Intended for trainers of literacy providers and practitioners in the field, this manual explains how to develop a workplace literacy program and market it to employers. Chapter 1 provides an overview and history of workplace literacy and recommends improvements in literacy services. Chapter 2 examines approaches to developing workplace programs,…

This study investigated the degree to which the flexible design of an adult literacy program provided for efficient, effective, and satisfying teacher behavior within the social system of the providing organization. The program was a collaboration of junior high school, business community, community college, and federal agencies intended to…

A survey of volunteer programs in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy instruction in Illinois is reported. The report begins with a review of literature concerning ESL literacy volunteerism, most of which is descriptive and program-specific. The statewide survey results are then summarized, giving an overview of ESL volunteer programming.…

This handbook provides useful information on using the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) standards with English-as-a-Second-or-Other-Language (ESOL) students. The ALBSU standards were developed as the result of the Basic Skills Accreditation Initiative funded by the British Department of Education and Science and the Employment…

This guide for school district administrators answers question about Even Start, a new, special family-centered compensatory education program funded under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 that combines adult literacy, parent education, and early childhood education. The following issues about program design are…

The Army's Basic Skills Education Program (BSEP) was studied to consider whether it was properly designed to determine the basic skills needed in Army jobs and to be effectively implemented. Information and reports on BSEP were reviewed, and three major commands were selected for evaluation. In designing the program, the Army did not identify the…

In the United States, illiterate adults account for 20 percent of citizens over age 16. Yearly, 5 percent of these adults without a high school diploma are enrolled in Adult Basic Education (ABE) courses, which offer few appropriate counseling services. In order to study the counseling services available to ABE students in Maryland, on-site visits…

This book is intended to assist literacy program administrators, coordinators, instructors, and volunteers in the design and implementation of literacy programs for homeless adults. Chapter 1 discusses barriers to instruction when serving homeless adults, including shelter environment, impermanence of location and opportunity, and the effects of…

This guide, designed for teachers and other workers in adult basic education, includes a variety of articles about teaching; counseling, and advocacy approaches; curriculum planning and evaluation, assessment; and program design based on personal experience. All focus on critical thinking as a teaching and learning skill. Article topics include:…

This guide offers ideas for adult literacy curriculum development using a participatory approach. Its intent is not to prescribe a curriculum but to raise issues associated with the varied needs of limited-literacy students and with development of curricula to address these needs. An introductory section discusses how the guide evolved and can be…

This report expands upon a policy resolution passed unanimously at the 53rd Annual Conference of Mayors in 1985. The first part of the report, a policy statement, points out the magnitude of the adult illiteracy problem and of some of the issues involved, and briefly indicates how various segments of society can contribute to a solution. The…

This study reports on the characteristics of selected public libraries into which adult literacy programs have become relatively integrated. The study addresses the following issues (1) the form of leadership in those libraries in which literacy programming has become integrated; (2) the organizational and staff support that promotes library…

When it was discovered that fewer than 75 residents in urban subsidized housing communities were enrolled in the adult programs at Pensacola Junior College, it was decided to develop an outreach program to extend the college's services to 650 illiterate, indigent, and unemployed adults in these communities. The program was operated out of mobile…

This guide addresses issues around organizing learning services for students in ways that make sense for them, and what the research says about it. The focus is on the structure and organization of instruction and how practitioners can broaden the range of options that students have so that classes aren't the only option. This guide provides all…

This paper on assessment in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program for welfare recipients is intended to help administrators of JOBS programs weigh the possible benefits and drawbacks of the assessment choices they must make. Chapter 1 explains why assessment matters to JOBS administrators. Chapter 2 suggests a conceptual framework…