Life for uneducated women involves contending with myriad barriers to economic self-sufficiency. The average income for individuals without at least a high school diploma or GED is about $18,734. That income level falls close to the poverty line established by the federal government for a family of three or more. Further compounding the problem…

This study is about engagement in adult literacy education. Engagement is mental effort focused on learning. It is important to understand how and why adult learners engage in literacy instruction because engagement is a precondition to learning progress. Researchers who study engagement conceive of it in different ways. Some focus on engagement…

Economic and demographic changes are dramatically increasing the need for adult education, basic literacy, and English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) programs. Millions of Illinois residents lack the level of literacy skills needed to obtain good jobs, perform well on the job, and function well in an increasingly complex society. Addressing the scope…

Health literacy is important for all adults. Because lower health literacy is associated with lower educational attainment, many adult basic and literacy education programs increasingly provide health education to low-literate adults to improve their health literacy. Using data from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), this study…

The first of six issues of the GED Items newsletter published in 1987 contains articles on one company's approach to literacy in the workplace, General Educational Development (GED) teacher training videotapes, and a process model for improving thinking skills. Articles in issue 2 address military recruiting, synthesis thinking skills, and GED in…

This guide is designed to link New York's learning standards with curriculum goals and objectives developed by adult education (AE) practitioners. It includes learning standards for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics, two areas identified by AE practitioners as the most important for beginning adult learners. Also provided are curriculum…

This handbook defines and describes the benefits of both collaborative approaches and cooperative techniques. An introduction uses watercolor marbling as a metaphor for collaborative approaches and cooperative activities. Section I provides research results regarding problems of adult literacy programs, skills employers want, and Bloom's taxonomy.…

"The Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 5" is a volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and learning.…

The first of six issues of the GED Items Newsletter publishied in 1988 contains articles on General Educational Development (GED) mathematics instruction, suggestions for teaching writing, and public relations and marketing. Issue 2 has articles on GED science instruction, GED for Marines, holistic scoring, and a review of the new GED tests.…

Adding to the resources for evidence-based practices, this occasional paper provides sources of research and professional wisdom that are useful to the design of evidence-based instruction. This annotated bibliography is divided into seven subsections that focus on reading, writing, math and numeracy, English as a second language, GED, adult…

This training packet, consisting of a workshop guide, two instructional guides, and assorted pamphlets and brochures, is intended for use by volunteer tutors who are themselves learning how to work with adults enrolled in an adult literacy program. The following topics are covered in the training workshop guide: the objectives and workings of…

"Focus on Basics" is the quarterly publication of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. It presents best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policymakers. Articles appearing in this issue…

This paper reviews significant events and resources that have emerged since the 1992 publication of "Adult Literacy Education: Current and Future Directions. An Update" by Hanna Fingeret. It analyzes major milestones in research and practice in literacy education that have occurred in the last decade. The paper begins by looking at the…

This paper explains how adult educators involved in the development and delivery of general adult basic education (ABE), General Educational Development (GED) certificate, and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs can infuse the workplace into their programs. The paper begins with a brief overview of the rationale for infusing the workplace…

The effects of adult education in welfare-to-work programs were examined in a national evaluation of welfare-to-work strategies. The evaluation used a random research design to estimate the overall effects of welfare-to-work programs in the following states: Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, and California. The study focused on the…