MUSEUMS, COMMUNICATION AND LITERACY: THE EDUCATION PROGRAMME AT THE IZIKO SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM, CAPE TOWN.

In post-apartheid South Africa museums have been challenged with the need to transform. This was done in various ways, in exhibition displays and education. Post 1994 one of the challenges facing the museum profession included a high illiteracy rate amongst adults in the country. The Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town took up this challenge by initiating and running an adult literacy programme using the museum displays. Since South Africa has a very high illiteracy rate, the museum was chosen as a site for teaching literacy, using the collections and displays as source material for teaching. In this paper the educational programmes and materials that were produced as part of this adult literacy programme are highlighted and discussed. Museums are primarily regarded as vital educational institutions and such museum education should be located within communication theory which has, over time, evolved from a transmission model of communication to one where the receiver of the message is no longer considered an empty vessel to be filled with information but is able to interpret the message that is communicated via prior knowledge. It is emphasised that museums are multimodal and that they communicate through objects, written texts, artefacts and images. As educational institutions they can be used creatively to further literacy education for adult learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]