Describes literacy education in Flanders, Belgium, for adolescents and adults. Discusses education policy, courses, materials, and students and teachers. (SR)

Examines statistics on minority illiteracy from the 1990 Chinese national census across age groups in relation to China's changing language policy among three types of minority communities: those with writing systems of historically broad usage; those with historically limited usage; and those without functional writing systems. (Author/VWL)

Provides an overview of science education in Central America. Discusses the organization of science education, the public and private school systems, traditional obstacles to science education, illiteracy, the low quality of basic education, economic support and employment opportunities, science and society, and the future of science education.…

Describes three school programs designed to provide alternative schooling for Brazilian street children and illiterate adult students with the basic skills to survive in their world. Directly or indirectly embedded in Freirean principles, the three programs are: (1) Sao Paulo Interdisciplinary School Reform; (2) Projeto Axe: Schooling for Street…

Despite an overall improvement in the educational situation of girls and women in India, there are considerable gender inequalities in education. In the last decade, the Government of India introduced the campaign approach to tackle the problem of widespread illiteracy among women and other socio-economically disadvantaged groups in collaboration…

After decades of debate inside the educational community, literacy policy has recently moved to the larger stage of national politics. Prior to 1997 no federal bill had specifically addressed child literacy as an issue. But in the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush regularly touted his record on literacy, and he and his wife Laura, a…

The question of unequal access to education among males and females appears to be universal in the developing world. However, females in Africa seem to suffer more discrimination in terms of access to education. This study revisits the question of gender disparities in educational access in Africa by analyzing data from recent comparative national…

This study reviews state and national surveys of prisoner literacy and compares their results to two recent surveys of literacy in Michigan prisoners. The persistent notion that prisoners are severely illiterate is shown to be a myth. In Michigan, only 10 to 11% of commitments were found to have Test of Adult Basic Education scores below grade…

In a most timely volume addressing many of the connections among current fiscal and employment crises to adult education, Learning for Economic Self-Sufficiency highlights the problems and challenges that low-literate adults encounter in various environments. Moreover, this book presents strategies for addressing the chronic illiteracy among…

The author analyzes three basic periods in the development of the level of education of the population of Russia over the span of a hundred years. The first period runs from 1897, when a nationwide census was carried out for the first time, to 1917. The second period, the Soviet era, runs from 1917 to the late 1980s. The third period started with…

Linda Scott DeRosier's autobiographical accounts of literacy attainment in "Creeker: A Woman's Journey" and "Songs of Life and Grace" reveal that entrance into a secondary discourse community via literacy can bring both pleasure and pain. Analyzing the identity negotiations DeRosier encounters reveals that although she…

In Fall 1992, 400 telephone interviews established levels of basic skills difficulties among the work force as encountered or perceived by employers in the United Kingdom. Costs to employers of poor basic skills and the effect of these on their operation were quantified and described. Respondents were mainly personnel/training managers or…

Since a robust curriculum is needed to combat illiteracy in Nigeria, a study investigated whether the 4P's model of reading instruction enhanced the performance of reading comprehension teachers, promoted classroom interactions, and enhanced the language competence of students more than the classical method. Subjects were final year students and…

One cause for illiteracy that is often overlooked is the difficulty of learning the English orthographic system, which is less consistent than that of many other languages. Several historical and linguistic factors have contributed to this inconsistency, including: the "freezing" of the rapidly changing spelling system in the early years of…

This project focuses on non-formal and adult education for women in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, India. The objectives of the project were: (1) to provide non-formal education to girls and adult education to women in a coordinated manner; (2) to raise civic and social awareness of women; (3) to decentralize planning and implementation of programs…