Despite the clear and obvious need for adults to be proficient in numeracy, international studies suggest that many continue to struggle in this area. In Ireland, one of the main challenges continues to be the availability of effective adult numeracy education. This is a diverse sector, and little is known about the varied provision of adult…

Large numbers of part-time adult educators necessitate staff development. Effective staff development should determine needs, define audience, identify clear objectives, match content with needs, and involve participants actively. (SK)

Interest in the debate about quality management has grown substantially in recent years. Educators of adults want to improve their practices: they are searching for new ways of measuring success that are inclusive and which take account of views of different interest groups. This article examines the involvement of stakeholders in the management…

A series of five workshops were conducted to instruct adult education practitioners so that they could better perform their jobs as teachers of late adolescents and at-risk students. The five workshops covered the following topics: (1) adolescent development and working with at-risk youth; (2) classroom and behavior management relating to…

The Philadelphia Mayor's Commission on Literacy undertook a project to develop and conduct collaborative training that would promote a more egalitarian relationship between teachers/facilitators and learners and greater learner input in the instructional planning process. A collaborative learning (CL) manual was developed, a 12-hour CL training…

This document reports on a project to conduct four to six in-service workshops for adult basic education (ABE) educators to develop their public speaking skills and create a speakers' bureau of ABE alumni. The goal of the speakers' bureau was to increase recruitment and retention of ABE students and improve public awareness of ABE. The packet of…

A study evaluated performance-based teacher education (PBTE) programs conducted in three Australian states in technical and further education (TAFE) programs during 1979 to assess the potential of PBTE for TAFE teacher education and to determine the most effective strategies for its implementation. One institution in each of three states--South…

This booklet outlines the new policy context facing adult and community learning (ACL) providers in Great Britain in their pursuit of high-quality learning experiences for their customers. It shows how a Total Quality Management (TQM) approach to supporting staff development can be effective in securing quality. TQM components are values,…

Designed to assist adult basic education (ABE) teachers and administrators in coping with learning disabled adults, Project BEST (Better Educational Services through Testing) centered on training selected Kansas adult educators in the use of a prescriptive-diagnostic tool for evaluating adults, on providing these teachers with the most current…

The Greater Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Literacy Council (GPLC) is a volunteer-based literacy council that provides adult basic and literacy education services to the area's citizens. The GPLC conducted an action research project to determine whether adding monthly meetings for professional teaching staff and providing opportunities for interaction…

The Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network (PDRN), a multi-year research and development effort, tested an innovative method of connecting research and practice. Included in the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy 1995 proposal, it began with an advisory group meeting in 1996. In 1997, South- and Northeast regions…

This report presents results from interviews with a sampling of experienced Equipped for the Future (EFF) users. Chapter I provides background and context for this initiative. Chapter II provides facts and figures from the field and presents questions posed and interviewees' views. The questions are as follows: (1) Why did you or your organization…

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…

This guide provides information on how to plan, implement, and evaluate staff development programs for adult basic education teachers, administrators, volunteers, and aides. It is divided into sections that deal with various components of a staff developmental program: (1) background information; (2) planning; (3) implementation; (4) evaluation;…

Many volunteer literacy tutors in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, have not completed their 1-year tutoring commitment. Consequently, an action research project was undertaken to determine the causes of the high tutor turnover and to identify ways of improving the tutor retention rate. All tutors involved in the program from 1998 onward were asked…