Using a situated cognition framework, 24 vignettes of literacy practices were examined in 4 Canadian settings: community-based, workplace, family, and school-based literacy. Literacy researchers appear constrained by behaviorist, normative perspectives despite the shift toward humanist perspectives. (Contains 51 references.) (SK)

Shows that literacy practices have a key role in the new workplace that is different from the past, and that these developments have enormous implications for literacy and literacy learners. Emphasizes the changes in the way literacy tasks are located or situated in work, producing changes in the relations of literacy in so-called high performance…

This article explores the connections between literacy, economy, and place through an examination of labor market intermediaries (LMIs). In particular, the article addresses the shifting role of LMIs over the past thirty years in Lake County, Indiana, and how they have developed as literacy sponsors. The article looks beyond the boundaries of…

A study (1) identified in ethnographic detail the literacy-related skills that are required in today's changing workplaces; (2) compared the literacy requirements of "high performance" workplaces with more traditionally organized ones; and (3) constructed innovative ways to introduce educators to the changing skill demands of work. The…

This document describes how a set of workplace literacy curricula was developed for Chinese garment workers in New York City. First, it discusses the goal of the workplace literacy program and the nature of the population served. Then, it proceeds to discuss rationale and research procedures of how the curriculum was being developed. A set of…

Ethnography is a research approach that seeks to understand and represent the points of view of the members of a particular culture. As in other forms of qualitative research, the data collected are rich in their descriptions of people, places, languages, and events. Ethnographic research can be characterized by its multi-instrumental approach,…

After reiterating the findings of an earlier examination of job literacy, this paper discusses the results of a job literacy survey involving interviews with 107 individuals representing 100 occupations ranging from short-order cooks and assembly-line workers to lawyers and corporation vice-presidents. Other aspects of the research findings…

Inadequate self-concepts develop due to being a poor and insecure reader. Any company invests time and money wisely if it provides individuals opportunities to develop needed reading skills at the workplace. There are selected prerequisites for reading instructors to stress when teaching at the workplace: (1) the instructor needs to have basic…

This guide assists English-as-a-Second-Language educators in helping students fill out simple application forms. The guide discusses performance outcomes, communications teaching points, SCANS (Secretary's Committee on Achieving Necessary Skills) competencies, classroom configurations, materials, and procedures. Blank forms, suitable for…

Although federal funding for workplace literacy has ended, some companies offer some remedial instruction in English as a Second Language. However, because of the cost of getting employees to a point where they are comfortable with English, many programs are being reduced. (JOW)

According to interviews with 26 human resource managers, 78 supervisors, and 226 workers in New Zealand, managers and supervisors acknowledge significant changes in the literacy demands of work and concern with the capacity to train. Employees reported less difficulty with literacy tasks than supervisors/managers believed. Examination of workplace…

This call for a policy focuses on the need for understanding that for literacy to be an investment, it must provide desired outcomes for people and the societies in which they live. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) (Author/VWL)

The Army's Job Skills Education Program is a computer-based instructional program that teaches basic academic skills in a job-related context. Its transferability to the civilian workplace provides another tool for enhancing workplace literacy. (SK)

Compares four small-group literacy-learning approaches (cooperative, collaborative, participatory, and workplace team) in terms of assumptions, relationship to literacy, learning activities, and teacher role. Concludes that they are validated more in theory than in practice; more attention to gender, class, and culture is also needed. (SK)

According to workplace instructors of English as a Second Language (ESL), such classes are essential if employees have little exposure to English off the job; ESL instruction enables learners to observe others' language-learning strategies and fulfills varied needs: standard English, language attack skills, and a forum for clarifying and…