The TOSTAN Basic Education Program is an 18-month program developed to improve the educational situation of villagers, particularly women, in Senegal, West Africa. This program was developed over a 10-year period by a team of villagers and American and African nonformal education specialists. TOSTAN's goals are to contribute to the reduction of illiteracy, to help the population achieve self-development through the use of adapted educational materials, and to offer a sustainable national basic education program that could be used as a model by other organizations and countries.

Because women are both the main caregivers in the Senegalese family and the least educated group in the society, the TOSTAN program was adapted to their needs. Most village women had never been to school and were rarely exposed to letters and numbers. Now the women are taught how to read and write through a design that is relevant to them, and they more easily master skills for problem solving, management, group dynamics, and leadership. As the women initiate timesaving and income-producing projects, their children do not have as much work and have more time for learning activities. Women also become models for their children, particularly for their daughters, as learning becomes an integral part of their daily routine.

The TOSTAN Program Content

The content was developed using a whole language approach with constant reference to the basic needs of Senegalese villagers. This approach suited these villagers because it started with stories of relevant experiences gathered by the researchers during the development process. Six modules were devised.

Module 1: Problem-solving skills; basic reading and writing skills; introduction of addition and subtraction.

Module 2: Technical information about the transmission of germs and the positive effects of good personal and village hygiene; analysis of sentences, words, syllables, and certain letters of the texts; basic addition and subtraction as well as large numbers.

Module 3: Health information relating to the two major causes of death in children under 5 years old; dehydration and illnesses resulting from lack of immunization; addition and subtraction with carry-over.

Module 4: Financial and material management; analysis of the letters of the alphabet; multiplication.

Module 5: Leadership and group dynamics; reflection on traditional leadership within the culture.

Module 6: Decision-making skills to create income-generating or other types of projects for their village.

Through the use of these modules, the TOSTAN Program offered a quality comprehensive education program with an integrated approach to learning that was accessible to women learners, and could be used by other organizations and African countries.

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