Working Papers

In India, there is a long tradition of involvement of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the implementation of adult education programmes of the government. There are many NGOs working on improving the conditions of the poor and of non-literate women. However, only a few NGOs are involved in promoting literacy and continuing education among these sections. In general, the efforts of NGOs in promoting womena??s literacy are sporadic, and the scale of their operations has remained very limited. This article examines the curriculum and content of the Jeevan Shala programme of the Self Employed Womena??s Association (SEWA), a prominent developmental organisation working in the western state of Gujarat in India for poor and self-employed women workers. It is based primarily on the review of secondary sources of information and focus group discussions with key project functionaries at various levels and on field visits to two Jeevan Shala centres. The article provides an overview of how SEWA has developed and operationalised the Jeevan Shala curriculum. Jeevan Shala literally means a??life schoola??. For imparting literacy skills and relevant knowledge to its members, SEWA followed an exploratory and participatory approach, based on the learning needs of its members, and action research. However, learners were not involved directly in the process of curriculum development. The Jeevan Shala curriculum and content relate to the everyday life and livelihoods of rural women. Although the Jeevan Shala primers depict women as workers and emphasise their productive role, the content does not question traditional gender roles and the gender division of labour in the family and in society. Observation of the Jeevan Shala classes in progress revealed that vidya gourisa??the instructors and facilitators of the Jeevan Shala centresa??followed the primer-based approach to teaching and used instructional aids and games to facilitate learning. Learners and vidya gouris found the Jeevan Shala primers and support material not only useful for literacy acquisition but also informative.