an Eldis Resource

This book looks at two case studies of women’s literacy classes in Nepal. Using extensive field notes, and quotations from class participants, the author attempts to explore the women’s own perceptions of their involvement in literacy classes, against the perceptions and aims of the organisations delivering the programmes. The book offers a detailed analysis and interpretation of the ways in which development ideologies are transmitted and transformed through programme designs, teaching methodologies, delivery, and reception.

In the process of this analysis, the author reflects on the value of ethnography and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) as research methodologies for investigating the interactions of discourses on gender, literacy and development, and considers ways that literacy programmes can better meet the needs of women.

The book argues that:

• development planning is a discourse in itself, shaping how programmes are developed, the extent to which local knowledge is used, and conceptions of the purpose of programmes
• researchers and planners should recognise that there are different ideas of what gender, and development and literacy mean for participants, planners and teachers, and that these influence how programmes are implemented and received in practice
• factors such as organisational base location, staff background, geographical area, language of instruction and administration can all impact significantly on the outcome of language programmes divergences between development policy and practice should be seen, not as implementation failure of specific projects or development staff, but rather as arising from problems in dominant planning methodologies
• decisions about the language of instruction and administration should be seen as a social and political exercise and as a gender issue
• attempts to look at how models of literacy vary according to gender should also take into account other axes of difference, such as age and caste
• there is value in observing the process of literacy teaching, as compared with only measuring the outcomes.

Issues which should be considered by planners include:

• development ideology, and how this is conveyed in programme delivery and organisational practices
• how the age of participants and facilitators affects views and practices
• how other development ideologies, and teaching methodologies affect how participants and facilitators respond to the literacy programme
• rather than measuring how many women drop out, ask when, why and who is dropping out.

The book concludes that ethnographic research, combined with some of the principles of PRA, can provide new insights into why and how women's literacy programmes work - from the participants' point of view – thereby enabling exploration of future directions for such programmes.

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