This yearbook contains the papers presented at the third annual meeting of the Southwest Reading Conference for Colleges and Universities as well as additional articles of interest written by members. Topics considered: reading in the college curriculum, evaluation of the tachistoscope in reading improvement programs, recent research relative to…

The assessment of current practices in college reading improvement courses offered by four-year, degree-granting public institutions in the Midwest was the focus of this survey. Undertaken to determine the availability of such courses and to identify current practices, materials and methods utilized, the survey tapped one hundred thirty-two…

This study involving 76 English teachers in Illinois high schools with enrollments of less than 350 was undertaken to investigate the use of professional readings for correcting weakness in teacher preparation and for bringing new information to the teacher, to evaluate the effectiveness of these readings on the thinking and teaching procedures of…

Suggests adult literacy practitioners must, among other things (1) respect students, (2) reject the labelling and classifying of them, (3) establish good personal relationships with them, (4) be open to varied pedagogical techniques, (5) help students experience success, and (6) support preservice and inservice staff development. (MM)

Describes a tabloid newspaper in British Columbia for adults who are learning to read English. The newspaper features information with an adult focus, including human interest stories and articles on adjusting to Canadian life and is graded at three levels of language difficulty to provide varying reading entry points. (LB)

This study investigated the characteristics of reading programs offered to inmates of federal, state, and city/county penal institutions. The total number of institutions that responded to a questionnaire sent by the investigator was: federal, 27 (100% response); state, 426 (68% response); and city/county, 675 (16% response). Findings are reported…

Describes public library materials appropriate for adult literacy students and suggests methods of incorporating them into instruction. (AEA)

Three contributors discuss using advertising slogans in writing instruction, setting up a paperback book lending center in an industrial cafeteria, and the effect of reading supervisors' expertise on junior high school students' reading achievement. (AEA)

Discusses efforts to achieve higher rates of adult literacy and pedagogical approaches to learning to read. Describes definitions of literacy, school standards, and possible reasons for high rates of adult illiteracy. Discusses teaching methods, particularly the Nellie Thomas method, which has had success in prison literacy programs. (JB)

This report provides a summary and evaluation of a retreat held for the directors and literacy coordinators of the 46 public libraries participating in the California Literacy Campaign (CLC), their supervisors, State Library staff, and members of the California Library Services Board. Following a brief introduction and overview, descriptions of…

This issue of the yearbook contains twenty papers that were presented and discussed at the eighth annual meeting of the National Reading Conference. Papers in part one relate to the various problems involved in starting college reading programs, including the administration of the program, selection and motivation of students, objectives,…

Investigates the fear underlying most adult illiteracy and suggests the need for teaching based on careful and imaginative responses to adult basic readers. (MM)

A research-based model of adult literacy categorizes adult reading habits into four categories: (1) illiteracy, the inability to read; (2) aliteracy, the absence of reading by those who are able to read; (3) selective literacy, reading only one type of material for a single purpose; and (4) active literacy, fully embracing literacy in all aspects…

This paper offers a description of the Ball-Stick-Bird reading system which has been used successfully to teach students with IQs as low as 20 to read with comprehension. A summary of research findings on this approach is presented as well as a discussion of these findings within a neurological/behavioral/evolutionary framework. A new theory of…

Government survey results reveal that large numbers of adults in the United States do not possess the minimal survival and life-coping skills necessary to function successfully in daily living. Since reading is the most basic of all life survival skills, a thematic reading that emphasized consumer survival was developed in the fall of 1977 at…