This study examined African American students' persistence rates in an adult basic education and literacy (AEL) program by juxtaposing teacher disposition that predicts student retention in an AEL program with an AEL Integrated Education and Training program (IET) as a predictor of student success. The Teacher Attribute Survey was administered to…

This paper reports findings from a researcher-practitioner partnership (2015-18) that examined how adult education providers in Chicago, Houston, and Miami are designing and implementing career pathways (CP) programming, particularly for immigrants and adults with limited education. This Institute of Education Sciences-funded study was the first…

Given the changes made to the GED® test in 2014, one concern among state policy makers, adult educators, and GED® service providers has been the impact of these changes on students as well as teachers, staff, volunteers, and other GED® program stakeholders. Using a qualitative, case study research approach focused on one GED® test preparation site…

Although adult educators espouse values such as inclusion and ownership, adult learners seldom play a substantive role in programmatic decision making. This collaborative research project explored family literacy participants' experiences in their program's parent advisory council (PAC). The study shows that involvement in the PAC enhanced program…

A literature review shows lack of consensus in defining adult education and rejection of the application of the traditional model of professionalism to adult basic education (ABE). Carl Rogers' concept of substituting realization for professionalization, as well as the literature of staff preservice and inservice training, can help practitioners…

The study, an attempt to determine the overall effectiveness of the educational experiences provided at the Adult Basic Education regional workshops in Tennessee, used a questionnaire to gather demographic data and participant reaction to various facets of the workshops and an evaluation scale to obtain overall participant reaction to the…

The 25 years since the establishment of the adult basic education (ABE) program have seen a renewed focus on adult illiteracy in federal legislation. Four trends or models for the future of ABE have emerged: service to target populations, programs with an employment focus, professionalization of ABE educators, and widely spread, nonintensive…

A study examined the effectiveness and replicability of staff training programs provided by the Northern New England Social Action Theater (NNESAT), whose touring component travels around the country promoting the use of improvisational theater as a means of training all levels of literacy practitioners. Questionnaires were administered at 13…

A study examined the feasibility of requiring and delivering certification for adult basic education (ABE) teachers in Pennsylvania. During the project, researchers mailed survey instruments to state directors of adult education, presidents of American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) affiliate organizations, past presidents…

This project continued a 2-year project that had focused on development and implementation of training in content areas needed by staff from ABLE (Adult Basic and Literacy Education)-funded agencies in Pennsylvania. The project continued to coordinate the review and selection of training materials for professional development in designated content…

An evaluation was conducted of the effectiveness of the Adult Educators Development Project (AEDP) at Lehman College of the City University of New York, a 3-year professional development program combining meetings, research projects, site visits, reading, and writing that was designed to facilitate the professional development of instructors in…

An evaluation was conducted of a summer institute on assessment in adult literacy held at the University of Pittsburgh. The summer institute was designed to enable program administrators and instructors to hear experts in the field of adult assessment discuss, in depth, the issues that are common to all adult literacy providers. Participants had…

NCSALL's (National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy's) Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network (PDRN) set out to create and support systematic partnerships between practitioners and university researchers to better connect research and practice, with the ultimate outcome of improved practice, policy, and services for…

A series of five workshops were conducted to instruct adult education practitioners so that they could better perform their jobs as teachers of late adolescents and at-risk students. The five workshops covered the following topics: (1) adolescent development and working with at-risk youth; (2) classroom and behavior management relating to…

The experiences of adult educators in Massachusetts who have integrated a health unit into adult literacy classes were examined in an exploratory study. Over a 5-year period, 31 adult learning centers in Massachusetts received funding to incorporate health topics into their adult literacy curriculum. A total of 31 teachers from 24 of the sites…