Hacia el concepto de desarrollo local

The manifestations of literacy outside the family and classroom in the community and society are just as important as the literate environment in the home and school is in promoting reading. The relationship between the family, the school and the wider society is important. Learners must have access to books and reading materials in the community at large. The IEA study (Elley 1992: 83) found that, in some countries without a ready supply of books at home a great deal of reading was still done. One of the reasons for this was that it was found that several of these countries have large school and community libraries and abundant reading resources in the community. Support from the community can thus make up for a lack of resources at home.

Certain characteristics of a community support the success and achievements of the individuals within it. One of the characteristics is that of “high cohesion” (Fisher 1995: 139), which is the sense of belonging, of shared purpose and support within a group. This can be valuable in the promotion of reading when a learner feels he belongs to a reading population, and gets support from the community in reading practices.

Literacy campaigns are more successful when they can depend on commitment and enthusiasm generated by the community. To promote literacy, public awareness in the community is necessary. According to Hamadache and Martin (1986: 26) public awareness can be fostered in many ways through interviews and seminars, conferences, and discussions for public information; through the media (radio, cinema, television, the press); through the channels provided by non-governmental and other organisations; in cultural activities (the theatre, popular songs); and through the responsiveness of the formal education system to literacy work.

It is important to create a range of opportunities to read for the learner in order to encourage voluntary reading. The many projects (Abel 2001; McMurray 2004a; McMurray 2004b; Read Educational Trust 2006) undertaken to promote literacy and a reading habit in South Africa indicate a growing awareness in this country of the importance of reading.

NGOs like Read Educational Trust, Room to Read, the Molteno project, Project Literacy, Booksmart, Media in Education Trust (MieT) and PRAESA target literacy.

In order to become readers, learners must have role models in the community to inspire or motivate them to read. In many townships community problems pose serious obstacles to reading and contribute to social disintegration – for example, squatters, violence, corruption, crime, theft, destruction of school equipment and political intolerance (Nxumalo 1993: 58). Some community members do not respect the schools. Another problem is often the lack of resources in the schools and the township as a whole.

The publishing industry form part of the literacy environment. South Africans are, in general, not book buyers. There are no official statistics available on this issue, but according to Jaco Nel (Nel 2008), Fanatics Marketing Manager of Exclusive Books, the Fanatics database is 600 000, although not all of them are active book buyers. There are other people who are customers of bookshops in South Africa, but the number of committed readers can only be estimated.

The IEA study (Elley 1992: 67) found that the availability of nearby bookstores in the community is another aspect affecting learners’ accessibility to books. Nearly all bookshops in Africa are in urban areas, sometimes hundred of miles apart (Land 2003: 94). A study done by IBBY SA (2006) on bookshops and children’s books indicted that bookshops do very little to promote children’s and young people’s books.

Another problem is the limited number of books published in the indigenous languages. It is difficult to encourage learners to read for pleasure if there are few

books for children to read in their home language and that reflect their culture, values and language (Machet 2000b: 6-7). Most books published are for educational purposes and not to encourage reading for pleasure. In Africa, 95% of books published are for educational purposes (compared to 35% in the developed world) (Wafawarowa 2000: 15). There is also a lack of nationally and regionally published materials (Land 2003: 94).

Apart from the local community and society, education, literacy and the promotion of reading should also get attention in policymaking, planning and developing literacy programmes on a national level. This will place emphasis on literacy in a country. Ahmed (1992: 34) underlines the role the government has to play in creating a national literacy learning environment in which all sectors of society can participate. Basic education, literacy, post-literacy learning and early childhood education should share in the total national education budget. In South Africa this is not always the case, as discussed. Additional resources are needed to accomplish the goals and objectives of basic education and literacy learning. Ways of mobilising non- governmental resources have to be considered.

4.8 CONCLUSION

It is clear that voluntary reading is affected by family life, the school environment, social and economic conditions in the community, and a complex of other environmental factors. If we want learners to become voluntary readers, and thus develop a reading habit, we need insight into the ways that the entire literacy environment can support this development.

The individual, group, community and society, as part of the learner’s environment, have an important role in shaping reading attitudes and motivation. The group, community and society should set examples, provide opportunities and strengthen the perception that literacy is important.

It is the responsibility of parents and institutions, such as the school and library, to give every child a chance to make the most of his reading potential by intentionally

creating reading environments. Research shows that the most important ways to support voluntary reading and the acquisition of literacy are to increase the number of books and reading materials and opportunities for reading in the home and classroom. Motivation to read at school and home is also important in fostering reading success for all children.

CHAPTER 5