This paper will review the article entitled, "Shopping {For} Power: How Adult Literacy Learners Negotiate" [EJ756994] by authors Julie L. Ozanne, Natalie Ross Adkins, and Jennifer A. Sandlin. The authors argue that functional literacy in the United States is an important issue and needs to play a larger role in adult literacy programs.…

As many as 70 million Americans are functionally or marginally illiterate. Among the consequences: disproportionate numbers of illiterates are unemployed, 50 percent of inmates are illiterate, and illiterate parents are more likely to raise illiterate children. (SK)

Addresses the literacy problem on American labor pool training, and suggests ways to combat the problem. These include: evaluating written/spoken materials for literacy levels, screening prospective employees through reading comprehension tests, and expanding the role of experimental learning (both simulation and reality training). (Author/JEG)

In the last decade many people have questioned the long-range effectiveness of literacy education in America. The response to this discussion about the "literacy crisis" has been the growth of three commonly held generalizations: (1) that in previous eras, Americans enjoyed remarkable levels of literacy; (2) that the role of print has been…

This document, written in the first person, describes the history and feelings of a woman who was functionally illiterate as an adult but who, having learned to read, is now a student at Rancho Santiago Community College District in Orange, California. This "open letter" urges teachers to support and encourage students with similar problems,…

Examines various approaches that have been taken to promote literacy and makes a plea for more research to clarify issues that will permit more useful definitions of literacy and more productive approaches to developing and enhancing literacy among youth and adults. (HOD)

The message about general literacy standards in Canada (as reported in the Southam Literacy Survey) is that approximately five million Canadians are illiterate. The validity of this message must be challenged because a group of middle-class Canadians with middle-class values established the criteria for being "literate" and felt that all…

Describes how the work of modern poets can expand adult learners' views of the uses of reading and writing and their own ability and specifically shows how the works of Carl Sandburg, Lucille Clifton, William Carlos Williams, and Langston Hughes can be used to teach adults to read. (SRT)

The author suggests that the specification of common literacy demands that are valid on the societal level, that is, which are applicable and meaningful to diverse adults living in diverse environments, is an impossible task. He further suggests that the development of a valid and uniform national curriculum for functional literacy is equally…

There should not be a split between literacy of function (ability to deal with institutional procedures) and literacy of voice (expression of knowledge and experience). Acquiring functional literacy often involves voicing experience as well as questioning institutional power. Teachers and students should collaborate in bridging the gap. (SK)

Illiteracy, the inability to communicate or receive information through the medium of print, has not been dealt with effectively by society, yet it is estimated that there are 23 million illiterate adults in America. Two major problems exist: diagnosing illiteracy, and attracting illiterate adults to adult literacy programs. With the development…

Literacy Volunteers of America is described as a grassroots effort that has grown to national proportions. An overview of its development and case studies of library literacy projects in various states are provided, and recommendations are made for continued and future library participation in the literacy effort. (EM)

An analysis is provided of the belief that theories developed about literacy within different academic disciplines and development campaigns have been built around contradictory assumptions. The conclusion is made that research is needed in order to make literacy instruction more functional in adult literacy programs. (109 references) (GLR)

Argues that the obligatory nature of functional literacy does not deprive the individual freedom of thought and opinion, and that voluntarism in basic adult education in the United States has greatly contributed to putting the nation at risk and to keeping it a nation at risk. (HOD)

Reports on the extent of illiteracy in the United States and explores various definitions of literacy. (GT)