Since schooling and literacy are integral to culture and society, it i
s important to understand peoples' perceptions of conditions affecting
literacy development and how conditions of schooling change across ti
me. The focus of the research on which this article is based was exami
ning such perceptions of people representing different generational an
d literacy levels. There was greater variation in response from a gene
rational dimension than from a literacy dimension. The study points up
the importance of identifying the many stakeholders in education and
in making provision for them to influence school policy and curriculum
decisions.