, then teaching to the test is ideal. This is exactly what the frameworks give us--the possibility of teaching to a test, for which the results would be meaningful. Curry (2015) and Trawick's (2015) papers tell us, in better and more sophisticated ways, what we already know to be good practice. They add descriptions of what it would look like to utilize these frameworks if we backward mapped to instructional design and classroom practice for outcomes as assessed by PIAAC. …