This project provided a year-long skill development Workforce Education Institute for 100 work force literacy providers and instructors in Pennsylvania. The institute included an intensive, 3-day summer workshop, 2 follow-up workshops, and a 2-day spring workshop designed to meet the individual needs of the participants. In evaluations submitted…

Three National Workplace Literacy Program-funded projects were evaluated. Two statewide projects were institutionalized with supporting state structures. The community college program was not considered mission central and was discontinued after funding ended. Union involvement, learner participation, curriculum development, and staff training…

The literature shows that state federations of labor should be, and many are, actively involved in current state literacy initiatives. The United States must develop a coherent and comprehensive system of lifetime education. This will require a greater commitment of public and private resources to education and training. Too many employers are…

The New Jersey Council on Adult Education and Literacy was created in response to the literacy crisis. The council reached consensus that learning must be a lifelong process, families were teachers, and the workplace was also an educational arena. It established priorities and recommendations in three areas: family literacy, workplace literacy,…

Site visits to 17 workplace education projects funded in the second year of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative are reported for year 1 and year 2 projects. The year one projects are as follows: EASCO Handtool Company (Springfield), T.J. Maxx Distribution Center (Worcester), laundry workers (Boston/Lynn), AT&T (Lawrence), and…

Profound changes in the structure of the workplace and in the nature of jobs now make reading, writing, and other communications skills vital to the performance of even entry-level jobs. However, massive numbers of present and future workers have only minimal or marginal proficiency in the basic skills. The problem will get worse as the labor pool…

A commission of business leaders appointed by the governor of Colorado studied adult basic education (ABE) in the state in order to determine its value to the citizens of the state and to the state's future. Throughout a 6-month period, the commission discussed issues pertaining to the field with private providers, adult learners, and government…

Global competition, coupled with the United States' loss of its competitive economic edge and its failure to sustain and develop a highly skilled work force, has created a new and serious challenge. To meet this challenge, the State Employment and Training Commission has developed a series of recommendations, called the Unified State Plan for New…

This resource book provides information on developing a workplace literacy program, descriptions of Florida Workplace Literacy Programs, and an annotated bibliography of resources. An introduction discusses the problem of basic skills deficiencies, projections that indicate the problem will increase, the Florida context, and benefits realized when…

An evaluation of the fifth cycle of operation of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative had several purposes: (1) to identify the indicators of quality in workplace education; (2) to begin to design an evaluation system for each program; and (3) to assess the indicators of quality for workplace education programs against the national…

In March and April of 1992, 60 representatives of state-funded workplace education programs in New York attended day-long regional workshops to identify ways of improving program planning and evaluation methods. After the workshops, the participants returned to their home programs, organized local evaluation teams, and developed action plans to…

This booklet profiles seven participants in Colorado adult literacy and basic skills education programs and describes the effects that participating in literacy and adult basic education have had on participants, their families, and their communities. The first profile illustrates the positive effects that parents' participation in literacy and…

This report contains 10 articles, written by national and state leaders in the adult literacy field, that pose challenges confronting the adult literacy system. The articles provide a framework for states to use in beginning the process of achieving a literate citizenry and work force. Titles and authors are as follows: "Building State Literacy…

A semester-long study examined the assessment instruments and techniques currently being used by companies participating in the Wisconsin Workplace Partnership Training Program (WWPTP). Twenty-four instruments that may be categorized as either standardized tests, competency-based and criterion-reference measures, or participatory assessment…

Seven workplace education projects funded in the first year of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative are reported. This report includes both general observations and specific information in case studies of the projects. Overall information is provided on students served, the importance of partnerships, the emphasis on…