Australia appears to be in the grip of a "literacy crisis" in workplaces. Media reports and industry/skills organisations are decrying the low literacy and numeracy levels of workers and the negative effects these have on productivity. As a consequence, the Australian government has increased funding for workplace literacy and numeracy…

Language, literacy and numeracy are necessary for greater workforce participation, productivity and social inclusion. Being able to measure the level of proficiency in these skills, and any changes in the level of skills, is important for getting a sense of how well language, literacy and numeracy programs are working. Two measurement tools used…

Coalitions have key roles in helping their communities accomplish the following: (1) Track the level of literacy in the community; (2) Use that information to help identify what, and how much, literacy assistance is needed; (3) Assess the extent to which community literacy programs are meeting the need, including how well existing literacy…

A study of 10 groups of learners in workplace literacy programs at 6 companies was used to develop and refine a data-based model for evaluating workplace literacy programs. The learners (n=181) completed pre- and post-assessments. In a structured one-on-one interview, information was gathered on learners' beliefs about literacy and their own…

Describes an effective literacy program in two hospitals, which benefited both the employer and employee by empowering participants to solve problems, think critically and creatively, and make decisions. Discusses criteria for effective workplace literacy programs, the program's framework, and program evaluation. (RS)

Describes a workplace literacy project implemented at a hospital with help from a university and a literacy organization. Finds significant changes in all basic skill areas and improvement in job performance, attitude, and self-esteem. Argues that well-designed programs improve employee job performance when program success is closely linked to…

The Attleboro (Massachusetts) Workplace Education Program, a partnership of four area companies and Bristol Community College, is intended to provide workers with education that will improve the quality of their lives and their work. Housed in a corporate office building in the Attleboro Industrial Park, the program offers classes in English as a…

The Long Island Workplace Literacy Partnership was established to provide workplace literacy programs for adult workers with inadequate reading, mathematics, communication, English language, and decision-making skills. Four corporations cooperated with the Board of Cooperative Educational Services of Nassau County in the project. The service…

Some of the tensions in the adult literacy and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) fields are explored from both the state and institutional level in Australia. In an effort to promote discussion at a national conference, several questions are posed regarding these and other issues: national goals/priorities/accountability, funding for professional…

A literacy/basic skills training project, revised to allow for the realities of the economic recession in New England, successfully trained 590 employees and 364 unemployed men and women. Revised positive outcomes included employment in companies outside the eight original companies in the project, enrollment in higher-level education and skills…

A cooperative effort was made by the Chamber of Commerce and the Adult and Community Education Program to encourage and facilitate work force literacy in small and medium-sized businesses, industries, and government agencies in Gadsden County, Florida. Businesses that could benefit were identified through a business/industry questionnaire. Six…

The major purposes of the project were to determine the nature of the literacy problem in the Army by studying the literacy demands of Army jobs together with the literacy skills of Army personnel, and to develop a literacy training program to provide job-related-functional, literacy skills. Literacy research and development performed by HumRRO…

Mexican immigrants working at a wholesale nursery were involved in developing user instructions for a computer-based instruction system. Sixty-one Latinos with 0 to 16 years of education completed user instructions delivered on the computer, and all but 3 completed training content about the nursery. Based on objective criteria, program use was…

The outcomes and impacts of adult literacy education in the United States were examined through a qualitative assessment of the pertinent research conducted since the late 1960s. A comprehensive literature search was used to identify; the most credible outcomes and impacts studies, and case studies were prepared for these. This document contains…

This interview guide can be used to determine whether a workplace literacy provider has the skills to develop and deliver a successful workplace literacy program that will meet the needs of a business and build the productive capacity of its employees. It can be used to assess the capabilities of a wide variety of literacy providers, including…