Attention has been focused on whether U.S. competitiveness in a global market can be sustained if the work force has deficient reading skills. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 90 million adults (50 percent of the adult population) do not have the literacy skills they need to function in society. These persons have limited reading…

Three brief papers on literacy issues in Trinidad are presented. "Literacy for Women Project" reviews a 1990 workshop provided as part of International Literacy Year activities. It notes that the literacy rate among women in Trinidad and Tobago is approximately 90 percent but that the majority of illiterates overall are women. Literacy…

The International Taskforce on Literacy, which is composed of nongovernmental organizations, has carried the literacy message to people everywhere. Two particularly noteworthy activities of the Taskforce are the People's Launch of International Literacy Year at the International Council for Adult Education conference in Thailand in January 1990…

This report presents the methodology and results of a survey which determined the current level of involvement in literacy-related services of 50 public libraries in British Columbia. The primary areas addressed by the survey are: (1) the degree of "formal involvement" in literacy-related activities; (2) most common literacy activities;…

In teaching introductory English as a second language to nonliterate adult refugees, the focus should initially be on oral skills. The literature on characteristics of recent Southeast Asian refugees and suggested curriculum strategies is reviewed in order to determine the appropriate curriculum and methods for this group. A curriculum for…

Evaluation and results of a statewide promotional campaign using billboards featuring Johnny Cash to promote public awareness of, and recruitment for, Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs in Ohio are presented with the highlights of the purchasing and distribution activities. Response to a questionnaire sent to all ABE directors in Ohio requesting…

Substantial numbers of Hispanic Americans cannot complete school or compete effectively for jobs because of less than adequate literacy in English. Before anything can be done about this, our definitions of literacy and illiteracy need to be reworked. The conventional definition of literacy as the completion of fifth grade ignores the changing…

Since its independence, India's emphasis on technology has created support for universities but neglected improvement of elementary and adult education, resulting in no social or economic gains for the poor and illiterate. (ND)

The term illiteracy refers to a multilateral and constantly evolving issue that continues to take on alarming dimensions in the present day. During each modern historical period the factors responsible for its emergence and maintenance have been diverse and have had no national peculiarities. Illiteracy today presents itself as a particularly…

In spring 1990, the Center for Literacy Studies convened two 1-day workshops on group literacy instruction, bringing together some 41 literacy coordinators, teachers, volunteers, and students from the eastern part of Tennessee. The workshops were designed to share experiences on the introduction of group methods, to exchange ideas on "what works,"…

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…

Despite national demands to improve the weak literacy skills of young adults, educators and policymakers lack the diverse types of data needed to make changes. The report, "Workplace Competencies: The Need to Improve Literacy and Employment Readiness," points out that past measures of literacy have lacked comparability, resulting in no accurate…

Most major workplace literacy programs involve unions. Organized labor's current leadership in worker education and training is not a continuation of earlier activities but an expansion of union interest and activity that is unprecedented in the history of organized labor. These efforts do not rely on public funding, because many unions have…

This report presents a statistical profile of Latino literacy in the United States based on a secondary analysis of the 1976 Survey of Income and Education, the 1979 National Chicano Survey, and the 1980 Census. Overall illiteracy in English for the Hispanic population was 14.7 percent, but the rate varied when the population was broken down by…

Intended for those groups contemplating the establishment of any type of literacy services within a community, this resource is designed to help in the analysis of both the need for literacy services within the community and the currently available resources for meeting that need. Five steps are recommended to identify clearly both the needs and…