Adult education's mission is a critical one. It seeks to provide the large and diverse population of adults who lack basic skills, a high school credential, or English language skills with the competencies they need to be productive workers, family members, and citizens. Federally funded adult education serves learners in three types of programs:…

Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 directs the federal government to conduct a national assessment of adult education, including activities to understand the extent to which adult education strategies positively affect learners. A systematic review of the research on the effectiveness of particular strategies in adult…

This technical assistance paper provides guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. These policies apply to the approved assessments that programs may use to report educational gains in compliance with the National Reporting System (NRS) requirements. The NRS is the accountability system for the…

Shifting Gears was launched in 2007 by the Joyce Foundation, a Chicago-based organization focused on improving the quality of life of citizens residing in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The primary goal of Shifting Gears is to increase the number of low-skilled, low-income Midwestern adults who obtain college-level occupational…

Adult English language learners comprise a substantial proportion of the adult education population in the United States. In program year 2006-2007, 46% of participants enrolled in state-administered adult education programs were in English as a second language (ESL) classes. This percentage does not include English language learners enrolled in…

The two parts of this book consider two main facets of nonformal curriculum development: theory and practice. Part I on nonformal curriculum theory has four chapters. Chapter 1 addresses the origins, meaning, purpose, and scope of nonformal education. Chapter 2 examines three major themes in discussions on nonformal education: nonformal education…

An "orientation" checklist is proposed to aid the adult basic education (ABE) teacher in preparing for instruction. The list reflects a number of issues teachers should consider carefully before meeting with students. The issues concern (1) information about the learners and their characteristics and needs that can be taken into account in…

This guide is intended to be used as a companion to "The Competitive Edge: Sharpening Your Skills in the Workplace" curricular materials--the student editions and instructors' guides. It can also stand alone as a reference for individuals just starting to implement or beginning to plan a workplace skills enhancement program in their organization.…

This document provides information about five adult basic education (ABE) staff development programs that illustrate the use of the principles identified in a research report. (The 70 principles and 39 corresponding techniques relate to planning and conducting training for ABE teachers and other staff.) Each of these staff development projects…

In addition to the lead article by Andrew Hanssen, Steven Kozlow, and Anne Olsen, this publication contains the following articles related to communications in developing nations: (1) "World Communications Year, 1983"; (2) "Field Research in Botswana Leads to More Relevant Media Production," by Chris Garforth; (3) "Kenya…

This practitioner's guide was developed for instructors in schools and business and industry who need to gather materials and design, develop, and implement job-specific basic skills programs. It provides a practical model for establishing cost-effective basic skills and literacy programs. It also provides practical advice about how to use the…

These two documents are products of a project to improve the capability of the Pennsylvania Regional Staff Development Centers to provide current, research-based workplace literacy training and technical assistance to adult basic and literacy education programs. The final report describes these project activities: development of training materials…

The manual is intended for training workshops on program and curriculum development for the post-literacy stages, since many countries successful in literacy work find that even greater challenges await them as erstwhile illiterates emerge from literacy classes as new literates. The emphasis is on programs and curricula to help new literates…

This guide is designed to assist unions, companies, and educational providers in analyzing the educational needs of workers and employers and in developing effective workplace literacy and workplace education programs to meet those needs. It is based on the success of Project ELI (Education, Labor, and Industry). An introduction defines terms.…

Originally designed to serve 400 employees, the Mott Community College (MCC) Workplace Literacy Project provided instruction in basic workplace skills to 566 employees from 20 companies. The cost was 2 percent lower than projected. All participants were assessed and counseled on the basis of the assessment tests. Individualized training plans were…