Sokolowski (2000) summarized the phenomenological attitude by saying, "We look at what we normally look through" (p. 50). Through interviews and document analysis, this study looked at the lives of six students and their decision to return to their education to earn a high school diploma. The purpose of this study was to illuminate how…

Life for uneducated women involves contending with myriad barriers to economic self-sufficiency. The average income for individuals without at least a high school diploma or GED is about $18,734. That income level falls close to the poverty line established by the federal government for a family of three or more. Further compounding the problem…

A survey of dropouts from a workplace General Educational Development class received 37 responses (33%). The highest rated deterrent to participation was time constraints; clique members were more affected by this factor than were isolates. Males had higher dropout rates and they considered the program a lower personal priority than did females.…

The Bethlehem Area Chamber of Commerce (Pennsylvania) developed a model network of nine Lehigh Valley Chambers of Commerce and two literacy coalitions to improve the literacy levels of a two-county area work force. A literacy coordinator conducted the following activities: (1) publicized program provider information; (2) encouraged company-based…

In 1998, Rio Salado College in Tempe, Arizona, established a transition program to help students in General Educational Development (GED) test preparation and English-for-Speakers-of-Other-Languages (ESOL) classes make a successful transition to community college. As of the end of the transition program's second year, it had developed into an…

The U.S. military has made numerous important contributions to the development of adult and continuing education. As in civilian adult education, military innovations in education have consistently used workplace learning. The educational benefits produced by the GI Bill democratized education by exploding the myth that "common" people…

Most of the job losses that occurred in New York City after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center occurred in low-wage jobs held by lower-skilled workers. Many of those affected faced multiple obstacles limiting their employment prospects, including limited literacy and English language skills and a lack of "connections" to…