The globalization of business has influenced the development of customized, job-specific workplace literacy programs. Work-centered participatory literacy receives support from both business and labor and additional impetus from the National Literacy Act of 1991. The worker of the future will be a thinking and communicating problem solver. The…

A study was conducted to determine what was happening in literacy programs as a result of the major welfare reform law passed in 1996, and whether basic skills instruction was part of the solution. A nationwide search for exemplary programs that are using basic skills instruction as a fundamental component of assisting welfare recipients in moving…

This review attempts to clarify adult education's role in moving individuals from welfare to work. Part 1 reviews research on this role, job prospects for low-skilled workers, and literacy requirements of workplaces. Part 1 reports these findings: the likelihood of being on welfare goes up as literacy goes down; a labor force attachment approach…

This two-part document reports the results of a literature review of workplace literacy program evaluation and then details a study of two current workplace literacy programs. The five chapters of the first part summarize findings on what is known about workplace literacy programs, methods for evaluating workplace literacy programs, assessing…

The United States confronts the problem of a large and growing prison population, the majority of which is insufficiently literate. Added to the general effects of educational disability are the marginalizing factors of ethnicity, class, socioeconomic deprivation, and other handicaps. Historically, the situation in prison literacy is 150 years of…

The program goal of family literacy is to use early intervention to break the cycle of illiteracy perpetuated by parents' undereducation. This paper describes family literacy as a dropout prevention strategy that should be most heavily concentrated on the prenatal through 8-year-old child; a child ready for school is less likely to become a…

Drawing upon published research, reports, and critical analyses, this paper examines the major issues involved in helping private business and industry face the challenge of effectively training limited-English-proficient (LEP) employees. The literature review is part of a larger project that is developing nine demonstration private…

This document explores selected issues related to connecting welfare reform initiatives and the literacy movement and provides basic information about literacy education and its economic impact. Literacy is defined, and similarities and differences between adult basic education, adult secondary education, and English-as-a-Second-Language programs…

This document introduces community leaders and practitioners to innovative approaches to improving workforce literacy by building accessible lifelong learning systems to prepare adults with the array of skills needed to prosper in the new economy. The introduction defines literacy and workforce literacy and outlines the challenges that education,…

This document profiles 10 successful experiences in nonformal education (NFE) programs across Africa. Common features of the programs profiled are as follows: (1) provide educational opportunities for those who have missed out on formal education; (2) show evidence of learners' acquisition of competencies for work and survival; (3) demonstrate…