#literacy development

Daily silent sustained reading time offers our Lower Elementary students a peaceful opportunity to develop focus, imagination, and a love for reading. When students are given the freedom to choose their reading materials, they engage more deeply and joyfully with texts. Graphic novels, with their rich visuals and storytelling, support literacy development by enhancing comprehension, vocabulary, and sequencing skills. Just as importantly, students benefit from the freedom to choose where they read—whether relaxed on cushioned seat pillows in the outdoor courtyard or in a quiet corner of the classroom—creating a sense of ownership and comfort that nurtures lifelong reading habits.

As we celebrate literacy month, we recognize the vital role that early literacy plays in preparing children for a lifetime of learning. Early literacy is a critical part of a child’s development, shaping their ability to communicate, understand the world, and build academic success. Providing children with a strong literacy foundation through intentional practices can have a lasting impact.

Early literacy is the foundation for a child’s future academic and personal success. Research shows that children who develop strong language and reading skills early on are more likely to perform well in school and beyond. Enrolling your child in a preschool in Houston, Texas, is a great first step toward nurturing their love for reading.

The International Literacy Day (ILD) 2024 is being celebrated under the theme of ‘Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace’. Conflicts today threatens mutual understanding, harmonious co-existence, pluralism and peace, serving as a sharp reminder of the need to begin by constructing the defences of peace in the minds of people, in which literacy is central. Meanwhile, multilingualism is increasingly common in our world, in which approximately 7,000 living languages are unevenly spread across around 200 countries, with higher degrees of diversity in subSaharan Africa and Asia and the Pacific. This is due to a range of factors, including globalization, digitalization, and the increasing mobility of people. As recently as one decade ago, about two in three children grew up in a multilingual context. In 2022, the number of refugees, many of whom may need to master a host country’s language, reached 35 million, an increase of 8 million over 2021. More than 108.4 million people had been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations, representing an increase of 19 million people over the previous year. Based on the current trend, the number of people who use more than one language in daily life could continue to grow in the coming decades. Meanwhile, about half of living languages are in danger of extinction by the end of the century. In 2021, 77% of communication in cyberspace was dominated by only 10 languages. Given that languages – oral, written, and sign languages – are not only essential tools for communication and knowledge management but also for embracing and preserving people’s identities, cultures, worldviews, and knowledge systems, conscious efforts are needed to use and preserve everyone’s first languages in daily life and in the public sphere. Globally, however, it is estimated that about 40% of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. In Africa, 8 in 10 children learn in a language that is different from their first language, and the prospects of learning in one’s first language appear even slimmer for youth and adults, who may often be outside the formal education system. This not only hinders the acquisition of basic literacy skills, but also undermines linguistic and cultural diversity, creates epistemic and cultural hierarchies, and impacts social and economic development of individuals and communities, which could be detrimental to building inclusive, peaceful and sustainable societies.

Promoting literacy for fostering mutual understanding and peace calls for the alignment or integration of literacy and education for peace, global citizenship, human rights, and sustainable development, especially in the areas related to SDG Target 4.7 and those covered by the 2023 UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development, in managing policies, programmes and practices. This includes reinforcing the component of peace education in literacy-related policy frameworks, while recognizing the importance of literacy and systematically integrating literacy programmes beyond formal education into national policy frameworks for achieving SDG Target 4.7. Mauritania, for instance, developed a plan for global citizenship education (GCED) and the prevention of extremism through education, and piloted a literacy and non-formal education programme integrating GCED. This intentional link is important; literate people can take actions that can be detrimental to peace. Promoting literacy and peace together can contribute not only to strengthening democratic values, peaceful coexistence, and community solidarity, but also to reducing socio-economic disparities, which can be a source of tension.

Mass Literacy Campaign facilitated first language-based literacy development of more than 4.7 million adults, using the 11 official languages recognized in the Constitution, including Braille, while introducing English to those learners. Linking literacy and language, however, needs to consider specific learning purposes and circumstances in a flexible manner. Refugees, migrants, and internationally displaced persons (IDPs), for instance, may need to prioritize mastering the host country's language for survival, social integration, and socio-economic empowerment where literacy provision based on FLB-ML is limited.

The Role of SEL in Enhancing Literacy Development