With the advent of the UN Literacy Decade launched in 2003, there is increased emphasis on monitoring and evaluation of adult literacy around the globe. The present paper presents an overview of the main approaches that have been taken to measure adult literacy within and across countries. A particular focus of the present review is to compare and…

Describes the Chinese effort to eliminate adult illiteracy. The author discusses purposes of adult education, history of adult literacy education, adult illiteracy statistics, the design of literacy education, curriculum construction, teaching methods, evaluation of the literacy education process, impact of literacy education, and implications of…

Presents Botswana's experience with a national literacy program as a model for the understanding of policies and implementation of national literacy programs. Concludes that, although the Botswana National Literacy Programme represents a significant effort in adult literacy education, a rapid increase in the literacy rate is unlikely. (KO)

The articles in this issue are mainly concerned with how to reach the poorest and most disadvantaged sections of the population and how best to help once contact has been made. "Nijera Kori in Retrospect: In Search of an Organization of the Rural Poor" (Mohiuddin Ahmad) provides extracts from an evaluation of this grassroots,…

A model program was developed to find ways to bring illiterate and undereducated adults into Massachusetts adult education programs. Prospective program clients (young adults) who will be identified by such organizations and agencies as schools, courts, welfare offices, and veterans and civic groups will be contacted by outreach workers to…

The Beginning with Books project distributed 1,000 free packets of children's books to disadvantaged families, and questionnaires showed favorable effects on literacy activities and family reading patterns. The program is now affiliated with the Pittsburgh public library, and a new literacy program is aimed at children in families of adults who…

Bhasin argues for a clear and scientific analysis of the structure of poverty and exploitation that keeps Indian women illiterate, unequal, hungry, and ill. Ellis explores ways of linking women's issues with adult, nonformal, and literacy education to help women meet the challenges of development. (CT)

In its third year of funding, Project VITAL (Volunteers In Training Act and Learn) was designed to provide literacy training to 500 librarians, coordinators, and volunteers working in literacy programs. Through the techniques of improvisational theater, structured scenarios were enacted dealing with illiteracy, women's concerns of domestic…

The Native Language Arts English as a Second Language Program for Optional Assignment Pupils in New York City was designed for economically disadvantaged students whose native language was not English and whose ability to read and write in English and, in some cases their own tongue was not adequate to permit them any degree of success in school.…

Through the Jefferson County Adult Reading Project, 293 students functioning at a 3.9 reading level and below attended reading classes. Test results demonstrated the growth in educational advancement while retention rates and growing enrollment showed other measures of success in the project components. The Word Identification, Word Attack, and…

Through the 1979-80 Jefferson County Adult Reading Project, 508 students functioning at a 5.9 reading level and below attended reading classes. Test results demonstrated the growth in educational advancement while retention rates and growing enrollment showed other measures of success in the project components. Recruitment techniques used were…

The project, conducted in five Alabama counties, was concerned with identifying and recruiting nonreading young adults and providing home-based instruction to those who could not attend adult basic education classes. Paraprofessionals and volunteers were recruited and trained in order to meet this objective. As of May 31, 1975, over 40 community…

This document describes the rationale and the strategy of the new United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Initiative for literacy: LIFE. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) is designed as a global strategic framework through which national governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil…

The California Human Development Corporation's Rural Workplace Literacy Project (RWLP) provided migrant and seasonal farmworkers with on-site workplace literacy training designed to enhance their ability to develop job skills. During 1990-91, it provided literacy classes at 15 agricultural worksites and enrolled 282 farmworkers. Of students…

This issue of Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education Courier Service focuses on communications within the region. The first paper discusses development and communication and the training needs for workers in these areas. The next two items briefly address how broadcasting for nonformal education is being approached in Indonesia, which…