The Literacy and Development Group at the University of East Anglia was formed in 2003 with the aim of bringing together researchers working in this field and to enhance the research environment.

The School of Education and Lifelong Learning (EDU), School of International Development (DEV) and School of Language and Communication Studies (LCS) run a joint research seminar series in the Autumn and Spring semesters. These seminars are open to all and aim to address issues within the field of Education and Development.

Who we are

The group links staff from the schools of Education and Lifelong Learning (EDU), School of International Development (DEV), and the School of Language and Communication Studies (LCS). It provides opportunities for researchers to meet, exchange ideas and collaborate on research. Taking a ‘situated literacies' approach, we aim to combine theory and practice, to engage actively with key policy institutions in the UK and internationally and to encourage cross-cultural interaction between literacy researchers and practitioners in countries of the North and South.

Education and Development Seminar Series 

Our regular Education and Development Seminar Series at UEA attracts a wide audience of research students, faculty and taught Masters students from across the University. We invite high profile seminar speakers from a range of institutions working in international education and development, as well as encouraging UEA colleagues to present on their research in this area.

International Conferences

In addition to running our regular Education and Development Seminar Series at UEA, we have hosted several international conferences: ‘Literacy Inequalities' (2009), ‘Migration, education and socio-economic mobility' (2007), ‘Literacies, identities and social change' (2006), ‘The Schooling of Literacies' (2005) and ‘Gender Equality in Adult Education' (2004). Through these events, we have begun to facilitate conversations across disciplines (particularly between economists and ethnographers) and between different groups working in literacy (policy makers, practitioners and researchers).

Publications


Policy Impact

Policy impacts of our work include membership of key UN policy forums such as the UNESCO Literacy Decade experts group and Global Advisory Committee to the UN Girls Education Initiative as well as on-going policy research with UNESCO Institute of Statistics (LAMP).  For further information on our activities, research and publications see our biennial reports (above).

Contact us

For further information please contact A.Robinson-Pant@uea.ac.uk (EDU), Sheila.Aikman@uea.ac.uk (DEV and seminar series), or  L.Yulita@uea.ac.uk (LCS, and reading group).

Our staff web-pages

Sheila Aikman

Lucio Esposito

John Gordon

Bryan Maddox

Nitya Rao

Anna Robinson-Pant

Leticia Yulita

Latest News and Events

The LDG Reading Group recommences on 20th October 2011. Download the full programme (pdf 22.9 KB).

The EDU/DEV 2011 -12 research seminar series programme is available now online (pdf 91.2 KB). 

Saffie Savage, Head of Non-Formal Education in the Gambia spoke at a UEA event to celebrate International Literacy Day, September 8th 2011. Saffie has been attending the MA in Adult Literacy, Lifelong Learning and Development in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning.

See here for further details about this course (pdf 351 KB).

"Literacy Inequalities - Who cares?" Article by Bryan Maddox to mark International Literacy Day 2011.

Special Issue of International Journal of Educational Development on ‘Literacy Inequalities'. 

A collection of papers from the 2009 conference on literacy inequalities are included in a special issue of IJED, with an editorial by Maddox, Aikman, Rao and Robinson-Pant. 

The Biennial Report 2010-1011is now available (pdf 484 KB).

Literacy Inequalities Conference at the University of East Anglia, from 1-3 September 2009. Download the Conference Report (pdf 373 KB).

People

Sheila Aikman is Senior Lecturer in Education and Development at the School of International Development. Her research interests include intercultural and basic education (formal and non-formal), indigenous knowledge and learning systems, gender equality and multigrade teaching. Her publications include her widely read and cited 'Intercultural Education and Literacy' (John Benjamins, Amsterdam and Philadelphia). She has carried out research and other work in Latin America, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Email: Sheila.Aikman@uea.ac.uk

Bryan Maddox is Senior Lecturer in Education and Development at the School of International Development. He is a social anthropologist working on literacy, language and education in South Asian contexts. He has strong interests in inter-disciplinary work in education linking anthropology and economics. His recent publications include 'What good is literacy? Insights and Implications of the Capabilities Approach, in Journal of Human Development, Vol. 9, July 2008.  His current research interests are the links between literacy, human capabilities and wellbeing, and on education and literacy in fishing communities. Email: b.maddox@uea.ac.uk

Nitya Rao is Senior Lecturer in Gender Analysis and Development, at the School of International Development. Her research in the area of education and development focuses on equity issues in education policies and provisioning. She currently works on the topic of gender differences in migration opportunities and the implications for educational choices and outcomes. She has mainly worked in South Asia, but also has interests in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa. Email N.Rao@uea.ac.uk

Dr. Anna Robinson-Pant is Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Applied Research in Education, School of Education and Lifelong Learning. She has wide experience of educational research, planning and training in South Asia (particularly Nepal), having worked for various international and local development agencies. She won the UNESCO/UIE International Award for Literacy Research for her study of women's literacy and development in Nepal ('Why eat green cucumber at the time of dying? Exploring the link between women's literacy and development, 2001, UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg'). She continued to challenge the dominant instrumental view of ‘literacy for women' through raising the profile of participatory and ethnographic research approaches in the international development arena with her edited volume, Women, Literacy and Development (Routledge, 2004). Email A.Robinson-pant@uea.ac.uk