International Conference on Translation & Literacy

2006

1996

The Unesco Institute for Education, Hamburg, is a legally independent entity. While the programmes of the Institute are established along the lines laid down by the General Conference of Unesco, the publications of the Institute are issued under its sole responsibility; Unesco is not responsible for their contents. The points of view, selection of facts, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily coincide with official positions of the Unesco Institute for Education, Hamburg. The designations employed in the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Unesco Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country or territory, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of the frontiers of any country or territory.

Journal of Literacy Research

This special issue of the Journal of Literacy Research (JLR) features global, international, and transnational scholarship. In this volume, readers will find articles written by international scholars, transnational scholars, and scholars working with transnational populations. Together these pieces speak to the contributions of scholars around the world and the significance of global movements for literacy educators. Our focus is both broad and fraught-historically, methodologically, and in terms of representation. As Tierney, Smith, and Wei write in the extended Insights piece, "the downsides of. .. Western self-indulgence include a failure to be exposed to and informed by non-Western values, interests, and perspectives, and the habitual and overshadowing characterizations of non-Westerners by Westerners." They warn, "Perhaps the greatest danger. .. is epistemicide-the extinction of non-Western ways of knowing and scholarship focused upon local interest." We believe that this volume begins to speak to these erasures and reminds readers of the vast range of valuable scholarship beyond the boundaries of Western thought. With Tierney et al., we recognize that "literacy education research journals are not exceptions to these circumstances. In the preeminent literacy research journals, the authors, reviewers, and forms of research presented are Western, with citations dominated by Western scholars' publications." As the authors explain, this statement is true for the JLR. While one issue could never right the ills of generations of scholars, this issue-created with unsolicited articles-reminds us of the importance of recognizing and supporting global contributions to literacy. It is our hope that scholars engaged in global literacy will continue to contribute to JLR. Across this volume, readers will encounter case studies of Indigenous Taiwanese children; explore the nuances of motivation from the perspectives of Chinese, Japanese, and American students; and examine how immigrant and refugee students bring their ideas and experiences to texts. Hsin and Yu examined literacy and identity development for Indigenous Rukai children living in Taiwanese cities and villages. They found that all children learned literacies in culturally meaningful contexts that involved stories and hybrid literacy practices, religious activities, Indigenous language, and traditional life skills. However, their study also revealed significant differences. Specifically, the two city children developed Rukai knowledge and literacies through performance-based contexts, whereas the village children learned through engagement with authentic activities (e.g., farming, weaving, hunting). The authors' analysis suggests that Indigenous literacy practices and identity construction for the two city children may have been 1031771J LRXXX10.

Bringing the world close to universal literacy has been a major legacy of the twentieth century. To realize this agenda UNESCO has been at the forefront since 1946. Its focus has been to advance the vision of a literate world for all. Nations worldwide inclusive of multilateral organizations considers Literacy as a driver for sustainable development in that it enables greater participation in the labour market; improved child and family health and nutrition; reduces poverty and expands life opportunities. Beyond its conventional concept as a set of reading, writing and counting skills, literacy is now understood as a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication in an increasingly digital, text-mediated, information-rich and fast-changing world. In light of this, a number of Global policies on Literacy have been formulated. Agreement on the best means of achieving this goal, however, has been very difficult to come by, and a number of literacy program have been shaped by internal and external politics as well as by local exigencies. This article outlines how literacy policies have evolved since the 1990 Jomitien Conference discussing their idealistic aims and intentions. The write up provides an analysis of their impact in relation to enhancing literacy levels and outlining the strength and weaknesses of the policies by focusing on their strength and weaknesses.

2012

Changing information technologies are forcing librarians in the developed world to take a new look at the criteria for information literacy in their societies. Here we will investigate some aspects of the development of information literacy in the United States. We will explore the definition of the concept and discover some specific competencies entailed in the creation of the information literati as promulgated by libraries and librarians in the United States. Next we will discuss the philosophy that supports some of the policies surrounding the advocacy of information literacy. We will then look at some of the roadblocks to information literacy in developing nations with a view toward exploring alternative routes to information literacy.

European Journal of Education, 2013

and authored by the members of a High Level Group of Experts on Literacy (HLGL), highlights the fact that in our high-tech 21st-century society, literacy has become more essential than ever before. This raises the importance and urgency of ensuring that Europeans acquire effective reading and writing skills from an early age. Despite the EU's high standards of education, some young people fall through the literacy net for a diversity of complex reasons. The effects of this loophole can be profound and will impact the rest of young peoples' lives and have implications for their family and society as a whole. As a consequence, although Europe displays one of the highest literacy rates in the world, adult illiteracy still persists but the subject is something of a taboo, while the implications of low literacy for the individual and society are often ignored. As a result, people struggling with reading and writing often feel isolated and ashamed, and may try to hide their problem from peers, employers and even their families. The EU is working to break the taboo and bring the issue out into the open in order to empower adults with literacy problems to tackle them and discover the power of the written word. Literacy is not just a crucial skill for the individual, but is a vital component of economic prosperity and social well-being. At the national level, improved literacy increases the stock of human capital, enhances the innovative capacity of the economy and helps to disseminate new technologies. Even relatively small improvements in national literacy levels can have a significant socioeconomic impact. Economic returns, i.e. yielding higher productivity, enabling stronger innovation and competitiveness, are certainly one relevant dimension of literacy. A report from the OECD (2000) analysing data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) finds that, across several countries where the IALS was administered, improved literacy affects not only the probability of being employed, but also of working in a high-skilled job. In addition, improved literacy is also associated with higher wages. Nickell (2004) compares inequality in literacy and inequality in wages across countries, and finds that the correlation between the two is extremely high, well above 0.8. The overly important economic arguments accumulated during recent years, which merit an appropriate recognition in themselves, remain far from constituting the fundamental rationale to invest in a literate population. Social externalities are as important as pure economic benefits in a learning and knowledge-driven world; and these effects entail ever increasing demands on a participatory-fully literate-citizenship. Moreover, literacy can be taken from a wealth of dimensions other than reading and writing ability or numeracy: media literacy, active citizenship empowerment, financial literacy, basic technological skills, social and values (ethical) literacy, intercultural dialogue aptitude, health literacy, to mention just some.