A Case Study of Non-formal Education for IndigenousPeople: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

Washington DC 開発フォーラム

途上国の識字問題に如何に取り組むべきか−文書管理アプローチの視点から −A Case Study of Non-Formal Education forIndigenous People:
Enhancement of Document Management Skills inthe Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia
中村雄祐 東京大学大学院総合文化研究科・教養学部
yusnak@bunjin.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
久松佳彰 東京大学大学院総合文化研究科・教養学部
yoshiaki.hisamatsu@nifty.com

March 24, 2003, Washington DC: USAIndex• Introduction: Literacy and Non-Formal
Education for Poverty Alleviation• A New Viewpoint: Document Management(DM)– Operationalizing Literacy– Research Framework– Results• Conclusion: Lessons and Suggestions forDevelopment Assistance1

A Case Study of Non-formal Education for Indigenous
People: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

Literacy Training and Livelihood• Today, literacy is considered as a key
element for better livelihood of individuals
and socioeconomic development of theworld.
• Previous field-oriented literacy studies
have found three facts:– Main and Sub: Literacy component should
be integrated into Livelihood training.
– Targeting Needs: One literacy achievement
doesn’t necessarily lead to another.
– Bolivian Context: Literacy nurtures socialand economic development.
• They may sound reasonable. But is it everappropriate to tackle these issues with theconcept of literacy?

Operationalize Literacy –Document Management Perspective• Problems with Current Literacy Concepts– Too much focus upon letters• Letters are just one particular kind ofvisual symbols on documents.
– Excessive analogy with oral language• Little attention is paid to preservation(filing) and disposal phases of ourdocument uses.

• “Document Management”– Literacy issues actually concern a particularkind of tool-use. We call it Document
Management.

2

A Case Study of Non-formal Education for Indigenous
People: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

Three Symbols on Documents:Figures, Numerals & Letters
180･ ･･ ････ ･････････ ････････････････

160
140

I, II, IV, IX, XIV, XXV, XXXVI,120

Y = X2

1, 2, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81,

100
80
60

one, two, four, nine, sixteen,

40
20
13

710

4

10

When thoughtfully combined, they become powerful toolsof thought, communication and expression.

How are different visual symbols associated on thesurface of each document?

Document Cycles &Document Communities
Preservation

Recording
Reference
DisposalIn the end, smooth circulation of documents is backed up bytrust among people involved. In other words, we form
communities through documents without seeing each other.

Who manage what documents in what way for what?

3

A Case Study of Non-formal Education for Indigenous
People: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

NFE Organizations for Poor Adults
as Weak Document Communities
In addition to scars resources and instabilityof members,• Members are poor at managing documents.
– Weak in handling different visual symbols
flexibly.
– Unaccustomed to managing documents incyclical perspective• Intra-organizational communications arebarely mediated through documents.
The two tend to constitute a vicious cycle.

Research on DM in NFE Organizations(1) Assessment• Two Criteria:– Are convenient and user-friendly
mixes of visual symbols realized fordifferent situations?
– Is the circulation of documents
contributing to the enhancement oftrusty communities and well-being of
their members?

4

A Case Study of Non-formal Education for Indigenous
People: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, BoliviaNakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

Research on DM in NFE Organizations(2) Introduction of Exercises• Introduction of DM Exercises Relevant toOngoing Activities in the Organizations• Constant Monitoring and Quick
Feedbacks for Improvement of DM
Exercises• Long-term Goal: Establishment ofTrusty and Sustainable Document
Communities in/from the Organizations

Why Bolivia,
Why Craft Workshop for Urban Poor?
• Poverty is severe.
– According to Census 2001, 58.6% of the population(4.695.464 people) live in poverty: lacking basic
infrastructures such as water supply, using inadequate
fuels, receiving low level of education…
http://www.ine.gov.bo/#.

• Livelihood skills need document management.
– Illiteracy rate (2001): 13.0%; urban 6.3%, rural 25.2%.

• Non-formal education is appropriate for trying
various DM exercise.
– Target areas are clear.
– Flexible in comparison with FE.

5A Case Study of Non-formal Education for Indigenous
People: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development ForumMarch 24, 2003

Knitting Course of Centro Educativo
Multifuncional, Villa Armonia(CEMVA)
As of the year of 2000:• Monthly tuition fee: 15 Bolivianos (3 US dollars)• Number of the participants: 35, all women• Age (years): 11 ~ 38, mean = 18.7, mode = 16 (6women)• Civil State: married = 13, single = 22
• Languages: Quechua & Spanish• Average of Educational Background (years): = 5.8• Main Daily Activities: Domestic chores• Interests in the Craft Workshop: To acquire craft skills,
School-like atmosphere, to meet friends etc.

• The participants are qualified as “functionallyilliterate” using the ordinary parlance ofdevelopment aid circles.

Investigating Prior DM andRelated Practices• At the start of the research project, mostparticipants had:
– Fair craft skills– High fluency in both Spanish & Quechua– Minimum literacy skills in Spanish– Poor written arithmetic skills– Poor graphic skills– Low quality reference book for knitting– Few sustainable document cycles

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A Case Study of Non-formal Education for IndigenousPeople: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

Introducing DM Exercises• Future Plans• Calendars of Activities in the Workshop• Sociodramas (Role play games ofcommercial transactions with DM)• Editing of a New Hand-Knitting ReferenceBook with Knitting Symbols• Production by Order• Filing of documents made for the above
exercises for reference in the future.

Motto: in a relaxed and casual way
From 1999 to 2001, about 50 people
participated in the exercises in total.

Panorama of DM Exercises
SocialReceipts

OrderSheetsConcreteProductionMemosCalendars

FuturePlansKnittingSymbols

Individual7Abstract

A Case Study of Non-formal Education for Indigenous
People: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

Main Results of DM Exercises (1)• Uneven distribution of skills of, andpreferences for visual symbols among theparticipants– For Future Plans, bipolar distribution of preferences ofrepresentational modes were found: texts or drawings.
– Knitting symbols were quickly picked up. Several nonschooled women even learned them with much interestand showed better understanding than their moreeducated peers are.
– Most learners showed little interest in the instrumental
potential of drawings throughout the DM exercises,
although some already possessed fair drawing skills.
– Few learners did written arithmetic in order to deal
with exercises such as gauge count and price calculations.

Main Results of DM Exercises (2)• Lack of cyclical perspectives in theparticipants’ DM practices– Calendars were barely referred to,although the participants picked up how tofill out and read them quickly.
– Many participants were careless about theminute differences of designs indicated withknitting symbols.
– Filed documents were rarely consulted
after exercises.

8A Case Study of Non-formal Education for IndigenousPeople: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

Main Results of DM Exercises (3)• Most participants continued to mishandle
contractual documents such as receipts
appropriately.
– Confusions of entries: “recibe”(“customer”) and “por concepto de”(“item/description”) were often wrongly filledout.
– Confusions of the roles: receivers ofreceipts often signed them.
– Persistence of confusions: these failuresoccurred repeatedly even though similar
exercises were carried out several times.

Schematic Summary of the Major
Tendencies of the DM Practices of theParticipants in the Knitting Course
SocialReceipts
OrderSheets
Concrete

Production
MemosCalendars

FuturePlans
Knitting
Symbols
Individual

9AbstractA Case Study of Non-formal Education for Indigenous
People: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

Lessons for the Future• Importance of High-quality Documents:
Search best mix(es) for each situation• Starting with the DM Practices Close atHome• Hand-knitting as a Good Entry Point for
Effective DM Practices• Quick Feedback and Constant Repetition• Limitations of DM Exercises (resources &external factors)

Suggestion for Practitioners• DM Perspective as Diagnostic Tool
– What kind of DM practices (“literacy-requiredissues”) are there in a specific livelihoodtraining?
– In which DM practices do the participants
show their skills?

• DM Perspective as Learning Tool
– What type of DM practice is beneficial as well
as appropriate to a specific livelihoodtraining?
– How can we devise participants-friendly DM
exercises which lead to autonomous andsustainable DM cycles by the participants?

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A Case Study of Non-formal Education for Indigenous
People: Enhancement of Document Management Skillsin the Knitting Course near Sucre, Bolivia

Nakamura & Hisamatsu
DC Development Forum
March 24, 2003

A Few Cautious Remarks• There is no ultimate manual on document
management. (There is no perfect document
manager, either.)• DM is an evolutionary process involving
both individual practices and societaltransformations.
• Some of the problems concerning DM
reside at societal level rather than in theincapability of “illiterate” individuals.

Note:
Tentative Definitions of Literate Societies andLiterate People from DM Perspective• Viewing from the DM perspective, what arecalled "mature literate societies" are in facta cluster of various document communities inwhich diverse documents circulate along thelines of their own cycles backed up by norms
and trust among the members.
• The "literate people" are those who canproperly deal with countless documents theymeet everyday (fill out, sign, modify, preserve,
pass on to other people, ignore, throw away,etc.) depending on the contexts and following
the norms and ethics shared by the document
communities they belong to.

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