Volume 13, Issue 2 Fall 2024 Addressing Unmet Family Literacy Needs in Monrovia, Liberia
Author: Yvonne Capeheart Weah, Jo-Anne L. Manswell Butty, Ruby Joseph, Ronald E. Mertz, & David Rosen
Subject Area: Literacy
Program Level: COABE Journal
Material Type: Journal
Language: English
License: (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) For license summary click here

Abstract:

This article details the implementation of a preschool family literacy program in Liberia, West Africa, which includes adult literacy classes for parents and other caregivers. It discusses how an international partnership was formed and implemented in a way that places a Liberian nongovernment organization specializing in education work (WE-CARE) at the helm, while allowing other partners to support the organization in running the program. The article discusses how the program was adapted for the Liberian context based on learners’ needs, and the benefits it yielded. It also presents elementary school outcomes for 38 Cohort 3 children who graduated from the preschool program. The data show promising student outcomes, with the majority of children performing at or above average when entering the school year and demonstrating continued improvements at the end of the school year. The article also discusses specifically how the children’s parents or other caregivers have benefited from the program.