CULTURE AND THE CHALLANGE OF LITERACY

Literacy which basically is seen as the ability to read, write, speak and enumerate at certain a level in the society, may also be explained in its extension to such other forms as culture. It is in this regard that culture, as a people’s ways of life that have become generally acceptable within a given society, play certain roles in enhancing the literacy of the people. In this paper, with the Igbo culture as case study, an attempt is made to raise the inquisition on perspectives of literacy not only from its modern perception but the traditional. Here, it is not considered based on the ability to interact and communicate using different modern technologies, rather it is an invitation to pursue literacy within the recognition of the observable elements as they are prevalent among the people and their environment. Vygostsky’s Cognitive Development Theory is adopted by the writers to look into the concept of literacy and its challenges. It is therefore intended here to examine how robustly the Igbo culture may be derived in promoting literacy. There is a pertinent tendency towards appreciating how Igbo folklore, proverbs, riddles and jokes, have become channels for the enhancement of literacy. It is to this extent that cultural literacy becomes imperative in all spheres of educational management, planning and implementation.