This manual (and an accompanying video) is a literacy audit tool to help adult education practitioners find out how their clients and staff rate their organization's success in meeting the literacy needs of clients. The manual also contains background information about literacy and suggestions on how to use the literacy audit to help an…

Prisoner reentry continues to be identified as an important issue in the public affairs arena, and a proposed initiative would offer new funding to support transitional services for returning inmates. Education generally does not top the list of identified reentry issues, but education can be appropriately identified as a potent solution. It is…

A basic set of principles for adult education reflects what should be found in each state and local program. First, basic skills should be mastered by all students. Second, course content should be directly related to learner, labor market, and community needs. Third, partnership efforts should be expanded and strengthened. Fourth, programs must…

This handbook presents annotated "snapshots" of 10 innovative family literacy programs, almost all of which were begun by an individual with a vision of a new way to solve a demanding educational problem. Profiles depict, in terms of background, characteristics, evidence of success, and advice to policymakers and practitioners, the: (1)…

Studies show Hispanics to have substantially higher rates of illiteracy than any other major population group in the United States. Illiteracy is one of a number of language problems for this population; other problems include limited oral English proficiency and native language illiteracy. Hispanics drop out of school in higher numbers and leave…

In 1994, an evaluation was made of the Adult Education for the Homeless (AEH) program in Ohio. Ohio currently has the third largest AEH project (of 32 states), with 40 sites spread over 12 locations. The evaluation was both formative and summative and was based on theoretical models of adult education (Teaching-Learning Exchange Theory and…

This report was prepared to fulfill the need for an information source on basic skills in the armed services. To prepare the report, researchers obtained and reviewed published literature from various document files. Service representatives of the Joint Service Working Group on Literacy/Basic Skills established by the Assistant Secretary of…

Women in Nepal are empowered through adult functional literacy programs called Non Formal Education (NFE). The NFE classes are held six nights per week using discussion and group socialization processes that develop critical thinking and build self-esteem in a society in which women have few or no legal rights. In these programs, women gain…

The quality of a literacy program can be assessed by taking into account the following factors: purpose of the program, how the program meets the most important current needs of the adult population, if it is accessible to the people who need services, and whether the literacy content is relevant to learners' needs. Flexibility of funding also is…

This report examines rural practice in adult literacy programs and estimates the extent and nature of rural illiteracy. Surveys were sent to 3,287 rural literacy programs; more than 700 program directors responded for a return rate of 22 percent. In addition, 150 program directors and key state literacy contacts were interviewed by telephone.…

A collaborative project involved Collins and Aikman, Inc., Pitt Community College, and the U.S. Department of Education in an effort to improve the literacy level of the company's work force in order to increase productivity. A pretest of about 400 of the company's 513 workers in 1 division uncovered educational needs in reading and mathematics…

An intensive industry immersion program of reading and mathematics was conducted in Spring 1989 for employees at Valley Products, Inc., in a cooperative venture by the Literacy Foundation, Memphis, the Memphis City Schools Adult Education Program, and the company. Employee participants were assessed with the San Diego Quick Assessment Test to…

This book is the outcome of a regional study on using literacy as a tool for empowering the poor, carried out by the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL) with collaborative support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The book sketches a program for empowerment of the poor through basic education on the…

A general increase in the demand for workplace basic skills mirrors the general increase in societal basic skills demands. As a result, many adults are participating in second-chance basic skills education. Second-chance basic skills programs are offered by a wide variety of providers, but populations actually served by programs rarely amount to…

This document reports the results of a study of literacy in Canada conducted for the Southam News in 1987. During the study, 2,398 Canadians were surveyed to determine the levels of literacy they possessed and how they coped in society if they were illiterate. The research methodology is based on an assessment of literacy conducted in 1985 by the…