and its use in an extended research program in beginning literacy for children in 1985–1986 Stringer 1987a, 1987b. The research conducted for this study includes an application of the
Multi-Strategy method in adult literacy programs and its comparison with the Gudschinsky method.
In researching the application of an instructional method for literacy with adults and children, the assumption is that any method is appropriate at both levels, because the social and
cultural spheres of interaction of both adults and children are the same in any given society. Bruner 1966:60 noted for the Tallensi in Africa that all participated in the same culture but in
varying degrees: “the interests, motives, and purposes of a child are identical with those of adults, but at a simpler level of organization.” From a literature review concerning rural, non-
technological societies Stringer 1983, it was concluded that the social context of children and adults is distinctive only in terms of the degree to which knowledge has been appropriated at
moments relevant to differing stages of development. That is, “All participate in the same culture, the same round of life, but in varying degrees, corresponding to the state of physical and
mental development” Bruner 1966:60.
Similarly, in presenting a case for developing literacy in the cultural setting of an industrial nation, the United States, Chall 1987 argued that
the course for the development of reading is, I think, essentially the same for adults and children. Their instructional needs are also broadly similar as they progress, except for the content of the
instructional materials, particularly at the early stages Chall 1987:69–70.
She argued for six stages of learning and showed the differences in materials needed and the advantages and disadvantages at the various levels because of maturation of the learners. In the
present project, this emphasis on “content of the instructional materials” is the main difference observed in presenting literacy instruction for adults compared with literacy instruction for
children.
Another purpose of the research was to develop programs with community members interacting, controlling decisions, and participating in as many aspects of the implementations as
possible in
•
preparation of materials
•
teaching
•
supervising, and
•
testing. It must be noted that applying literacy in a traditional cultural setting with such a purpose does
not allow for a perfectly executed program. Applying variables equally across all groups with the interplay of different languages and cultural norms to be considered, and different physical
conditions to overcome, does not allow for equal supervision and assessment across all groups. It was expected that, through careful training and liaison, and from the responsibility taken by
community members, a core of trained personnel would be available to continue with literacy instruction and training in the communities. The ultimate purpose of the research was to assist
adult learners to become fluent readers and writers.
This project is not presented only as studies of comparison between two methods of pedagogy. It is presented primarily to assess the application of a specific curriculum, devised for
literacy instruction for mother-tongue speakers of vernacular languages in literacy programs for
adult learners. This presentation includes curricular-appropriate and culturally relevant assessment procedures devised in and for the two implementations in the project. It also involves
adjustments of research techniques in difficult conditions and different linguistic and cultural settings so that a relevant field experiment could be accomplished. There is also included the
opportunity to observe in practice applications of theories of reading and writing pedagogy relevant to the particular setting. As an outcome of these applications, the study includes results
that can be assessed for relevant benefits for policy and practice.
We turn now to a preview of the studies. Firstly, theory is considered as one of the factors determining the importance of the research in relating to the purposes as defined. Secondly, the
research method and its significance are considered. Finally, the context of the research, including the appropriateness of the studies in the light of education practice and policy is
discussed.
1.2. Preview of the Studies
In considering reading processes, there have been traditionally two main underlying theoretical orientations: one based on analyticbehaviourist tradition focus on skills, analysis
and the other on holisticGestalt psychology psycholinguistic processing. Proponents of each of the two orientations have developed their theories and practical applications in a continuing
debate about the merits of each in reading acquisition and development. It is into this debate that the literacy needs of the non-industrialised nations of the world have relatively recently been
drawn. One of the outcomes of these debates is that it is not sufficient to teach the conventions of reading and writing in campaigns which do not significantly relate the literacy programs to the
everyday lives of the learners. It is endeavoured in Chapter 2 to trace
•
some of the debates on theories of literacy acquisition in industrialised nations
•
the application of these theories in practice, and
•
the significance of some of the trends for adult literacy in non-industrialised nations. One particular aspect of literacy programs is the significance of language structure and
orthography in the instructional processes of reading and writing. In Chapter 2, therefore, there is also a brief discussion on orthography, and descriptions of the phonology of the two languages in
which the interventions were implemented.
A further important consideration for the studies is the research method and its significance for the purposes stated. The research design—including both quantitative and qualitative
evaluation—was chosen to test available theories of literacy acquisition. The program mentioned above, in which the Multi-Strategy method was developed with children, showed positive results
and appropriate methodology Stringer 1987b, 1990, so an experimental design was prepared for the adult studies. These studies included two treatment groups and quantitative measures over
four occasions for analysis. This post-test only experimental design, outlined in Chapter 3, was combined with some ethnographic evaluations conducted through interviews with the teachers.
An underlying assumption on which the research was based was that there would be full participation of community members in as many aspects of the research as possible. The physical
and socio-cultural setting in which the research was developed, combined with the large numbers of motivated participants, made a structured approach with reasonable controls more acceptable
and manageable at the outset than a completely “emergent” design with more interpretive and descriptive analyses as described by Bhola 1990b:32. In choosing this approach, it was realised
that the design could not be perfectly balanced nor the variables controlled as is expected in laboratory conditions or classrooms in a formal education system. The semi-structured
interviews with teachers throughout the programs and the subsequent follow-up research added valuable insights of a more ethnographic nature. In Chapter 3, after a description of the two
methods of instruction, the design, instruments for testing, and dependent variables are described.
The context for the research is now considered in terms of the physical setting and the languages of instruction. The research was set in the Dreikikir district of the East Sepik Province,
Papua New Guinea. The physical and socio-cultural contexts were rural, but there had been opportunities for some of the communities to have access to some form of education in English
for approximately forty years. Where such education, especially for males, opened the way for employment, this employment was generally conducted outside the area. In the communities,
village activities centred around subsistence farming. The staple crop was yam but, because the villages were situated in the foothills, other fruit and vegetable crops were abundant, with sago
available in the off-season. Cash crops in the area were coffee and cocoa. Descriptions of the socio-cultural settings of the two groups chosen for the interventions are found in Chapters 4 and
5, with the results and discussion of the studies.
The two languages for instruction for this research were Urat and Tok Pisin a lingua franca. Tok Pisin was used extensively in interaction between language groups, especially in the
vicinity of the government offices and the highway. At one stage, Urat had declined as the means of communication for the people living near the district centre, and the use of Tok Pisin had
flourished. During the 1970s, with the arrival of a resident linguist, the situation changed and there was a deliberate attempt to revive communication in Urat with the result that it “has
undergone a strong revival” Dixon 1991. When the research was developed, there was high motivation for vernacular education, especially for the children. The adult program was a
forerunner to the transition, bilingual education program for children which was becoming popular nationwide.
The argument was presented above that adults and children have the same physical and social material upon which to draw in literacy but at a different level of operation. The content of
the literacy material and the manner of presentation to accommodate the differences in physical and mental maturity were addressed in the studies. Adults who had not had an opportunity to
become literate were the target group for the research. Such a program would allow a larger group of literate parents to develop in the community to accommodate to the forthcoming
vernacular program for children. A major part of the research was to focus on cultural adaptations and suitable materials appropriate and relevant for the adult group. The
appropriateness of the study in the light of changes in education policy of the country was another factor which influenced decisions.
At the time of the research, changes were developing in national education policy. In 1989, a new Language and Literacy Policy was formed by the National Department of Education and
approved by the government in 1990. This policy endorsed the use of vernacular languages as the medium of instruction in literacy programs:
In order to improve the quality of education, to strengthen traditional cultures and values, to facilitate participation by all citizens in national life, to promote national unity and to raise the level
of literacy in Tok Ples, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu and English, we recommend the development of education programmes to ensure that children, out of school youth and adults become literate in Tok
