Everything, yet nothing: Interpretations of foundational literacy and numeracy among frontline actors in India

This study shows how vague policy goals around foundational literacy and numeracy in India are interpreted narrowly by actors during implementation. It demonstrates how ambiguous policy language can turn ambitious reforms into routine, add-on tasks rather than substantive change.

Under review

Abstract

Amid growing concern over a global learning crisis, foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) has become a central policy priority in low- and middle-income countries. Despite its widespread adoption, FLN remains loosely defined, and little is known about how it is understood by actors responsible for implementation. This paper examines how frontline policy actors in India interpret FLN following the launch of a major national policy initiative. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 52 teachers, principals, and middle-tier bureaucrats across two states, alongside observations of their day-to-day activities, policy meetings, and trainings, the study applies a policy sensemaking lens to analyze how FLN is defined, interpreted, and discussed in practice.

The findings show that ambiguity in global and national policy texts translates into narrow understandings of FLN among frontline actors, centered on reading fluency and procedural arithmetic. Beyond definitions, FLN is predominantly interpreted in form-focused ways, emphasizing activities, materials, and teaching aids rather than pedagogical purpose or subject-specific learning. Consequently, FLN reforms are enacted as an additional set of tasks layered onto existing literacy and numeracy practice rather than as an instructional reorientation. The paper argues that FLN functions as a floating signifier, mobilizing consensus while masking interpretive incoherence, and highlights the importance of attending to frontline sensemaking in learning-focused education reforms in LMICs.