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…

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…

The International Seminar on Functional Illiteracy and Professional Incompetence as Risk Factors of Modern Civilization and the Role of Adult Continuing Education in Overcoming Them examined the modern problem and definition of illiteracy, the causes of professional illiteracy, measures to eliminate the causes, and recommendations for further…

Staff development continues to be an important but much-debated topic in adult basic education and adult literacy education. Some staff development professionals start with the "deficit" model, in which learners are presumed to be empty vessels to be filled with knowledge. This model ignores the rich and varied experience that practitioners bring…

The Pennsylvania Adult Literacy Practitioner Inquiry Network (PALPIN) was developed to improve the practice of adult literacy teachers, tutors, and program administrators throughout Pennsylvania. The project to develop PALPIN was initiated in 1995-1996. The primary objectives for the PALPIN project's third program year were as follows: adapt and…

A panel of state staff, Professional Development Center directors, and other experts reviewed current or previous exemplary projects in Pennsylvania and in the U.S. and published project descriptions in a newsletter ("FOCUS" bulletin). Twenty-two special projects were selected as exemplary based on a five-point scale for innovation,…

Poor preparation of adult literacy educators is often blamed for the failure of adult literacy students. Four critical issues related to developing the adult literacy professional work force are as follows: how literacy is learned in adulthood; how practitioners learn and improve their practice; how new knowledge is generated in and for the field;…

Inquiry-based staff development is a promising direction for rethinking practice and research and for generating knowledge from a field-based perspective for adult literacy. Rethinking staff development entails investigating a number of current assumptions: the nature and function of literacy learning in adulthood; adult literacy practitioners as…

The Pennyrile Education Services Model Plan was developed to meet the literacy and basic skills needs of undereducated adults living in a predominantly rural, 10-county region of Kentucky known as Pennyrile. The model plan includes the establishment of eight education services centers, beginning with a center in Madisonville that serves…

Selected contributions from a workshop on competency-based adult education (CBAE) are presented in this monograph. The articles define the current trends in the theory and practice of CBAE. The monograph consists of five major sections. Section 1, the overview, offers a historical frame of reference, examination of terminology and definitions, a…

The following are included in section 1: "Purposes and Methods of Sistematizacion" (Beder); "At the Crossroads" (Bingman, White); "Relationship between Literacy and Numeracy Test Scores on the 'Survey of Literacy Skills Used in Daily Activities'" (Blunt); "Vaclav Havel, Postmodernism, and Modernity" (Briton,…

These five guidebooks are designed for literacy programs to enhance the quality of services provided to adults with learning disabilities. Each guidebook answers specific questions such as handling legal issues, screening for learning disabilities, selecting curriculum options, using effective instructional methods, and creating professional…

The following papers were presented at a research preconference on the implications of Afrocentrism for adult education: "The African American Adult Education Pre-Conference: Historical Reflections" (Colin); "The Perspective 'Is' the Paradigm: The Congruence of World View and Research Methodology" (Dozier-Henry);…

In 2001-2002, the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium conducted 26 national investigations with findings in the following areas: (1) population competence; (2) linking literacy and numeracy into training; (3) professional support for educators and trainers; and (4) policy and systemic issues. All the projects were intended…

This monograph examines benefits, challenges, and methods of expanding access to adult literacy with online distance education (ODE). The following are among the topics discussed: (1) reasons for considering ODE (new technologies and delivery systems in education; ODE in higher education, business training, and adult basic education; state-level…