Suggests that the appropriateness of a methodology for the study of adult literacy programs be determined by assessing the extent to which the methodology speaks to the information needs and context complexity involved. (JOW)

Literacy and illiteracy are cultural; the need to read, to write, and to compute comes from values placed on these functions by the cultural or social group in which one lives. They are also intergenerational. This intergenerational factor should be turned around so that parents transmit literacy to children. Illiteracy is also costly to society…

Defines functional illiteracy and offers statistics on the prevalence of illiteracy among various groups in the United States. Advocates a central role for community colleges in linking programs and resources addressing illiteracy, acknowledging constraints limiting the colleges' ability to combat the problem. (DMM)

The arguments for the monitoring and evaluation of adult literacy and basic education programs are no different from those justifying monitoring and evaluation of any other educational program. The priority and status accorded different programs are likely to determine commitment to their internal and external evaluation and the form that these…

Teachers adapt and supplement a basic text to make up for inadequacies and to enrich, reinforce, and emphasize. One authority suggests these steps for adapting materials: assess and evaluate student needs and survey existing materials, decide what should be deleted or added, compile a list of potential uses of language and supply the means by…

This monograph contains four papers based on a series of lectures delivered to graduate students and faculty at Northern Illinois University between 1976 and 1979. Robert Carlson examines European adult education, especially such issues as emphasis on job training over liberal education, the danger that adult education will become a method of…

A review of literature and work with focus groups shows that, although adult education has always focused on helping undereducated adults prepare for work, since the early 1990s there has been emphasis on work force development (helping prepare the work force and get them into rewarding productive jobs) and workplace (organizational) change. A…

The Taunton, Massachusetts, Literacy Corps (TLC) is a small adult literacy education program run by a part-time director using volunteer tutors. The program has always been hampered by a shortage of funds. There are often long waiting lists for persons needing tutors because funds are inadequate to recruit, train, and manage the number of…

Addressed to professionals involved in program evaluation, this working paper covers various aspects of evaluation planning, including the following: planning as a sociotechnical process, steps in evaluation planning, program planning and implementation versus evaluation planning and implementation, the literacy system and its subsystems, and some…

The process of developing indicators, measures, and standards of program quality can be considered a tiered, four-step process consisting of the following: (1) identification of topic areas important to program quality; (2) establishing the indicators that reflect quality for each area; (3) determining measures of the indicators; and (4) setting a…

Seventeen hearings on the reauthorization of the Adult Education Act were conducted throughout the country by the National Council on Adult Education during fiscal year 1981, according to the Council's annual report. From testimony gathered from adult educators, other human service professionals, clients, elected officials, appointed…

In the light of recent initiatives, new questions have arisen regarding the federal role in literacy. Although federal adult literacy efforts have been ineffective, the link between literacy and the productivity of the work force may justify a stronger national investment in literacy. Among the major federally supported literacy programs are the…

This document contains transcripts of testimony and written materials presented by four persons at a Congressional hearing on illiteracy. Testimony was given by Gerald L. Baliles, Governor of Virginia; James E. Duffy, vice president, Capital Cities/ABC; Karl O. Haigler, director of the Adult Literacy Initiative, U.S. Department of Education; and…

Ideally, the total adult basic education (ABE) staff--administrators, support staff, and instructors--promote recruitment and retention activities. To aid recruitment the total staff should become well known in the community and work closely with community groups, provide tours and an open house, offer student orientation, recruit honestly and…

This handbook is intended for teachers new to adult basic education (ABE) programs and attempts to cover concepts of adult learning and the role of the educator as facilitator and resource for self-directed learners. Background information is provided concerning the phenomenon of illiteracy with discussions of basic principles (particularly…