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Functional Adult Literacy Program (FALP)
There are over 7 million illiterate adults in Turkey.
Today, 7 million adults in Turkey, the majority of which are women, cannot read or write their own names. Being deprived of their fundamental educational rights, they can not take part in many daily activities or meet their basic social needs. Moreover, they are often excluded from society, labeled as 'ignorant' and also unable to support their children’s education or healthy development. Unfortunately, literacy programs in Turkey have largely failed to target the needs of participants or facilitate their abilities to use literacy skills in their everyday lives.
What is the ‘Functional Adult Literacy Program?
FALP is the first adult literacy program in Turkey that has been developed with a strong scientific base by a non-governmental organization.
FALP has striven to meet all of the ministry’s regulations and is equivalent to the Basic Literacy Certificate Program of the Ministry of National Education.
How was FALP developed?
During our field visits for the Mother Child Education Program, it was observed that mothers who were most in need of AÇEV were illiterate and therefore unable to benefit from the program. At the same time, the Ministry of National Education was seeking alternatives to the current, mainstream literacy courses and requested that AÇEV develop a new literacy program. In response to these needs and requests AÇEV staff worked with Prof. Dr. Aydın Durgunoğlu and Prof. Dr. Banu Öney to develop FALP as an adult literacy program which took advantage of the phonological characteristics of Turkish.
Why is FALP important?
Despite our successes in other areas of development, in terms of female literacy rates, Turkey remains not only at the bottom of the list among OECD countries but also lags behind many countries with lower socio-economic development indicators. Over 7,000,000 adults in Turkey have no means of contributing to either their personal or societal development. This is why a program which not only equips these adults with reading and writing skills but which aims to make them socially functional is necessary. FALP is vital, not only in order to improve the quality of each participants life but also to accelerate the social, cultural and economic development as a whole of this country.
Who does FALP serve?
FALP aims to serve any individual over the age of 15 who does not know how to read and write. Since it's development, 32,000 individuals - of whom 98% have been women - have received literacy certificates through FALP.
How is FALP implemented?
FALP's first implementations began in 1995 under a protocol agreement between the Ministry of National Education and AÇEV. FALP courses are implemented in collaboration with Adult Education Centers which are present in every district of Turkey. The courses usually take place in these Adult Education Centers and primary schools or any other place where there is a demand for literacy courses. FALP courses are based on a 120 hour curriculum, equivalent to the Basic Literacy Program provided by the Ministry of National Education, and run over a four month period where participants come together three times a week.
One of the most important features of FALP is that it is implemented by volunteers. AÇEV has been authorized by the Ministry of National Education to train volunteer individuals as literacy instructors. FALP volunteers, who must be over 21 years of age and have a minimum of high school education, participate in a full-time three-week seminar delivered by AÇEV trainers. A volunteer who successfully completes the training seminar receives an instructor certificate from the Ministry. The volunteer facilitators are also continuously supported by AÇEV trainers through extensive advisor observation and feedback. Since 1995, 1470 volunteers have been trained.
In order to reach a wider group of illiterates and involve more groups in literacy activities, AÇEV collaborates extensively with the public and private sector. AÇEV has been particularly instrumental in involving local NGOs in FALP courses through providing training and supervision to volunteers associated with other NGOs.
What is the content of FALP?
FALP is significantly different from the mainstream literacy courses being implemented by the Ministry of National Education. First of all, FALP benefits from the phonologic and orthographic character of the Turkish language and emphasizes its letter-sound correspondence.
Secondly, FALP emphasizes critical thinking and comprehension processes through active discussions, reasoning, inferencing and sequencing exercises. Thirdly, FALP attempts to make literacy functional and meaningful in the everyday life of participants and includes exercises for urban dwellers such as reading bus schedules or user manuals, filling out job application forms, taking notes etc.
Participants are also facilitated into discussions on subjects such as communication in the family, child discipline, first aid, contagious diseases and citizenship rights.
Life after FALP ?
Some graduates of FALP express the need for further support in order to maintain, as well as strengthen, their newly gained literacy skills. In response to these needs in 1998, AÇEV developed FALP II, an 80 hour course designed to reinforce and support the development of literacy.
How to apply to FALP?
Anyone over the age of 15 can apply to attend this free literacy program. For general or course information those interested in attending a course or those who would like to pass on information to an illiterate person in their community should contact AÇEV.
Results from FALP Evaluation Research
In an evaluatory research project conducted by Prof.Dr. Aydİn DurgunoÛlu and Associate
Prof. Dr. Banu Öney, FALP was compared with classic literacy courses. A significant difference was found between the two approaches. When performance in letter and word recognition and writing before the start of the courses and at the end of the courses was looked at, the functional group was found to be significantly more successful. At the same time, the functional group was found to be better at reading comprehension and identifying the main concept. These differences can be attributed to the ‘functional’ program’s focus on differentiating between sounds, listening, thinking about texts and reading comprehension exercise. |
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