Literacy for liberation: a Haitian case study

• Main Author: Woodard, Rosemary
• Other Authors: Smith, Karen E. (Curriculum, Teaching and Learning)
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Freire; critical pedagogy; transformation; marginalized
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/4898

This qualitative study of an adult literacy program, Literacy for Liberation, operated by a non-governmental organization and serving a marginalized demographic in Haiti, considered the impact of a literacy program designed to enhance technical and critical literacy skills while promoting communal and individual change. Data, collected in five open-ended interviews and two observations, focused on the contextual, logistical, and beneficial aspects of the program. Results were analyzed using markers from Freire’s framework of critical pedagogy: humanization, situated literacy, dialogue and consciousness-raising, and transformation. Findings revealed limited economic, social, and communal benefits, and that replication of the program may be possible if certain steps are followed. Overall conclusions demonstrated that expanding literacy programs in this setting can facilitate social and economic progress for previously illiterate adults and future generations, particularly where structural inequality is evident. Final recommendations included comparison studies of other programs and longitudinal research of descending generations.