Adult literacy work in a rural Chinese community: An ethnographic case study of the 1990 anti-illiteracy campaign in Dahu Township, Fujian, China

This study developed a heuristic model to guide an evaluation of the efficacy, appropriateness, and propriety of state-sponsored adult literacy education in rural communities in the People's Republic of China. The model was elaborated through a case study of adult literacy education and literacy practices in Dahu Township, a rural community located in the mountainous interior of Fujian province on the southeast coast of China.;The case study explored the historical and social forces which have shaped the goals and methods of anti-illiteracy work with the aim of assessing the potential for adult literacy work to have an impact on the local distribution and use of literacy. It was guided by a multi-dimensional heuristic model of literacy and literacy education which combined a cultural historical perspective on the social construction of literacy technologies, a community level perspective on the distribution, utility, and significance of reading and writing practices, and a critical perspective on the communicative competencies acquired through adult literacy schooling.;The primary conclusion of this research was that the mass literacy campaign is no longer an effective, appropriate, and proper means of transforming literacy practices in the Chinese countryside. The study highlighted the need for future research which will apply qualitative standards to the evaluation of adult literacy education and which will take into consideration the increasingly marginal status of the populations targeted for adult literacy work in China.