Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
Publication Source
American Journal of Educational Research
Abstract
On the Caribbean island of Haiti, when friends meet, one generally asks: “Ki jan ou ye?” (How are you?) and often times the other person responds: “ M’pa pi mal.” (I am not worse), ([2], p. 29). This common greeting indicates that life in Haiti is not stress-free. Haiti has openly battled political chaos, economic dependence, and high illiteracy rates since its independence from France in 1804. Many attempts to address these issues have been made by the international community. Scholars and theorists suggest that solutions should be rooted in building robust communities, using social empathy as a tool, in order to promote independence and sustainability. This paper will investigate the way in which literacy programs such as the one organized locally by BuildOn, builds community. This study is based on a qualitative approach. Numerous focus groups as well as individual in-depth interviews of literacy students, teachers and community members were conducted. Specifically, findings revealed that the benefits of BuildOn’s literacy program are two-fold: first, it fosters community building and, second, it creates capacities for economic independence over time.
Inclusive pages
1107-1114
ISBN/ISSN
2327-6126
Document Version
Published Version
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 Science and Education Publishing
Publisher
Science and Education Publishing
Volume
3
Issue
9
Peer Reviewed
yes
Keywords
Community Education Program (CEP), community, literacy, social empathy
eCommons Citation
Brion, Corinne, "Building Communities through Literacy" (2015). Educational Leadership Faculty Publications. 237.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/eda_fac_pub/237
Included in
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Higher Education Administration Commons
Comments
This article is provided in compliance with the publisher's open-access policy.