This article describes a Framework that can be used to help bridge the gap between theory and practice in adult learning. The Framework promotes practice informed by three strands important to adult literacy work: social theories of literacy, social-constructivist learning theory and principles of adult learning. The Framework shows how five key…

The current economic crisis, a growing workforce, the increasing lifespan of workers, and demanding, complex jobs have made organizations highly selective in employee recruitment and retention. It is therefore important, to the adult educator, to develop models of learning that better prepare adult learners for the workplace. The purpose of…

As professional developers for the Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) system in Ohio, the authors have focused their efforts over the last several years on more actively engaging adult basic education teachers as learners in the professional development they offer. By creating activities that engage teachers in active learning with their adult…

Low literacy levels in adult learners pose an educational and public health challenge to practitioners and the scientific community. Increasing demands placed on literacy can limit opportunities in the workplace and access to health-related resources, negatively affecting public health. Current estimates from the National Center for Education…

Community colleges have multiple missions and one of them is to provide open access services to those seeking to further their education. Community colleges provide remedial courses in math, reading, and writing because many of their students do not meet entrance requirements in these core subjects. However, the usual developmental education track…

This applied dissertation was designed to identify the characteristics of students enrolled in a GED® preparation program who transitioned to postsecondary programs at the same institution after passing the GED® test. The characteristics studied included age; gender; ethnicity; prematriculation scores in reading, language, and math in the Test of…

The adult basic education field in the United States has experienced an ebb and flow of interest and investment in "worker education" over the past three decades. Although the rhetoric around workplace basic skills tends to focus on such outcomes as productivity and competitiveness, some proponents of worker basic education see it as a…

This paper attempts to identify some tools to help practioners think about, debate and plan Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills (WLES) programs. Such tools are necessary so that discussions between practitioners aiming to clarify good practice and successful approaches can get beyond mere descriptions of what happened. In order to compare and…

On July 17, 2008 the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) awarded a contract to the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to assist OVAE in conducting a descriptive study of instructional and programmatic practices that support the transition of English language learners (TELL) from English as a second…

Critical pedagogy is an instructional approach to teaching that employs a theoretical framework by which social injustices are critiqued. This type of pedagogy encourages the learner to critique obstructions to the learner's full participation in society, and encourages critical collective action, through the engagement of the learner's…

When adult learners return to formal education after a period of absence, coping with change is a constant and often omnipresent challenge. As they come to break down previous barriers to success in an educational arena, many adult learners are able to change the perceptions they have of themselves as learners. Previously held assumptions are…

This second issue of a series on theory, innovation, and practice in andragogy analyzes some of the instructional variables in adult learning and discusses ways to influence the degree of learning through the application of instructional and behavioral technologies. It unites theory and practice, generating recommendations from the abstract…

The purposes of this study were to investigate the reliability and construct validity of measures of reading component skills with a sample of adult basic education (ABE) learners, including both native and nonnative English speakers, and to describe the performance of those learners on the measures. Investigation of measures of reading components…

This report describes a project to develop a tutor training model for teaching adults who manifested signs of learning disabilities. A needs assessment was done by surveying previously trained tutors. Existing adult literacy materials and instructional materials specifically developed for individuals with learning disabilities were reviewed and…

Describes a literacy program for adults with learning disabilities that consists of five modules: basic reading, spelling, writing; intermediate comprehension and vocabulary; comprehension and interpretation; intermediate writing; and intermediate spelling. Discuses screening, placement, core curriculum, multisensory and discovery learning, and…