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Youth & Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean


Rosa María Torres
 

(published in LLinE - Lifelong Learning in Europe, Vol. XXVI, No. 4, 2011)
 
1. Introduction

This paper draws from various studies I have conducted on adult education and on lifelong learning in Latin America and other regions. Two such studies (written in English) serve here as main references: 

- Youth and AdultEducation and Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean: Trends, Issues and Challenges. Regional report prepared for the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI, Belém, Brazil, Dec. 2009), commissioned by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).[1]
 
- LifelongLearning in the South: Critical Issues and Opportunities for Adult Education, Sida Studies 11, Stockholm, 2004. Global study commissioned by Sida.

Latin America and the Caribbean is a highly heterogeneous region, comprising two subregions (Latin America, the Caribbean) and 41 countries and territories with very different political, cultural, economic, social and educational realities. Some 600 languages are spoken; Spanish and Portuguese are the two most widespread official languages. Any regional generalization would be abusive, and space does not allow us to elaborate here more on each country. Also, the situation is very dynamic; trends may change considerably in a short period of time. In the current international context, and vis a vis the world and European crisis, Latin America appears strong and united, with economic and social indicators improving over the past few years.[2] On the other hand, Mexico and Chile, the two Latin American countries that are members of OECD, are facing major turmoils, their education systems being exposed and under heavy social scrutiny and criticism.

In most Latin American countries, the term used is Youth & Adult Education (henceforth YAE). The term “youth” was incorporated in the 1980s, acknowledging the increased presence of young people in adult education programmes as well as the need to address the specificity of youth in such programmes.

The information and analysis presented below refers basically to the 12-year period between CONFINTEA V (1997) and CONFINTEA VI (2009).

2. Reactivation of youth and adult education in the region in the past few years

Between the late 1980s and the late 1990s YAE practically disappeared in most countries, following World Bank recommendations to governments in “developing countries” in the sense of giving priority to primary education and to children as opposed to adults. (WB also rectified later its argument about the failure of adult literacy, which was ill-documented). The Education for All (henceforth EFA) world initiative coordinated by UNESCO (1900-2000-2015) has followed the same trend: out of the six EFA goals, Goal 2 referred to primary education has received the most attention while Goals 3 and 4 referred to youth and adult education have received the least attention, as acknowledged every year by EFA Global Monitoring Reports (henceforth EFA GMR). In fact, the 2009 EFA GMR, coinciding with the year of CONFINTEA VI, continued to ignore YAE, not considered of strategic importance to the achievement of EFA by 2015.

For various reasons, since the late 1990s there has been a visible reactivation of YAE in the region. CONFINTEA V contributed to enhance social mobilization and networking around YAE, both before and right after the Hamburg conference. Later on, we have witnessed the emergence of new supranational and international actors engaged in YAE, notably the Cuban government and its ‘Yo Sí Puedo’ (Yes, I Can) literacy programme, and the Organization of IberoAmerican States (OEI) which organized the Ibero-American Plan for Youth and Adult Literacy and Basic Education (PIA) 2007-2015.

Such reactivation is reflected among others in the following: 

Bialfa: Paraguay
Renewed emphasis on youth/adult literacy A new wave of ‘illiteracy eradication’ has taken over the region. Many countries resumed national literacy programmes or campaigns, even some countries with very low illiteracy rates (lower than 3%) such as Argentina and Uruguay. The exception is Cuba, declared ‘territory free of illiteracy’ almost half a century ago (1961), as well as several countries in the English-speaking Caribbean where governmental focus on literacy is on the formal system. There are also sub-national and local programmes run by local governments, religious groups, NGOs, social organizations and movements, and teacher unions.

Clearer institutionalization of YAE There are advances in legislation and policy in most countries. There is increased recognition of the right to (free) education as well as to linguistic and cultural diversity and to inter-culturality as a comprehensive approach to education.  In Cuba and Mexico for a long time, and more recently in countries such as Chile, Venezuela, Bolivia or Paraguay, YAE becomes more institutionalized, pointing towards the building of a system or subsystem, rather than the usual and discontinued ad-hoc interventions.

New actors and partnerships In most countries, there are government partnerships with NGOs, universities, religious groups and the private sector. In a few countries, partnerships have included teacher unions and strong social movements (e.g. in Argentina and Brazil). There are also several international actors engaged in YAE in the region. As indicated, the most active in recent times are the Spanish government/OEI and the Cuban government/IPLAC. Others include the Convenio Andrés Bello (Andrés Bello Agreement -CAB), an international inter-governmental organization focused on supranational integration (12 countries), based in Bogota and linked to OEI; and the Organization of American States (OAS), based in Washington, which coordinates the Summits of the Americas.

More and better information and knowledge on YAE  There is considerable growth in research and documentation at national, subregional and regional level in recent years.  Of course, there are also major differences between countries in terms of quantity, quality, topics and approaches related to research. Big countries such as Brazil and Mexico and also Chile report many surveys and studies.

Advances in evaluation Evaluation has become a central piece of school systems and reforms in the region since the 1990s, but its incorporation is rather recent in YAE. In Brazil, a Functional Literacy Indicator (INAF), based on actual evaluation of reading, writing and numeracy skills of the adult population (15-64 years of age), has been developed annually since 2001 by two private institutions. In Mexico, the National Institute for Adult Education (INEA) has its own evaluation system. In Chile, evaluation of student outcomes is under a National System for the Evaluation of Learning and Certification of Studies, which includes YAE. Both Mexico and Chile have adopted results-based schemes for paying the institutions and/or teaching staff hired for YAE programmes.

Aiquile, Bolivia. Photo: Rosa María Torres
Linkages between education/training and work as a field of research, policy and action  The linkages between education, the economy and work have become a field of concern, policy and action, within the overall concern with poverty, unemployment and social exclusion. Social Economy gains increased attention as an alternative economic model that generates also alternative approaches to education and training linked to production, commercialization, barter and other income-generation activities by families, cooperatives, and organized communities.

Increased attention to ‘special groups’ Visible attention has been given in recent years to the disabled, migrants and prison inmates. The use of traditional and modern technologies has facilitated this task, especially with the disabled and with the migrant population. Prison education has been enhanced since 2006 in the framework of the EUROsociAL programme of the European Commission. Initiatives aimed at the blind, the visually challenged and hearing impaired have been developed in recent years in many countries.

New technologies reaching the field   Radio has been a powerful ally of YAE for several decades and continues to be in many countries, especially in some of the poorest ones such as Haiti, Bolivia, and Paraguay. In the past few years, audiovisual media have become widespread mainly through the Cuba-assisted Yo Sí Puedo literacy and post-literacy programme operating in several countries since 2003. Computers and the Internet are also reaching YAE, particularly for the younger population. Tele-centers or info-centers (different from cybercafes, privately owned and for-profit) are part of basic education programmes in several countries. In remote rural areas, energy plants or solar panels are being installed. In many places today it is easier to find a cybercafe or a tele-center than a library, a computer than a book.

3. Some old and new weaknesses and limitations. Challenges for the future

The ‘Agenda for the Future’ approved at CONFINTEA V, its wide vision and ambitious proposals for adult learning, is not the one that has been implemented in this region since 1997. Neither is the 2000-2010 YAE Regional Framework for Action prepared as a follow up to CONFINTEA V. Advances coexist with old and new limitations related to governmental and non-governmental action as well as to international agencies intervening in the field.

Sectoral approaches and interventions Despite advances in cross-sectoral policies and collaboration with other government actors, YAE continues to be perceived as pertaining to the ‘education sector’, unconnected with major economic, political and social issues. YAE is in fact a transversal issue, but invisible unless it falls directly under an education authority and refers somewhere explicitly to the term ‘adult’.

Dominican Rep: Haitian Batey. Photo: Rosa María Torres
Continued low status of YAE The traditional low status of YAE is related to: (a) age (vis a vis children), and (b) socio-economic status. Estimations of costs of programmes and plans rarely consider infrastructure, equipment or even remunerated work. In many cases, YAE continues to be considered a ‘special regime’ together with other areas that challenge conventional classifications, such as bilingual intercultural education, special education, and multigrade schools.

Activism and discontinuity of efforts Activism has been a characteristic of YAE, often related to one-shot and isolated activities lacking continuity, monitoring, systematization, evaluation and feedback. Countries engage from time to time and over and over again in ‘illiteracy eradication’ or ‘illiteracy reduction’ initiatives. So far, policies have been unable to deal with literacy/basic education in a sustained and integral manner, linking school and out-of-school, children’s and adults’ education as part of one single strategy towards education for all.

Big distances between policies and implementation The right to free, quality education continues to be denied to a large portion of the population. National reports prepared for CONFINTEA VI say little about actual implementation. One key conclusion I drew from the field study on literacy and written culture by out-of-school youth and adults in nine countries of the region is that “policies in this field have become autonomous, with little or no contact with actual practice on the ground.”

Bogotá, Colombia. Photo: Rosa María Torres
High political, financial and administrative vulnerability of YAE YAE continues to be highly vulnerable to national/local political and administrative changes as well as of changes in international priorities. This implies a permanent threat to the continuity of policies and programmes, and to the building of national capacities and accumulated practical experience. A key component of such vulnerability are the meager financial resources available for education in general and for YAE in particular. Few national reports and studies provide concrete information on YAE funding and costs. This is marked in the case of the private sector. In many countries YAE budget represents less than 1% of educational spending. Brazil calculates that, budgetwise, an adult learner counts as 0.7% of a primary school child (Brazil CONFINTEA VI report).

Funding comes from various sources: government, churches, the private sector, social movements, and international agencies. There is scarce information on the financial contribution of bilateral and multilateral agencies to YAE, its uses and impact. In most countries, government plays the major role, especially in basic education levels. 

Government programmes generally do not charge fees and many of them provide access to free equipment and materials. Also, various countries have been adopting compensation policies or plans tied to studying.

Rise of for-profit spirit and market mechanisms There is an important decline in volunteerism, social mobilization and political commitment traditionally linked to YAE. In many countries, NGOs are hired and paid by governments to implement programmes. On the other hand, the trend towards accreditation and certification (completion of primary/basic/secondary education) has attracted the for-profit private sector, introducing fees and other market mechanisms into the field.

Low attention to professionalization of adult educators The low status, poor training and bad working conditions of adult educators continue is an old vicious circle in YAE. Training is generally poor and short, and its deficits are even more visible in the case of indigenous educators prepared for intercultural bilingual education programmes. Availability of audiovisual and digital technologies are contributing to further reduce the importance of professionalization and of initial and in-service training,

Requisites for adult educators have been “upgraded” in some countries, including a professional teaching title or completion of secondary education rather than primary education only; such requisites tend to loosen in rural areas and in literacy programmes, which continue to operate in most cases with community volunteers. The question that remains concerns the desired profile and education/training of adult educators, and whether possessing a teacher certificate ensures good teaching.

Weak dissemination, use and impact of research and evaluation results Research, documentation and evaluation efforts lack sufficient and opportune dissemination. We found differentiated circuits, one closer to academic circles and another one closer to bureacucratic and government structures. Overall, there is little evidence that research results are informing and influencing policy-making, training or teaching practice. They have not contributed to modify long-entrenched ‘common sense’ in the field, including negative perceptions and terminologies linked to illiteracy (e.g. ‘scourge’, ‘plague’, ‘darkness’, ‘blindness’, ‘shackle’, ‘eradication’, etc.), the association between illiteracy and ignorance, between number of years of schooling and ‘functional literacy’, and between adult education, non-formal and remedial education. Also, most diagnoses and recommendations are based on literature reviews, with little connection to realities and little or no empirical research.

Age discrimination within YAE There is a consistent trend towards (a) giving priority to the younger segments of the adult population, establishing age limits (40, 35, in some cases less), and (b) segmenting educational opportunities by age: literacy offered to older generations and other programmes offered to youth. Cuba is the only country that has the elderly as a priority group in terms of educational and cultural attention by government. Uruguay – known for its high percentage of third age population - is also expanding the age of learners within YAE.

Perú - ARE. Photo: PYSN
Continued neglect of indigenous peoples The YAE Regional Framework for Action (2000-2010) identified four priority groups: indigenous, peasants, youth and women. Youth and women have in act been prioritized; indigenous and afro descendant groups have not. Racism is alive despite advances in national and international legislation, including the approval in 2007 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Brazil’s national illiteracy rate (2008) was 7,1%, and among  indigenous peoples 18% and among black people 16% (Brazil CONFINTEA VI report). In Mexico, the national illiteracy rate was 8.4%. and the illiteracy rate among indigenous groups was 36.1% (Mexico CONFINTEA VI report). Also, Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) continues to focus in rural areas. However, indigenous populations are also settled in urban areas, especially in large Latin American cities, following strong rural-urban migration patterns.

Continued neglect of rural areas Formal and non-formal education continue to concentrate in urban and the periphery of urban areas, thus maintaining and even deepening the urban-rural educational gap. Probabilities that youth and adults in rural areas get no or incipient education are twice as big as in urban areas, and in some countries three times bigger (SITEAL). Peru has the highest urban-rural school gap. Peru’s CONFINTEA VI report acknowledged that practically all educational institutions doing adult education are located in cities. In Brazil, illiterates in urban areas are 9.7 million against 4.7 million in rural areas; however, in percentile terms rural areas have almost three times more illiterates – 26.3% against 8.7% in urban areas.

Low coverage of programmes YAE programmes are very limited for actual needs. Despite being a prioritized age group, by 2007 less than 10% of 20-29 year olds who had not completed secondary education attended some educational programme. In large countries such as Brazil and Mexico, all efforts seem small and advances slow. According to Brazil’s CONFINTEA VI report, only 10% of the demand was served in 2008. Chile calculated that it would take 20 years to reach the 4 million people who have not completed basic education (Chile CONFINTEA VI report).

Quality and learning remain distant issues Quantitative indicators (enrolment and retention, number of groups organized, materials or equipments distributed, etc.) predominate as indicators of achievement and success. A minimum number of participants is often established as a requisite to start a programme or a center, thus leading often to cheating (e.g. manipulating the statistics, completing the list with family members, friends or persons who are not part of the target population, etc.).  In literacy programmes, goals continue to be set in terms of ‘eradicating’ or ‘reducing’ illiteracy rates, rather than in terms of learning and effective use of reading and writing. Only in very few cases have adult literacy programmes and campaigns been thoroughly evaluated. One such examples is Ecuador’s National Literacy Campaign ‘Monsignor Leonidas Proaño’ (1988-1990).

Continued weaknesses of technical and vocational education/training programmes There is skepticism in relation to the effectiveness of these programmes; several international organizations have commissioned studies and impact evaluations of the programmes they support. The “solution” of keeping or ‘re-inserting’ adolescents and youth in schools (often against their will) - the same unchanged schools that expelled them in the first place – is also debatable. An IIEP study of 52 programmes in 14 Latin American countries concluded that education/training programmes intended to prepare young people for work (a) take a simplistic view of youth inclusion in the labor market, (b) reach only a small portion of the potential population, (c) adopt a narrow approach focused on specific training, and (d) do not take sufficiently into account the importance of formal education, the competitiveness of the labor market and the scarcity of decent jobs.

“Best practices” selected without clear criteria Many practices selected as ‘good’ or ‘best’ practices in education and in YAE in particular are outdated, are based on documents, experts’ opinions or self-evaluation by their own actors, and lack evidence of their implementation, results and actual perceptions by participating learners. Few of them would pass the test of the four As - availability, accessibility, adaptability and acceptability. On the other hand, many relevant experiences remain unsystematized and unknown because of chronic lack of time and of resources in the field, their commitment to action and their many urgencies. Also, it is important to remember that ‘innovative’ does not necessarily mean ‘effective’, or generalizable. Innovations are specific, generally local and small-scale, and cannot be easily replicated or expanded on a massive scale.

Major coordination problems among national and international actors
Decentralization processes and diversification of educational provision have increased coordination and articulation problems amongst the diverse national actors: government across sectors and at the various levels, governmental and non-governmental bodies, profit and non-profit private sector, NGOs, universities, churches, etc. The same is true for the various international actors working in YAE, and in the literacy field in particular. Each of them has its own plans, objectives, goals, timeframes, diagnoses, approaches, methodologies, reporting and financing mechanisms. See table below for the case of literacy.

Table 1
Regional and international adult literacy goals (1980-2015)
MPE
Major Project for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean
EFA I-Jomtien
Education for All

EFA II–Dakar
Education for All

UNLD
United Nations Literacy Decade

PIA
Ibero-American Plan for Youth and Adult Literacy and Basic Education
1980-2000
1990-2000
2000-2015
2003-2012
2007-2015
UNESCO-OREALC
UNESCO-UNICEF-UNDP-World Bank
UNESCO
OEI
Eradicate
illiteracy by 2000
Reduce
illiteracy by half by 2000
Reduce
illiteracy by half by 2015
Reduce
illiteracy by half by 2012
Eradicate  illiteracy by 2015
Elaborated by R.M. Torres

4. Lifelong Learning (LLL) in Latin America and the Caribbean

The paradigm shift proposed worldwide – from education to learning, and from adult education to adult learning – has not been appropriated in this region. Although CONFINTEA V had strong regional resonance, the term learning was never introduced in its follow up. Youth and Adult Education (YAE) was the term used in the Regional Framework for Action following CONFINTEA V.

The Lifelong Learning (LLL) concept - emerged in the North closely related to economic growth, competitiveness and employability - is understood and utilized in most diverse ways worldwide. Generally: (a) LLL continues to be used interchangeably with Lifelong Education, without differentiating education and learning [3]; and (b) LLL is associated to adults rather than to the entire lifespan - ‘from the cradle to the grave’.

All this is reflected in Latin America and the Caribbean. LLL is mentioned in many legal and policy/programme documents, with the same biases and inconsistencies that are found internationally. LLL appears often as a separate line of action or goal rather than as embracing category. In Jamaica’s Ministry of Education’s structure, for example, LLL was added as a sixth section, next to the other five sections on early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary and special education.

From the documents and websites reviewed, the LLL terminology appears to be more widespread - and more embedded in recent policies and plans - in the English-speaking Caribbean countries than in Latin American ones. In the Caribbean, LLL seems to follow the frameworks adopted in Europe. In Jamaica, for example, the LLL policy devised in 2005 was decided by the Human Employment and Resource Training-HEART Trust /National Training Agency-NTA, the institutions that coordinate workforce development in Jamaica.

Even new initiatives such as the Metas Educativas 2021 (2021 Education Goals) coordinated by OEI do not refer to Lifelong Learning but to Lifelong Education, and is considered a separate goal rather than a goal including all others.

Table 2
OEI: Metas Educativas 2021 (2021 Education Goals) 2012-2021

1. Participation of society in educational action.
2. Achieve educational equality and overcome discrimination.
3. Increase supply for early childhood education.
4. Universalize primary education and lower secondary education, and expand access to upper secondary education.
5. Improve the quality of education and of the school curriculum.
6. Facilitate the connection between education and employment through technical-professional education.
7. Offer every person lifelong education opportunities.
8. Strengthen the teaching profession.
9. Expand the Ibero-American Knowledge space and strengthen scientific research.
10. Invest more and better.
11. Evaluate the functioning of education systems and the 2021 Education Goals project.

Source: http://www.oei.es/metas2021/libro.htm Translation from Spanish: Rosa María Torres

5. A few conclusions


Given the big gap between rhetoric/policies/laws and practice, the inclusion of YAE in recent policies, reforms and legislative frameworks on paper should not lead to assumptions about effective implementation.
Quantitative gains – small as they are - are usually shadowed by quality and equity problems.
Priority given to youth has ended up marginalizing adults and the elderly, just as priority given to women ended up marginalizing men in several countries and programmes.
The acknowledgement of the importance of literacy has traditionally placed it at the heart of YA efforts, and is currently being overemphasized in many countries with too many programmes running in parallel and poor targeting of efforts.
▸ Literacy achievements are rarely sustained and complemented with policies and strategies aimed at making reading and writing accessible to the population, paying attention to their specific needs, languages and cultures.
Many vocational and technical training programmes continue to ignore the complex issues involved in the transition between education and work (not only employment), and of the world of work these days.
The important impulse towards completion of primary/secondary education and accreditation of studies needs to be accompanied by the necessary efforts to ensure effective, meaningful and useful learning.
Many hands involved often do not generate genuine ‘partnerships’ but rather enhanced lack of coordination, competitiveness, duplication of efforts and misuse of resources.
Experience indicates that decentralization and outsourcing not necessarily bring with them the advantages promised.
Expansion of ICTs for YAE purposes is counterbalanced with improvisation, poor use of such technologies, poor criteria to decide on the best one or the best combination to use in each specific case, and – most importantly - neglect of the essential interpersonal pedagogical relationship.
Cost-efficiency applied to YAE is often understood as ‘cheaper and quicker’, thus leading to an amplified vicious circle of low quality and poor results.

6. Challenges for the future

A common language The terminological labyrinth is an old concern in the field of education and especially of YAE worldwide. Glossaries have been proposed and produced over the past few decades, but the terminological/conceptual confusion persists and becomes more acute as new terms emerge. Once again during the CONFINTEA VI process, and specifically in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, it was agreed that a common language is essential if we want to communicate better and also give more scientific consistency to the field.

Lack of evidence and lack of financial resources: two myths to be revisited Two myths must be revisited with regard to YAE and education in general: that in order to receive more attention what is needed is (a) more evidence and (b) more financial resources. In fact, there is plenty of research evidence, for several decades now, on the multiple benefits of investing in YAE, for learners themselves, for their families and communities, and for citizenship-building and national democracy. Abundant research shows that YAE has positive effects on the self-esteem and life opportunities of men and women as well as on their children’s wellbeing (child mortality, child birth, rearing practices, access to school, learning outcomes, etc.). It is clear that lack of attention to YAE is not related to insufficient data, evidence or conceptual clarity, as argued in the 2009 EFA Global Monitoring Report.[4] There is more than enough knowledge available on YAE – theoretical and empirical, regional and international - to indicate what needs to be done and to do it well. The main shortcoming concerns action, not information and knowledge.

On the other hand, the financial deficit is only a manifestation of a political deficit, namely the lack of political will to make education a priority and to invest in the poor on the basis of quality and equity. Addressing the political deficit is the real priority. Also, as evaluations in the field of school education reiterate, there is no direct and necessary connection between more financial resources and better education. What is needed is not only more – usually highlighted - but better use of available resources, precisely because they are scarce. Parameters of what is ‘good spending’ and ‘good international co-operation’ in YAE must be established.

Internationally, in 2005 the Global Campaign for Education proposed “at least 3% of the education budget” allocated to adult literacy in order to attain the EFA goal of reducing illiteracy by half by 2015. Regionally, the Final Document of the Mexico CONFINTEA VI Regional Conference (Sep. 2008) requested 3% for YAE in general, not only for literacy. Many countries have set financial benchmarks for the education sector in their constitutions, laws and/or policies. Most of them aim at reaching, over several years, 6% of the GNP allocated to education. It is thus clear that the fight for higher financial resources devoted to YAE must be associated with the fight for more and sustained financial resources and attention dedicated to education as a whole.

Time for action and for investing in people Lots of money is spent in research that has little relevance and impact on actual decision-making, on costly events and publications that reach only a few, on reiterated diagnoses that repeat the same problems and the same information. It is time to revise the allocation of scarce financial resources at all levels, from governments and international agencies to organizations of civil societies. It is time for action, for making sure that policies and laws are effectively implemented, that what is already known is translated into practice. It is time for investing in the people, in the capacities and qualities of those engaged in YAE at all levels, not only facilitators on the ground, but also those in planning, organizing and managing positions.

Holistic approach Whatever the advances or inertias, they cannot be attributed solely to education in general and to YAE in particular, but also and primarily to the political, social and economic contexts in which education operates. YAE deals with the most disadvantageous situations and with the most vulnerable segments of society, those most affected by poverty, exclusion, and subordination in many aspects: political, economic, social, cultural, linguistic. How much more or better could be done under the concrete circumstances in each case, remains an open question with at least one clear answer: unless there are important economic and social changes in the overall conditions of the population served by YAE, YAE will not be able to fulfill its mission. It is time to rethink the equation: education by itself cannot fight poverty and exclusion, unless specific and intended economic and social policies – not just compensatory programmes – are in place to deal with them in a radical manner. YAE is not an independent variable.

Recuperate the transformative role of education and of YAE specifically The role of education is not to ensure enrolment, retention, completion and accreditation. The ultimate mission is to enhance personal and social change, to ensure relevant learning, awareness raising, critical and creative thinking, informed and committed action, citinzenship building. YAE’s historical critical and transformative nature has been lost and must be recuperated, challenging conformity and mere social adaptation promoted by current times and ideologies dominating the world. Learners must be educated as citizens, not only as people in need of certain basic skills, but in need of knowing their rights and duties so as to be better able to fight for them.

From literacy to lifelong learning  “From literacy to lifelong learning” was the title chosen for the CONFINTEA VI regional preparatory conference held in Mexico (Sep. 2008). In other words, the challenge to move from usual narrow understandings of adult education as equivalent to adult literacy, from adult education to adult learning and to lifelong learning, anywhere and anytime: in the family, in the community, at work, through the media, through art, social participation and through the active exercise of citizenship. The right to education today is no longer the right to basic literacy, to access school or to complete a number of years of schooling, but the right to learn and to learn throughout life, from early childhood to late adulthood.



[1] This regional report analyzed a large volume of documents, including: national reports submitted to UIL by Ministries of Education/Adult Education Departments based on the questionnaire circulated by UIL; documentation produced in the framework of the Ibero-American Plan for Youth and Adult Literacy and Basic Education (2006-2015) promoted by the Spanish cooperation for Ibero-American countries (it excludes French- and English-speaking countries in the region); national studies on the state of the art of Youth and Adult Education produced in 2007 in the framework of a CREFAL-CEAAL regional study on the subject (available in Spanish, and in Portuguese for the case of Brazil); cross-national field study on “Literacy and access to the written culture by youth and adults excluded from the school system in Latin America and the Caribbean”, conducted in 2006-2008 together with CREFAL in nine Latin American and Caribbean countries; and international and regional documentation produced for CONFINTEA V (Hamburg 1997) and its regional follow-up.

[2] About the current situation of the region, see: ECLAC’s Social Panorama of Latin America 2011 “Poverty and Indigence Levels Are the Lowest in 20 Years in Latin America”
“Good tidings from the south: Less poor, and less unequal”, The Economist, 3 Dec. 2011.

[3] Lifelong Learning in Spanish is Aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida. Most translators continue to use education and learning in an undifferentiated manner. The Delors Report entitled “Learning, the Treasure within” was translated into Spanish as “La educación encierra un tesoro”. The1st World Forum on LifelongLearning (Paris, October 2008) was translated as Foro Mundial para la Educación y la Formación a lo largo de la vida and into French as Forum Mondial pour l'Education et la Formation Tout au Long de la Vie.

[4] Also, “the fact that no clear quantitative targets were established at Dakar, apart from the main literacy target, may have contributed to a lack of urgency. In addition, the language of the commitment is ambiguous. Some read goal 3 as calling for universal access to learning and life-skills programmes, but others, including the drafters of the Dakar Framework, understand no such intent.” (EFA GMR 2009, 2008: 91).

Related texts in this blog:
» Rosa María Torres, Adult Literacy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Plans and Goals 1980-2015
» Rosa María Torres, From Literacy to Lifelong Learning ▸ De la alfabetización al aprendizaje a lo largo de la vida
» Rosa María Torres, Literacy and Lifelong Learning: The Linkages
» Rosa María Torres, Lifelong Learning: moving beyond Education for All
» Letter to UNESCO on the Literacy Decade (2003-2012)

Lectura: el adentro y el afuera

Letreros en buses y busetas - Colombia


"Lectura: el adentro y el afuera". Conferencia en el
2º Encontro Internacional de Educação de Osasco,
organizado por el Instituto Paulo Freire y la Secretaría de Educación de Osasco,
Sao Paulo, Brasil 5-7 octubre 2011

 
Estas reflexiones se basan en muchos años de trabajo en el campo de la alfabetización y la cultura escrita. Recogen los resultados de un estudio de campo financiado por el CREFAL en 2006-2009 en nueve países de América Latina y el Caribe, en el que visité cerca de 100 programas de alfabetización de adultos así como de promoción de la lectura. Algunas tendencias identificadas en dicho estudio y que sirven de fundamento a esta ponencia, incluyen:

1. Los tres campos que más contribuyen a letrar los espacios públicos, urbanos y rurales, son el comercio, la política y la salud. En los dos últimos no se observan esfuerzos por hacer legibles los textos a personas en proceso de alfabetización o con escasa experiencia lectora. La actividad comercial se aproxima más a las necesidades de todo tipo de lectores; letreros y avisos vinculados a la actividad económica popular despliegan a menudo la escritura espontánea de la gente.
2. Políticas-programas de promoción de la lectura, y políticas-programas de alfabetización, van por caminos separados: los primeros se dirigen a escolares y los segundos a personas adultas (mayores de 15 años). El énfasis se pone en la lectura, con poca atención a la escritura.
3. Escuelas, bibliotecas y centros de educación de adultos corren también caminos paralelos y dependen de instituciones y circuitos institucionales diferentes, duplicando esfuerzos y desaprovechando recursos.
4. La alfabetización de jóvenes y adultos no tiene en general contacto con textos reales y contextos reales fuera del aula. El tiempo de alfabetización es muy corto, y los materiales de enseñanza son sosos y limitados, todo lo cual contribuye a resultados insatisfactorios.
5. La alfabetización en lenguas indígenas sigue careciendo de condiciones para el uso efectivo de la lectura y la escritura en esas lenguas.
6. Las TICs se piensan para niños y jóvenes, no para adultos, sobre todo mayores de 30 años. La computadora y otras tecnologías digitales no se han incorporado aún a los procesos de alfabetización y desarrollo de la cultura escrita.
7. Con niños, jóvenes y adultos la alfabetización y la lectura transcurren en espacios cerrados. La creciente inseguridad es un factor más que contribuye al encierro. Bibliotecas al aire libre, plazas y parques con conexión gratuita a Internet, etc. se desaprovechan o usan con recelo. 

La lectura: un aprendizaje “puertas adentro”

El tema de esta ponencia es el dónde, más que el qué o el cómo: problematizamos la alfabetización entendida como un aprendizaje áulico, dentro de un aula, llámese escuela o centro de adultos.

Es el aprendizaje en general el que tiende a pensarse como “puertas adentro”, y más concretamente, puertas adentro de la escuela. La visión escuelo-céntrica de la educación y del aprendizaje ha llevado a emparedar la noción misma de aprendizaje. 

El aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura es particularmente proclive al encierro. Mientras que en matemáticas o en ciencias se acepta cada vez más la posibilidad y la necesidad de afincar la enseñanza en situaciones y problemas de la vida real, en el campo de la lectura y la escritura esta obviedad parece todavía lejana, un salto en el vacío que en todo caso debe asumir individualmente cada educador.
 
Se asume que aprender a leer y escribir implica estar sentado, un horario fijo, un lugar idealmente cerrado, un enseñante (educador, facilitador, monitor o como se le llame), materiales impresos que hay que guardar y proteger, mobiliario y equipamiento acorde: pizarra (o su equivalente), mesas, asientos, pupitres. 

Los niños aprenden a leer y escribir en la escuela, sentados, con ayuda - en el mejor de los casos - de rincones de lectura, biblioteca escolar, biblioteca de aula, etc. El sistema escolar no asume la existencia de lectura y escritura fuera de las aulas. Salvo en el hogar, extensión del aula, donde se lleva la tarea para hacerla con apoyo de los padres, extensión de los profesores.

Jóvenes y adultos se alfabetizan en aulas o similares - escuelas, centros comunitarios, lugares de trabajo, iglesias, domicilios particulares, patios - característicos de la “educación de segunda oportunidad”. Los materiales para (aprender a) leer son cartillas, breves manuales, folletos, videoclases. Las personas vienen y van al centro por su cuenta, caminan, toman transporte, venden, compran, miran televisión, escuchan radio, hacen trámites, van a centros de salud … pero ese “afuera” no cuenta, ni siquiera percibe, como parte del contexto y del proceso de alfabetización.

“Aula-adentro” el mundo es blanco y negro, homogéneo, previsible, programado. Los materiales para aprender a leer avanzan de la sílaba a la palabra y de ésta a la oración (o al revés), usan un tipo de letra definido, separan letras de números, ilustran los textos con dibujos o fotos. Los materiales para adultos a veces usan letra más grande atendiendo a problemas de vista. “Aula-afuera”, en la calle, en el barrio, en la comunidad, el mundo es diverso y a colores. La escritura es irreverente, no hace concesiones, se desparrama en cualquier dirección, viene en múltiples soportes y formatos, mezcla letras y números, textos y dibujos. Los futuros lectores que se preparan adentro, se enfrentan impotentes a este mundo exterior y al fraude, en definitiva, de la alfabetización. 

Tanto con niños como con adultos, el encierro y la dislocación del mundo real han pasado a verse como normales. No existe conciencia colectiva acerca del valor y la función sociales de la lectura y la escritura, ni acerca del variado y complejo mundo escrito al que están expuestos día a día niños, jóvenes y adultos en el hogar, en la comunidad, en la calle, en el trabajo, en los medios de comunicación, etc. Se ha perdido, por otra parte, conciencia de la importancia que tiene, especialmente para la infancia, el contacto con la naturaleza.

La disciplina y la seguridad han sido siempre temas espinosos para la educación escolar. Sacar a los alumnos fuera de la escuela permanece como un reto, sobre todo en escuelas urbanas pero también en las rurales. Hay problemas de infraestructura y hacinamiento en muchas escuelas, que no cuentan siquiera con espacio para recreo o deporte (ver estudio del BID 2011). El creciente clima de inseguridad contribuye a reforzar los cerrojos de la escuela.

Al encierro y el sedentarismo contribuye también, hoy en día, el ingreso de las modernas tecnologías a las aulas. En el caso de la educación de jóvenes y adultos, cuentan factores como el cansancio, la limitación de los horarios, el escaso tiempo disponible, y también la inseguridad. En definitiva: el “afuera” de la escuela o del centro de adultos tiene objetivas limitaciones en muchos casos. No obstante, hay mucho que podría hacerse y no se hace. Las experiencias que relatamos a continuación llevan a reflexionar y muestran posibilidades.

Cinco experiencias 

Describimos brevemente cinco experiencias en relación al adentro/afuera en el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura: dos casos de alfabetización de adultos puertas adentro (México y Perú); un juego de materiales de alfabetización que se propone llevar el mundo exterior al aula (Nicaragua); y dos experiencias que incorporan el “afuera” al aprendizaje: una biblioteca comunitaria (Argentina) y una escuela rural (Brasil). Todas ellas, como se ve, en América Latina. Una pequeña muestra de experiencias que he conocido personalmente o en las que he trabajado.

Caso 1: Alfabetización de mujeres indígenas en San Pedro Ocotepec, Oaxaca, México


San Pedro Ocotepec. Foto Gemma Mingot
En San Pedro Ocotepec, pequeño pueblo (344 viviendas) en la Sierra Mixe, Estado de Oaxaca, visité un centro de alfabetización del INEA (Instituto Nacional para la Educación de los Adultos) en el que se enseña a leer y escribir a mujeres indígenas hablantes de mixe. La alfabetizadora maneja tanto el mixe como el español.

Las clases se hacen en un aula del Telebachillerato prestada por las tardes al INEA. Aula bien equipada, luminosa, con pizarra y pupitres individuales, y un televisor apagado. No hay allí adentro nada para leer salvo los materiales de alfabetización Jä'äjy m'ayuujk.

Estas mujeres encerradas en esta aula dos horas diarias están no obstante rodeadas de material de lectura. Toda la comunidad está tapizada de escritura, sobre las paredes de adobe de las casas. Son sobre todo mensajes de salud (sexualidad, HIV/Sida, cuidado de los hijos, salud bucal) firmados por el comité de salud del pueblo. Es evidente que no existe coordinación entre el Comité de Salud y el programa del INEA. Posiblemente ni siquiera perciben que tienen un asunto en común: la lengua escrita, la necesidad de la lectura, la importancia de articular alfabetización y contexto letrado.

San Pedro Ocotepec. Foto Julián Coraggio
Al terminar la clase les pregunté a estas mujeres si alguna vez han salido a caminar por la comunidad con la alfabetizadora, si han leído lo que hay en las paredes. La respuesta fue no. Saben que los textos están ahí y que se refieren a temas de salud, pero no los han leído.

El Comité de Salud ha creado un “ambiente letrado” en San Pedro Ocotepec. Pero no sirve a estas mujeres. Hay una gran distancia entre lo que ellas aprenden en el aula y la escritura en las paredes del pueblo. Terminado el programa de alfabetización, ellas no tendrán nada para leer ni adentro ni afuera pues no hay nada para leer en mixe.

Textos dentro del aula Textos en las paredes del pueblo
Textos en lengua mixe (la mayoría de las mujeres son monolingües en mixe o hablan algo de español). Textos en español
Materiales enseñan simultáneamente letra script y manuscrita. Letra de imprenta
Textos en papel, letra uniforme, regular.
Textos sobre adobes, imperfectos, irregulares

Caso 2: Alfabetización de adultos con el método “Yo Sí Puedo” en Lima, Perú

Foto Derrama Magisterial
Los centros de alfabetización que visité en Lima usaban el método cubano “Yo Sí Puedo”, el cual usa videoclases y una pequeña cartilla. En todos los centros visitados encontré personas sentadas frente a un televisor, siguiendo la clase televisada. En pocos casos vimos material de lectura adentro, salvo donde la alfabetización se hacía en el domicilio de alguna persona de la comunidad. Allí podían verse a menudo libros y cuadernos, calendarios o estampas en las paredes.

En el Agustino, un distrito periférico muy pobre de Lima, visitamos centros alineados a lo largo de una calle muy empinada que trepa cerro arriba. Calle repleta de escritura, con tipografías, tamaños, texturas, colores muy variados: propaganda comercial y electoral (en vísperas de elecciones nacionales), carteles, menús de restaurantes, señales de tránsito, avisos hechos a mano, etc. Pero las personas estaban aprendiendo en espacios cerrados y sin nada para leer. La calle, colorida y alborotada, un mundo exterior ajeno a la alfabetización y a la lectura. 

Ninguna de las mujeres que estaban alfabetizándose había usado o incluso tenido cerca una computadora. Todas dijeron que les gustaría aprender. Junto al centro de alfabetización que funcionaba en un altillo en construcción de una iglesia evangélica, vimos un cybercafe con precios populares. Pero a nadie se le ocurre articular el cybercafe al aprendizaje de estas mujeres. 

Un dato interesante: las señoras nos contaron, orgullosas, que una vecina les pidió hacer un cartel para anunciar su venta. Al salir del centro vimos efectivamente el cartel unas casas más abajo. Mujeres en proceso de alfabetizarse que usan lo que saben para producir escritura socialmente útil, conectándose con el afuera y resolviendo un problema concreto a una vecina.

Caso 3: Materiales de alfabetización "El Amanecer del Pueblo", Nicaragua

Terminada la Cruzada Nacional de Alfabetización en Nicaragua (1980-81), el Viceministerio de Educación de Adultos decidió elaborar un nuevo juego de materiales para continuar la alfabetización. El juego de materiales elaborados para la Cruzada correspondía al momento de liberación, transición entre el derrocamiento de Somoza y el triunfo del Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN). Parecía importante renovar los contenidos con una perspectiva más orientada hacia el futuro y menos a lo que se había dejado atrás. Por encargo del Viceministro coordiné la elaboración de este nuevo juego de materiales.

Fue una oportunidad no solo para renovar contenidos sino también enfoques y metodologías. Entre otros, probamos enseñar a “leer con textos reales”, trayendo a la cartilla muestras de escritura de la calle. Para ello, tomamos fotos e hicimos dibujos de carteles, murales, anuncios, graffiti, etc. en zonas urbanas y rurales del país. Si los alfabetizandos no podían salir, el material podía traerles el afuera. Fue asimismo una manera de llevar a zonas rurales escrituras de la zona urbana, y al revés. Esa fue la primera vez que usé esa estrategia. Lo hice después en la Campaña Nacional de Alfabetización "Monseñor Leonidas proaño" que dirigí en el Ecuador entre 1988 y 1990.

Caso 4: Biblioteca Popular de Bella Vista, Córdoba, Argentina

Foto Rosa María Torres - mural fuera del huerto
La biblioteca se creó en 1990 a iniciativa de una fundación privada sin fines de lucro, la Fundación Pedro Milesi, a fin de contribuir al desarrollo de los vecinos de Bella Vista, un barrio pobre y marginalizado de la ciudad de Córdoba. Desde su creación, la biblioteca ha venido ampliándose con una gran variedad de actividades y servicios, todos ellos gratuitos y todos vinculados de algún modo a la lectura y la escritura: 

- servicio bibliotecario: cerca de 1.500 suscriptores y más de 20.000 volúmenes, así como una hemeroteca. Niños y adultos aprovechan diariamente la biblioteca.
- taller de animación de la lectura (niños 3-12 años)
- talleres de expresión plástica, educación física e iniciación deportiva (niños 6-12 años)  
- taller de percusión (niños y adolescentes). A partir de este taller se creó una Murga con 40 integrantes (6-14 años), la cual actúa en otros barrios e instituciones
-
taller de producción de video (niños 8-12 años)
- capacitación laboral  para jóvenes y adultos en diversos oficios
- recuperación de la historia del barrio, entre los viejos y los adolescentes del barrio
-
expresión corporal para mujeres de la tercera edad y gimnasia correctiva (mujeres jóvenes y adultas)
- taller de filosofía para adultos
- funciones de cine
para adultos y niños
- asesoría familiar, escolar y comunitaria en conflictos que involucran a niños y adolescentes (violencia familiar, abuso, abandono, dificultades de conducta, etc).
-
huerta orgánica comunitaria, a la cual se ha integrado las escuelas del barrio
-  
taller de computación en el Espacio de Formación Tecnológica
-
teatro comunitario de la biblioteca en el que participan todos los vecinos del barrio.
Una biblioteca excepcional, motor de desarrollo cultural y social de la comunidad.

Caso 5: Escuela municipal Hermann Müller, Sta. Catarina, Brasil

“Nossa missão é promover projetos e vivências através de uma aprendizagem voltada a ecologia, cultura e afetividade”.
http://escolahermannmuller.blogspot.com/

En esta escuela pública, situada en zona rural, en Joinville, Estado de Santa Catarina, se aprenden todas la asignaturas a través de la naturaleza, combinando aprendizaje al aire libre y educación ecológica. 

Escola Hermann Muller
La directora de la escuela, entrevistada por el diario español El País, explicaba que el método de alfabetización infantil – que junta flores y poesía - se inspira en la tradición campesina. El jardín y la huerta son cultivados por los propios alumnos. En el Alfabeto de las Flores los alumnos ayudan a plantar especies a las que nombran de la A a la Z. En el Jardín Encantado hay más de 50 especies de plantas y poesías colgadas de éstas, con las cuales aprenden a leer. El Bosque de Lectura es un espacio al aire libre destinado a la lectura. En la actividad llamada Café, Flor y Poesía los alumnos declaman poesías en un palco que da al jardín. 

Cuando tomó la dirección en 2003 la escuela tenía 20 alumnos y muchas dificultades para enseñar a leer y escribir. Hoy hay muchos alumnos y la lectura es uno de los fuertes de la escuela. Otro logro es asimismo el alto involucramiento de las familias.

Referencias / Para saber más
▸ Arias, Juan, “Brasil ensaya la alfabetización con flores y poesía”, El País, Madrid,  25/01/2001. https://elpais.com/internacional/2011/01/25/actualidad/1295910001_850215.html
Qué son la solastalgia, el trastorno de déficit de naturaleza y otros desordenes del nuevo milenio, BBC Mundo, 4 dic. 2016 https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-38136747

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