This chapter discusses a range of issues that together paint a picture of the impact, potential, and challenges of using digital technologies in adult education.

This article argues that we have lost the plot in South African reading education. To find it, we need to move beyond the predominant mode of reading as oral performance, where the emphasis is on accuracy and pronunciation, to reading as comprehension of meaning in text. While reading research in South Africa has been conducted mainly in school…

The utility of definitions and descriptions applied to adult learning can be effectively measured only by direct application to a specific field of learning, in this case, fine arts. Based on the author's 12 years of experience as an art educator, the article provides a conceptual framework for those who are at the beginning of their pedagogical…

This document provides research-based guidance on academic literacy instruction in the content areas, specifically focusing on the effective use of text in content areas. It reviews the research evidence about content-area literacy instruction for adolescents and suggests ways teachers can use content-area texts to enable students to understand…

Critiques demeaning attitudes toward adult literacy learners implicit in the practices of major literacy programs and examines underlying assumptions about the nature of literacy in light of recent studies. Argues that literacy professionals must confront political and institutional barriers to effective literacy education and offers an…

Technology is changing the way literacy is being taught to adults, and it is also bringing new sets of problems and challenges for adult basic education programs. Some of the problems associated with the new technology include rapid changes in computers, leading to indecision in purchasing and uncertainty in use, and lack of appropriate software…

This volume contains the four 1998 quarterly issues of this newsletter that present best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and information on how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policy makers. The following are among the major articles included: "Power,…

A workshop was held at George Washington University to consider the shortage of adult educators to meet the needs created by the Federally assisted programs in adult education and possible ways to prepare a wide variety of adult educators in large numbers, in a short period of time, without lowering professional standards. Discussion centered on…

The International English Training for Adults Program is an intensive ESL (English as a Second Language) program for foreign students. Students in the program take 18 hours of classes per week, including Conversation Partners, a 3-hour course designed to give students an opportunity to practice using English with Americans in a structured,…

This guide gives adult educators and trainers in the literacy field concrete suggestions and alternatives for their work. It provides historical and evolutionary frameworks they can use to shape a new philosophy of adult literacy and improve their practice. Part 1 looks at literacy through the eyes of society, describing myths, rhetoric, and…

A participatory approach to adult literacy education aims at getting the learner to function at the highest level of responsibility possible regarding program activities; it demands an active approach. Characteristics of a participatory literacy program include the following: activities that emphasize what learners already know, learners…

This book contains 15 chapters, each by different authors, commenting and expanding on the educational philosophy and work of Paulo Freire. The following are included: "Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of Possibility" (Peter McLaren); "Studying the Media: What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream" (Noam Chomsky); "Scientism as a Form…

The increase in the number of youth under age 18 enrolling in federally funded adult basic and literacy education programs is a trend that is putting increasing pressures on programs designed to serve an adult population. Documenting the extent of the trend is difficult due to the way in which federal statistics on age of program participants have…

This document presents the Equipped for the Future Framework (EFF) content standards that were developed over a 6-year period by hundreds of adult education practitioners, experts, and others nationwide to create a working consensus on what adults need to know and be able to do in the 21st century. Chapter 1 defines adult literacy for the 21st…

"Changing Education" is targeted for Australian teachers and administrators. This theme issue, which the editorial defines as about "The Changing World of Continuing Education," contains eight articles and an editorial about recent developments in adult literacy and basic education (ALBE), vocational education and training, and…