Evaluation and final report : local languages literacy project

Final evaluation covers the period 7/79-12/84 and is based primarily on student performance testing. The project successfully helped develop educational materials in 7 languages and trained a number of teachers to write and utilize such materials. Moreover, it had a limited, but nonetheless positive, impact on the development of vernacular literacy skills among children who would not otherwise have had access to such. It also produced much knowledge which can be transferred to future endeavors in preliterate rural societies. Two key non-project factors limited the success of literacy instruction: (1) teaching methods in southern Sudan, which focused on classroom repetition of syllables, words, and sentences, rather than the reading for comprehension approach; and (2) teacher training, which was generally insufficient and did not alleviate the problems of poor teacher and student attendance, and shortages of both teachers and teachers' aides. Also, the project-developed teaching materials contained much repetition of the same words and concepts, a limited number of instructional activities, and an unacceptable number of typographical errors. Even so, however, the availability and use of reading materials within and outside school did affect student performance positively. Also, materials developed later in the project were more effective than were those designed initially, indicating that materials can make a difference even where teaching methods are inadequate and teachers poorly trained. The project shows that, in preliterate societies, it is necessary to create the climate for literacy in the community; reading skills must be useful and appreciated both within and outside the school to sustain literacy. Moreover, the impact of multilingual literacy programs is dependent on cultural, economic, and political variables. In southern Sudan, fear of dominance by Arabic-speaking northerners has led to parental support for the multilingual approach, but other sociocultural factors (e.g., the need for child labor at home) have limited actual performance. Assessments of local attitudes (via questionnaires) should be conducted prior to establishing literacy programs.