Adult education's mission is a critical one. It seeks to provide the large and diverse population of adults who lack basic skills, a high school credential, or English language skills with the competencies they need to be productive workers, family members, and citizens. Federally funded adult education serves learners in three types of programs:…

A survey of adult basic education teachers in Georgia revealed that their socioeconomic, ethnic, and educational backgrounds were related to the degree of emphasis they gave to nontraditional curricular areas such as health and consumer education, ethnic heritage, and life-coping skills. (SK)

In the fall of 1993, a study was begun on how adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) students reacted to working in groups. The research was conducted through a joint vocational school's ABLE program using three target groups at two of its ABLE centers. The groups met two times per week and were facilitated by three different teachers. More…

A study was conducted at a program in rural southwest Virginia to determine whether Head Start parents and adult basic education/high school equivalency program students use critical thinking skills. More than 50 definitions of critical thinking were collected, and Bloom's Taxonomy was reviewed for background information. The teachers' manual for…

The Center for Adult Education at Miami-Dade Community College (Florida) conducted a project to design a training program for adult basic education (ABE) instructors focusing on the specific skills and generic competencies that were associated with instructor success. The best source of information about the elements that constituted a successful…

An investigation was conducted of the implementation of a new orientation procedure for adult basic education students in 17 classes spread throughout three rural counties and one city in the Dublin, Virginia, area. The new orientation procedure was contained in a guide that called for teachers to implement it in five consecutive class periods.…

A study examined issues of teacher professionalization within adult literacy education. Relevant research and theory on professionalization were reviewed, the historical experiences of other professional fields were examined, data on state certification requirements for adult basic education (ABE) teachers were analyzed, officials from states…

The Workplace Literacy Skills and Training Inventory was created as a needs assessment instrument to determine existing programs and services and current needs at workplace sites. Subjects were 64 representatives from businesses in Greene County, Ohio, randomly selected from the yellow pages. The framework for the inventory consisted of 16 skills…

To ascertain current status of academic library services to support literacy education, a survey was conducted using 20 pairs of community college and four-year college libraries in eight eastern states. Results revealed that all colleges in sample have literacy-related programs and that nearly all programs received library support. (11…

A project was undertaken to help low-literate Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) members develop the reading and writing skills needed to participate fully in AA/NA programs. A training program consisting of three 1.5-hour-long sessions and accompanying training guidelines were developed and used to train 21 student and 7 tutor…

A study was conducted to explore the interrelationship of library and literacy education programs of the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), and to identify the nature of library involvement in the accomplishment of the literacy education mission of the 58-member organization of two-year institutions. Students enrolled in the…

This report presents selected data on adults' participation in educational activities in the United States, excluding full-time only enrollments in college/university or vocational/technical credential programs, over a 12-month period from 2004-05. Historically, full-time only participation in postsecondary (college and vocational) programs has…

Research shows that developing a curriculum model for senior adult education requires consideration of at least four important factors: (1) the heterogeneous nature of the senior adult population; (2) their specific information and interest needs; (3) the specific nature of the learning activities; and (4) the specific barriers and facilitators…

A study was conducted to assess the opinions of Ohio public school superintendents about the issues of (1) the mission of public schools regarding adult education; (2) the nature of adult education funding; and (3) the benefits accrued to the local school district as a result of adult education programs. A survey form was developed and mailed to…

This document is the result of a consulting program that sought to identify ways in which institutions and individuals in the United States could be of greatest assistance to the education system of the new nation of Namibia, with particular attention to higher education. The report outlines the educational legacy of Namibia's colonial history,…