Abstract

Development programs and research: the contribution of literacy studies to the education of youngsters and adults

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to introduce elements that allow building an interface between the academic research and the programs of basic education for youngsters and adults. It discusses contributions to these programs that can be found in the results of qualitative research studies. To this end, results of a five-year long project on teacher education are used, which aim was that of analyzing the interaction between teacher and student in youngster and adult literacy classes.
The research project was conducted in natural contexts with the purpose of understanding a given social reality, and not of establishing general laws. Therefore, the credibility of its results was built through the observation of multiple contexts, and the gathering of data was made through various methods, from the perspective of several participants observed during a prolonged period of time.
This empirical basis was used to evaluate recommendations contained in the report commissioned by Unesco to the International Literacy Institute for presentation at the World Forum on Education held in 2000 in Dakar. This report proposed that the continuous attendance of students to basic education programs is one of the great challenges of the new millennium.
With respect to the problem of adult evasion from courses and programs, the article discusses the motivation and accessibility factors, pointed out in official documents as relevant factors to the success or failure of the programs.

Keywords
Yangsters and adult - Literacy - Development programs - Research.