While recent research on why adults participate in continuing education programs does not provide educational planners with any easy prescriptions for programing success, it does suggest some broad directions for more effective program development, particularly in relation to needs assessment, the promotional aspect of marketing, and the design…

This issue contains the following articles: "ESOL - EIAL: A position paper on the teaching/learning of English as an International Auxiliary Language," by Larry E. Smith; "Teaching English through Songs and Games," by Patricia P. Realin; "ESL Adult Literacy: A New Use for Dialogues," by Jack Wigfield; "New ESL…

This study, in the form of a research review, is designed to aid adult educators as they work in curriculum development and materials selection activities. Its purpose is to provide a guide for evaluation by providing recommended guidelines for the analysis of learning material, a suggested instrument for evaluation, and how to use the instrument.…

Data were gathered from nontraditional (commuter, part-time) freshmen at a midwestern urban university. Dropout was a function of grade point average and credit hours enrolled, as well as the utility of education for future employment, satisfaction with the student role, opportunity to transfer, and age affecting dropout through intent to leave.…

Two Toronto community English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs used oral interview tests to place adults in appropriate programs. Instruments used included: Foreign Service Oral Interview; Ilyin Oral Interview; object-oriented testing; group testing; performance in authentic situations; Ontario Test of English as a Second Language; and George…

A curriculum development project undertaken by English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers resulted in a major reorientation to reading instruction for adult ESL students. The course uses materials, often developed by the teachers, that systematically address reading problems, ongoing revision, and student interests. (Author/CB)

Describes a study investigating how adult students attending the two-year University of Wisconsin Centers compared to younger students in terms of their characteristics, goals, academic performance, where they went to college or the barriers to going on, educational plans, and evaluation of the Centers. (AYC)

The Central Educational Center (CEC) is a unique educational experience worth replicating in Georgia and nationally. It is a bold experiment--offering required academic courses and state-of-the-art technical and occupational courses to high-school students with the opportunity for dual-enrollment college credit while still in high school. Open to…

This issue of "EFF Voice" focuses on current research and development efforts to create an assessment framework for the Equipped for the Future (EFF) Content Standards. As in all earlier phases of EFF R&D, this work engages practitioners in the field, as well as researchers and other technical advisors, as partners in the development…

This guide provides comprehensive instructions for facilitating a ten-hour study circle that explores differing theories of the reading process, the four major components of reading and the implications for teaching, the development of learners' reading profiles, and the Equipped for the Future framework. The guide is based on a review of adult…

"The Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 5" is a volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and learning.…

A study identified and compared characteristics of enlisted soldiers who participated in postsecondary educational offerings to those who did not and identified barriers to participation for participants and nonparticipants. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 92 soldiers at one Army installation. Nonparticipants named these…

The number of women who elect to study at the community college has escalated dramatically during the last three decades. The U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that of the 111,607 associate degrees awarded in 1965-1966, 47,828 (43%) were earned by women. In 1993-1994, 542,449 associate degrees…

Journals can be valuable tools for fostering adult learning and experience. Research has supported the following assumptions about learning from journals: (1) articulating connections between new and existing knowledge improves learning; (2) writing about learning is a way of demonstrating what has been learned; (3) journal writing accentuates…

This report provides an overview of the field of adult English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) instruction in the United States today. First, it places adult ESOL in the broader context of the U.S. education system, and then it describes trends and issues in the areas of program design and instructional practice, assessment, teacher…