During the first half of the 1980s, the focus of the literacy movement was on strengthening literacy programs through the recruitment of volunteers. Although these early efforts are continuing, the focus in adult literacy has changed. Job-related or workplace literacy has become a national priority, and the impact of adult illiteracy on private…

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…

This guide addresses the applicability of microcomputers to adult vocational training and presents guidelines for creating and evaluating software that specifically addresses adult learning needs. The author first discusses the appropriateness of microcomputers as educational and prevocational tools. She highlights those qualities that are the…

To develop adult learning groups in formal educational settings, the educator must understand the nature of learning in groups. Three types of group learning are instrumental, communicative, and emancipatory. The type of learning that occurs in groups varies according to the learning tasks and goals. Group learning that has as its goal the…

Presents citations and abstracts for seven documents dealing with various aspects of community-based education. Includes both theoretical essays and program descriptions. (DMM)

The educational applications of technology are many and varied, including use as an educational delivery method and an instructional tool. However, technology is often introduced without much thought, and it changes rapidly. Technology can have the following effects: improve educational attainment and skill development; reduce educational…

This paper explores a common assumption: that education must be made an open, interconnected chain of learning opportunities, available to people from cradle to grave, i.e., a "learning society." Learning is examined in the following three distinct, but interrelated, domains: the domain of work; the domain of the community; and the…

In collaborative learning, both facilitators and learners are active participants in the process, a sense of community is created, and knowledge is considered to be located in the community rather than the individual. Its guiding principle is that learning is enhanced when knowledge that is created and transmitted is shaped by the activities and…

At the same time that it is experiencing rapid growth, the field of adult education is struggling with its own maturation and development as a profession. One of the issues related to the professionalization of the adult education field is that of certification. Those who favor professional certification argue that it is a means to develop the…

Examines factors contributing to the lack of effective literacy programs for adults. (FL)

In adult English-as-a-Second-Language literacy education and staff development, practitioner inquiry has emerged as a powerful approach toward improving practice. A variety of activities occur under the umbrella of practitioner inquiry, all of which are grounded in the knowledge and questions held by practitioners. The characteristics of inquiry…

Learning disabilities among adults are more prevalent than was once believed, although estimates of numbers are difficult to make. Problems faced by adults with LD include difficulties with academic and information processing and adult life adjustment. Many adults with LD exhibit strengths that enable them to compensate for their disabilities and…

Recently, the definition of functional literacy has been broadened to include the completion of a secondary education or its equivalent. This definition focuses on obtaining the functional competencies required to perform adequately in adult life. Three major sets of functional competencies are represented in models developed by the Adult…

Ethnography is a research approach that seeks to understand and represent the points of view of the members of a particular culture. As in other forms of qualitative research, the data collected are rich in their descriptions of people, places, languages, and events. Ethnographic research can be characterized by its multi-instrumental approach,…

As the nation has become aware of the scope of adult illiteracy and its tremendous cost, literacy programs have proliferated. New populations of language minority adults are becoming eligible for and involved in an increasing number of these programs. They include, among others, refugees whose training is no longer funded by the Office of Refugee…