Piloting the Reflect Approach with a Rwandan Potter Community

In contrast with many adult literacy programmes aiming at acquiring reading and writing skills for their only sake, the current pilot study of the Reflect approach to literacy emphasizes two interrelated dimensions namely literacy program and Reflect Groupthink circle. Not only the study intends to equip participants with abilities to write, read and calculate but also to use acquired literacy skills for empowering participants to address efficiently their issues and search solutions by themselves. In this study, the members of Reflect Groupthink circle (members of Potter Community, facilitators and researcher) shared information and ideas on issues they were confronted with (illiteracy, poverty, marginalization and powerlessness, fighting against HIV/AIDS, family planning, etc), identified their roots, set the desired outcomes, defined the resources and opportunities, and took the action in common consensus to generate change. By providing a framework for thinking and building a sense of self-confidence, the Reflect approach to literacy has allowed the participants to assume a central role in the teaching-learning process and to address efficiently the issues affecting their lives