Adult basic education's role, from the beginning, has been about serving people with foundational skill needs. The author, Judy Mortrude, agrees with the argument that adult literacy education needs to be repositioned within a new framework of lifelong and life-wide learning, a framework in which new policies are formulated, programs are designed…

There is a highly compelling case for using technology on a large scale to increase access to and improve America's adult education and workforce skills enterprise. By the reckoning of the National Commission on Adult Literacy and others, the nation must reach many more millions of adults with effective college- and job-readiness skills programs…

This brief presents summary information and contacts/references for a sampling of programs and resources that have been developed to support small business workplace literacy projects. Twenty-two contacts are included: Finger Lakes Regional Education Center for Economic Development; Development Assistance Corporation; Wayne Community College;…

The guidelines in this paper were developed to assist Massachusetts Private Industry Councils, social agencies, unions, businesses, and education providers in designing educational programs appropriate to the workplace. The focus is on literacy education. The paper is organized in four sections. The first section briefly examines the background of…

Three presentations are provided from Symposium 37, Workforce Development, of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD) 2000 Conference Proceedings. "Unemployment and Low-Literacy among Welfare Recipients: Continuum of Literacy Program Models" (Larry G. Martin) presents a continuum of four types of literacy programs--academic, situated…

The Workplace Education Initiative was created in Massachusetts to provide workers with the opportunity to develop basic literacy skills, to increase employer and union awareness of the extent of functional illiteracy among workers as well as its cost, to develop a number of partnership models that link the acquisition of basic education skills…

Profound changes in our socioeconomic structure seem to question the relevance of both "institutional" as well as "open school" forms of education. The educator is faced with the challenge of selecting a model, combining models, or devising a new one. Dealing with these fundamental questions, 10 articles have been selected for their potential…

A description is provided of the training and counseling materials and methods prepared by the Saskatchewan NewStart and the Training Research and Development Station. Following a brief review of the concept of social inventions, summary descriptions are provided of nine adult education courses. These are: 1) Life Skills, which focuses upon…

The National Literacy Act of 1991 is a comprehensive approach for improving the literacy and basic skill levels of adults by coordinating, integrating, and investing in adult and family literacy programs at the federal, state, and local levels. The legislation provides for research and program delivery. All sectors, including public,…

Most industrialized nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have entered a new economic era characterized by new industries, new forms of production and competition, and a much higher premium on skills. Those with low levels of literacy and basic workplace skills find it increasingly difficult to obtain or…

This document relays the stories of nearly 100 Tennessee adults whose lives were changed through participation in some form of adult basic education (ABE). The document begins with a brief explanation of how Tennessee's 102 ABE programs are administered and definitions of the following forms of ABE: Families First (a 20-hour weekly course of basic…

Since September 1988, the Prince George's County (Maryland) Board of Education and the area's Private Industry Council have worked together to provide literacy-enhancing classes at worksites for persons in the county whose jobs represent 15 different employers. These employers have recognized the problems of workers with poor literacy and…

The Continuing Education Institute's Workplace ESL (English-as-a-Second Language) and ABE (Adult Basic Education) programs improved the job experience for employees with language and literacy problems in Boston (Massachusetts) by teaching them language strategies that had direct application to their jobs. Health care administrators, supervisors,…

This document summarizes program operations in adult education and literacy in 14 U.S. states and territories: Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Virgin Islands. Special attention is paid to efforts in six…

A project was conducted to coordinate and facilitate the delivery of workplace literacy programs in business and industry in Idaho. The project began with an audioconference, followed by a 3-day workshop in December 1988 for new workplace literacy coordinators and coordinators from postsecondary education and the state Department of Employment.…