Workplace-based educational programs are not new. Recent perceptions of a national literacy crisis and the need for a competitive workforce, however, have resulted in the development of new programs across the country, many of which provide literacy and language training for nonnative English speakers. This digest focuses on the reasons for…

This digest discusses Language Across the Curriculum (LAC), an approach to teaching language that works with faculty in other content areas to identify the specific vocabulary and genres that students need in order to function effectively in another language in their respective disciplines. LAC also draws from the content-based approach to…

The Freirean approach to adult literacy education bases the content of language lessons on learners' cultures and personal experiences. This approach has been used in the developing world in successful native and second language literacy projects sponsored by governments and voluntary organizations in both urban and rural settings. The two most…

This digest focuses on foreign language instruction at the middle school level. In general, middle school foreign language programs have received relatively little attention. However, the increased emphasis within the field on longer sequences of instruction, combined with the conversion of junior high schools to middle schools has necessitated a…

This document reviews the history of compensatory education programs under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (Chapter 1), assesses the programs' current status, and speculates on their future paths. Part 1 is a historical review of compensatory education, identifying strategies, programs and services provided, ways it has been…

This fact sheet examines several issues in counselor and counseling program accountability. Issues in counselor accountability include credentialing, professional disclosure, documentation of activities, and linkage with outcomes. Program accountability issues involve stakeholders, availability of resources, documentation of activities, linkage…

Labor unions have provided English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction in the workplace since the early 1900s, to serve a growing immigrant workforce. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, an increase in immigrant population, decline in manufacturing jobs, new technology, and work restructuring brought a new urgency to union-sponsored worker…

Teachers' and developers' descriptions of intergenerational literacy programs for immigrants are collected here. Topics addressed include appropriate program design, the quality of intergenerational collaboration, student journals, learner-centered curriculum design, traditional and personal storytelling as a literacy approach, education and…

This digest discusses the scope of practice of the secondary school counselor in today's school, citing Norman Gysbers' Comprehensive Guidance Program Model as an approach to developmental counseling which empowers counselors to define their own scope of practice, and thereby effectively address the needs of their students. (TE)

Peer counseling is defined and the rationale for using peer counselors is given in this factsheet. A discussion of the history and research on peer counseling is followed by a list of successful peer counseling program foundations. Other sections discuss the operating components of selection, training, supervision, and evaluation. The professional…

A discussion of family and intergenerational programs promoting literacy reviews selected research, current policies, goals, models for program design, and curriculum approaches. Research informing both family and intergenerational literacy programs includes early research on literacy in school-age children and more recently, studies of literacy…

Students of foreign language are being encouraged to learn and use a broad range of language learning strategies that can be tapped throughout the learning process. This approach is based on the belief that learning will be facilitated by making students aware of the range of strategies from which they can choose during language learning and use.…

Ethnography is a research approach that seeks to understand and represent the points of view of the members of a particular culture. As in other forms of qualitative research, the data collected are rich in their descriptions of people, places, languages, and events. Ethnographic research can be characterized by its multi-instrumental approach,…

This fact sheet presents an overview of problems in designing comprehensive guidance programs and a rationale for a new direction. Five guidelines for a new comprehensive program are discussed: (1) build on existing program; (2) use teamwork approach; (3) identify desired student outcomes; (4) plan program activities related to outcomes; and (5)…

Possible threats and promises perceived by counselors when computers are introduced into the counseling field are examined in this fact sheet. Computer-assisted counseling and computer-managed counseling are discussed. A seven-step model for designing a "hi-tech" counseling program is presented. (NB)