The results of surveys on adult basic education (ABE) student characteristics and program goals are presented in this digest along with recommendations on career development in ABE. Topics include: (1) results of a survey of directors of ABE projects which ranked the importance of 10 goals of ABE (Young and others 1980); (2) statistics from a…

This paper describes seven ideas that would help a literacy program work well. Some examples are given to show how each idea could be used in different parts of a literacy program. Some questions are also listed that could stimulate discussion about each idea. The seven quality guidelines or ideas are as follows: (1) community focus--a good…

The first of three related monographs resulting from a Unesco regional literacy workshop in Asia, this booklet provides information useful to those designing national programs in literacy training for underdeveloped and developing nations. Following an introduction, the booklet discusses the formulation of both policy guidelines and policy…

A study created a typology of 271 adult literacy programs nationwide describing their distribution along two dimensions: (1) relevance of materials to learner needs and sociocultural context (life-contextual/decontextual), and (2) extent of learner control of decisions about program activities (dialogic/monologic). A questionnaire elicited…

Although the National Workplace Literacy Program is relatively new, a new orthodoxy of program development based on particular understandings of literacy and learning has emerged. Descriptions of two model workplace education programs are the beginning points for an examination of the assumptions contained in most reports of workplace education…

A 30-month study was designed to provide a comprehensive examination of training for teachers and volunteer instructors in adult basic education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL). Phase I provided a systematic examination of the delivery and content of training. Three primary research activities were collection of extant data on staff…

The delivery and content of training for teachers and volunteer instructors in adult basic education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) were documented in a study. Two sources of information were the research literature and extant data from states on training activities. Findings indicated that training for adult education teachers and…

This document profiles seven exemplary literacy programs in Manitoba, Canada: the Open Doors program in Winnipeg (a community-based program conducted in a school setting); the Brandon Friendship Centre literacy program (a community-based program conducted in a friendship center in rural Manitoba); the Flin Flon Friendship Centre literacy program…

This report is designed as a guide for policymakers and practitioners interested in designing more effective staff development practices. It provides information about elements of effective staff development practices identified through a review of research and site visits to nine staff development programs identified as providing effective…

Despite the fact that, of all the 50 states, Utah has the highest percentage of state and local government expenditures for education and the highest proportion of adults who have graduated from high school, one out of every five adults in Utah lacks basic literacy skills. At present, the following adult literacy programs offer instruction in…

Developed to serve as a comprehensive human resource directory of adult educators in Pennsylvania, as a conceptual framework for adult basic education (ABE) in Pennsylvania and as a resource guide for ABE staff who wish to sponsor local inservice projects, this handbook provides general information about ABE, adult education services and linkages,…

Many of John Dewey's ideas concerning ethics and the universalization of democratic habits of thought and action are especially relevant to a discussion of adult literacy as a means of developing social intelligence in a democratic society. Dewey's basic ethical principles are manifest in approaches to adult literacy education such as those…

These three learning guides comprise one of four packages in the Workplace Literacy Teacher Training series that provides information and skills necessary for the user to become a successful instructor in an effective workplace literacy program. The guides in this package look at the unique environment and culture involved in providing education…

This document presents seven papers prepared by experts in the field of adult education on the issues related to developing and implementing quality indicators from the perspective of their program areas or organizational affiliations. "Indicators of Program Quality for Adult Basic Education" (Mary Williams) addresses the appropriateness of…