National and international studies such as the recent Survey of Adult Skills provide strong evidence of the need for and economic value of adult basic skills (ABS). Although ABS program evaluation and accountability reports typically show small gains for program participants in test scores and other outcomes, these studies rarely include…

The Accelerating Opportunity initiative helps our nation's lowest-skilled adults earn college credentials and enter higher-wage jobs faster by combining the Adult Basic Education and career and technical training they need into one integrated curriculum. Based on four years of designing and managing Accelerating Opportunity, Jobs for the Future…

The United States faces an increasing gap between the skills possessed by its workforce and those that are necessary to succeed in the 21st century economy. This gap poses a threat to the financial wellbeing of low-skilled American workers and their families and to the nation's long-term economic growth. Recognizing the threat posed by these…

Thirty-five years after independence the Mozambican illiteracy rate has been reduced from 93% to just over 50% according to official statistics. Although this indicates an enormous achievement in the area of education, the challenge of today still is to design appropriate adult basic education programmes including literacy, numeracy and life…

This article examines the conflicts and challenges that student leaders in adult basic education and literacy programs experience in balancing their leadership responsibilities with academic endeavours. Based upon a case study of an adult basic education student leadership council in New York City, the article shows that leadership activities can…

This paper deals with specific characteristics of elders,1 bearing in mind both their cognitive and their non-cognitive aspects. Regarding their way of learning, the paper refers to basic principles for this group of people: active learning, situational analysis, their experience, awareness that they have--and need--specific time and rhythm for…

Wichita, incorporated in 1870 as a village, is the largest city in Kansas. Its population has increased continually. During the 1970s and 1980s, there was a huge influx of refugees into Wichita. In this article, the author discusses the growth of adult basic education in Wichita and relates stories of several adult basic education students.…

THIS SEMINAR WAS CONCERNED WITH TECHNIQUES OF BASIC ADULT EDUCATION, BROAD POLICY, AND LEGISLATION. TOPICS OF ADDRESSES INCLUDED CANADIAN FACTS AND FIGURES, FRONTIER COLLEGE, ELLIOT LAKE CENTRE, LEASIDE EDUCATION ASSISTANCE PROJECT, INDIAN AFFAIRS, ADULT EDUCATION IN CALGARY, METROPOLITAN EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION ASSOCIATION, TECHNICAL AND…

This report examines the various adult basic skills programs in operation in California, and explores program funding and structure, enrollment and demographics, and to the extent data allow, program outcomes. This measure is presented as part of the Commission's Performance Accountability Framework for California postsecondary education. Among…

America is becoming a less educated nation (National Commission on Adult Literacy, 2008). While this is frequently measured through comparisons of the number of adults with college degrees, strategies to address sagging educational attainment statistics in the United States are typically focused on K-12 reforms--mostly through expanded definitions…

Basically a report on an inservice training program designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the adult basic education program in Chicago, the report also details the problem of over-lapping jurisdiction of social agencies and the results of inservice meetings. Following the article is a nine-page explanation of a revised inservice…

Colleges and universities are discovering a boom in part-time, nontraditional, off-campus adult education. (PG)

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)

This paper reports on the findings of a small qualitative research project that examined the experiences of a group of adult learners attending a basic skills programme in the English Midlands during the late 1990s. It explores patterns of participation on such programmes and illustrates that early life course experiences can shape changing…

A model for adult basic education (ABE) programs is presented in which emphasis is placed on the needs of the community for skills and labor supply rather than upon the internal needs of the individual. Eight variables over which the educator (including administration) has some control are delineated and strategies by which learning opportunities…