International Journal of Educational Development 23 (2003) 17–36 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedudev Development and evaluation of an adult literacy program in Turkey A.Y. Durgunog ˘lu a,* , B. O ¨ ney b , H. Kus ¸cul c a University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA b Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA c Mother Child Education Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey Abstract In this paper, we discuss the Functional Adult Literacy Program (FALP) that we have developed in Turkey. FALP, which is taught by volunteer instructors, focuses on individuals who have had very little or no schooling. The two evaluation studies of the first three cohorts of the program indicate that FALP is significantly more effective than the existing programs in developing word recognition and reading comprehension. However, the longevity of the gains depended on the initial levels of the participants and the extent of literacy use after the course was over. On the basis of the evaluation data and our observations, we discuss the implications for adult literacy programs in general.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Literacy; International education; Development; Curriculum; Evaluation 1. Introduction Literacy is a crucial life skill, which enables individuals to participate more fully in the prac- tices of their community (Abadzi, 1995). However, there are dramatic differences in literacy levels observed around the world, such as between developed and developing countries and between males and females (Ramdas 1989, 1990). Because literacy levels are assumed to reflect the quality of the human capital in a society—thus having impli- cations for economic growth—there is continuing interest in adult education and literacy (Fuller et * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-218-726-6885; fax: +1- 218-726-7186. E-mail address: adurguno@d.umn.edu (A.Y. Durgunog ˘lu). 0738-0593/03/$ - see front matter  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0738-0593(01)00050-5 al., 1986; Wagner, 1986). Female literacy is parti- cularly related to the status of a country’s health. For example, 1–3 years of maternal schooling is associated with a 15% reduction in infant mortality rates (Greaney, 1996; but see Hobcraft, 1993 for a contradictory finding). As Ballara (1992) summar- ized, to reduce infant mortality, a one percent increase in women’s literacy levels is three times more effective than a one percent increase in the number of doctors. Increasing literacy levels have also been shown to correlate with reduced fertility rates, and child malnourishment, as well as better participation in the political decision processes of a community and economic development (Ballara, 1992; Greaney, 1996). Consequently, there have been many national campaigns and large-scale efforts to increase the literacy levels, for example in India, Tanzania,