This document describes the rationale and the strategy of the new United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Initiative for literacy: LIFE. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) is designed as a global strategic framework through which national governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil…

Participants in a teacher workshop compared these two approaches to learning outcomes in adult numeracy: (1) teaching mathematical skills and (2) using and applying mathematics from real life. The first approach was illustrated by an Ontario, Canada, program based on traditional school math, whose outcomes are skill-based and are the following:…

The Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium (ALNARC) received sponsored research funding to study adult literacy and numeracy, network with field-based stakeholders, and disseminate findings. It studied these three layers of participant involvement and response to the sponsored research program: research leaders; sponsored…

A project that focused on how the field of adult numeracy education had been shaped in Australia over the last 20 years sought answers to these research questions: (1) What does the past tell about adult literacy and numeracy policy, provision, and research? (2) Are Australians numerate? (3) What sort of numeracy activities do Australians engage…

Achievement in literacy and numeracy by Australian 14-year-olds was examined by analyzing data from the following studies conducted between 1975 and 1998: the Australian Studies in School Performance; the Australian Studies of Student Performance; the Youth in Transition Survey; and the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. During the study…

Designed primarily for adult literacy teachers and tutors, this curriculum describes the content of what should be taught in numeracy programs in order to meet the individual needs of adults through the selection and teaching of skills appropriate to those adults' needs. An introduction describes national standards and qualifications, learners,…

A study examined unemployment among Australian young people between 1980-94, using data obtained from the four Youth in Transition cohorts born in 1961, 1965, 1970, and 1975. It investigated factors that influenced becoming unemployed and leaving unemployment. Findings indicated that low school achievement in literacy and numeracy was consistently…

This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses, focuses on renting a place to live. The following items are included: module overview; list of basic, thinking, interpersonal, information utilization, and other skills addressed in the…

A National Strategy for Adult Basic Skills has been proposed to deal with the English situation in which about one adult in five is not functionally literate and far more people have problems with numeracy. The National Strategy has these 10 main elements: national targets; an entitlement to learn; guidance, assessment, and publicity; better…

This guide, which is a how-to resource for adult educators involved in Australia's Literacy and Numeracy Programme, explains how to establish an assessment and recordkeeping system. The introduction presents an overview of the program's objectives, target audience, funding, and assessment and recordkeeping requirements. Section 1 provides…

The 12 chapters in this second title in the series expose and explore the following significant issues underlying schooling and its intersection with the adult world outside of school: aspects of knowledge, gender, literacy across culture, and assessing what is learned in school and in the adult world. The chapters are: "Whose Knowledge Gets…

Examines the often experimental programs and approaches of the Australian Army Education Service pertaining to adult literacy during World War II. The article records the extent of numeracy and literacy difficulties in the 1940s, comments on army responses to the pedagogical challenge they posed, and finds interesting similarities to the current…

The paper presents the results of an evaluation research that studied the impact of a nationwide home intervention program, the Mother-Child Education Program, on both children and mothers immediately after the termination of the program and at the end of the children's first year of formal schooling. A pre/post control group quasiexperimental…

In this article, the author presents findings of a project that focused on identifying elements in the learning environment that promote numeracy outcomes. The project--"Numeracy Research and Development Initiative"--was undertaken in eight schools across a range of settings within the three schooling systems in Queensland and was…

This Policy Brief is intended to help the National Commission on Adult Literacy consider state and federal policy strategies that hold promise for increasing the number of lower-skilled adults, including those with limited English skills, who earn postsecondary credentials that can open the door to family-supporting jobs and careers. It examines…