Interviews with adult basic education students revealed that (1) some program demands and conditions threaten them with fear of failure; (2) some adults want more autonomy than instructors want to give; and (3) the special needs of some students demand special learning conditions. (SK)

Findings from past research suggest that teachers in successful adult basic education/general educational development programs know how to adapt basic skills instruction to the concerns and ability levels of adult students. Results of an informal Mississippi survey illustrate that many teachers are unprepared to teach disadvantaged students basic…

Two hundred and fourteen adult basic education students in Connecticut were interviewed to determine the range and types of personal and institutional supports and countersupports available to students and to discover how the presence or absence of such supports enhanced or detracted from their participation in basic education classes. (CT)

The case study approach is used to determine more completely the impact of illegal entry into the United States on Mexican farm laborers and the results of their subsequent incarceration. Positive impacts include (1) learning English, (2) acquisition of interpersonal skills, and (3) technical skill development. (SA)

Describes a model for Hispanic farm laborer irrigation schools that was developed, implemented, and evaluated by cooperative extension personnel. Success of the approach was due to attention to critical elements in the model, which is applicable to other adult basic education programs. (JOW)

Argues that the obligatory nature of functional literacy does not deprive the individual freedom of thought and opinion, and that voluntarism in basic adult education in the United States has greatly contributed to putting the nation at risk and to keeping it a nation at risk. (HOD)

Reviews numerous meaning-based vocabulary methods that use comparing, contrasting, making analogies, or developing examples of concepts and relates them to the adult basic education setting. (JOW)

Reports that adult basic education students had positive attitudes toward both their teachers and education. (FL)

Reviews the highlights of the Federal legislation relating to Adult Basic Education (ABE) in terms of the specific laws from 1964 to 1975, with a brief commentary on the social context of the legislation and makes recommendations for future ABE Federal legislation. (WL)

The adult basic education program has had little impact on reducing illiteracy among adults in the United States. Reasons include a bad funding formula, lack of measurable objectives, and curtailed federal project activity. (JDS)

This Study Circle guide was created by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) as part of the Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network (PDRN). The guide is part of NCSALL's effort to help connect research and practice in the field of adult basic education and adult literacy. The purpose of the study circle…

Dr. Howard Gardner's introduction of multiple intelligences theory (MI theory) in 1983 generated considerable interest in the educational community. Multiple intelligences was a provocative new theory, claiming at least seven relatively independent intelligences. MI theory presented a conception of intelligence that was in marked contrast to the…

This paper presents two elements of a broader set of findings resulting from a qualitative doctoral dissertation. This research gives voice to the learning experiences of 21 diverse adult learners who participated in a community-based multicultural immersion program. Key perspectives of their learning experiences were drawn from two main themes:…

This final performance report compares the goals and actual accomplishments of a project focused on establishing a basic, cooperative literary collection, with the specific goal of improving availability of and access to literacy materials for literacy providers and students. The project included coalition building, public awareness, basic…

This report describes a project conducted to develop and publish instructional materials for educationally disadvantaged adults in independent living situations to assist them in developing skills such as bill paying, making and keeping appointments, and other related issues. After experimenting with other communication methods serving this type…