Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the attitudes, knowledge and skills of District Literacy Coordinators (DLCs) in Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and Manicaland Provinces of Zimbabwe, with a view to determining their training needs. A descriptive survey design using data collection instruments involving face-to-face interviews and questionnaires was adopted. Thirty conveniently sampled DLCs participated in the study. The findings established that while the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture still recognized the services of the DLCs who were recruited during the 1980’s and 1990’s, these had gradually become disillusioned with the literacy programme due to lack of motivation by the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, lack of a clear career path and poor remuneration. The study findings also indicated that the DLCs did not show credible knowledge and skills of approaches originally commensurate with those used in such literacy programmes elsewhere. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture conducts training workshops on attitude change and employs professionally qualified Adult Educators as Administrators in the Non-Formal Education Division.

Key words: Adult literacy, literacy coordinator, attitudes, skills, knowledge.