Abstract
In the education context of sub-Saharan Africa, reading has received substantial attention in recent years. Reading skills and habits have been identified as a marker of success in formal education, particularly with the current international focus on reading achievement as a measure of learning. Meanwhile, adult literacy continues to be seen as an important feature of human development, and reading skills are carefully tracked in reporting on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This attention given to reading by major international agencies, and by the partners whom they influence, has contributed to a general belief that progress of all kinds can be linked to the ability to read and understand written text. Literacy and reading certainly feature prominently in many aspects of lifelong learning. However, the current interest in establishing so-called reading cultures is handicapped by a significant mismatch in assumptions about the utility and functions of literacy.
Résumé
Apprentissage de la lecture et société : « culture de la lecture » en contextes africains – Dans le contexte éducatif de l’Afrique subsaharienne, la lecture retient depuis ces dernières années une attention particulière. Les compétences et les habitudes de lecture sont jugées marqueurs de réussite dans l’enseignement formel, sur fond de priorité accordée aujourd’hui mondialement aux résultats en lecture comme outil de mesure de l’apprentissage. L’alphabétisme des adultes est toujours considéré comme indice central du développement humain, et les compétences de lecture font l’objet d’un suivi minutieux en vue des rapports sur l’atteinte des Objectifs de développement durable des Nations Unies. Cette attention portée sur la lecture par les grandes organisations internationales et par les partenaires qu’elles influencent a contribué à la conviction généralisée que toutes les formes de progrès peuvent être reliées à la capacité de lire et de comprendre les textes écrits. L’alphabétisme et la lecture occupent certainement une place prépondérante dans de nombreux domaines de l’apprentissage tout au long de la vie. Mais l’intérêt actuel à instaurer des cultures de la lecture est fortement entravé par un décalage flagrant entre les divers postulats sur l’utilité et les fonctions de l’alphabétisme.
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Notes
One example is the widely-used Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), see https://www.rti.org/sites/default/files/resources/bk-0007-1109-wetterberg.pdf [accessed 30 November 2017].
For more information about the Global Alliance for Literacy, visit http://uil.unesco.org/literacy/global-alliance [accessed 28 January 2018].
The National Literacy Programme in Namibia (NLPN) was launched in 1992. For more information, see UIL (2016).
For more information about REFLECT, visit www.actionaid.org/what-we-do/education/empowerment-through-literacy [accessed 5 January 2018].
For more information about USAID’s education strategy, visit https://www.usaid.gov/education [accessed 8 January 2018].
For more information about the GPE’s eight areas of focus, visit https://www.globalpartnership.org/focus-areas [accessed 3 January 2018].
Two GPE-sponsored All Children Reading workshops, held in Kigali in February and March 2012, drew representatives from 26 African Ministries of Education. For the summary report, see GPE 2012.
The term “school-based literacy” was originally used by Anthony Pellegrini and Lee Galda (1998) to describe the positive effects of social support for the early literacy learner, both at home and in school. Ironically, authors referenced in this article use the term to refer to a limited type of literacy that primarily involves navigating text in the effort to attain formal school credentials.
For more information about an interactive reading practice programme using a software developed to encourage children to read and to enjoy it, see http://readforpleasure.co.uk/ [accessed 30 December 2017].
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Trudell, B. Reading in the classroom and society: An examination of “reading culture” in African contexts. Int Rev Educ 65, 427–442 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-019-09780-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-019-09780-7