Considers the role of "traveling rhetoricians" and the fate of the rhetorical theory and research they carry into the workplace and offer to practitioners. Finds teachers of academic, cross-curricular, and workplace writing are being informed by the discipline's deepening understanding of how genres work in particular settings. Considers…

A workplace literacy program provided instruction in prose, document, and quantitative (PDQ) dimensions of literacy to 50 female high school dropouts. Only 20% completed the program; they made meaningful gains in the quantitative and document dimensions, but not prose. (SK)

Readability indices were used to evaluate job-related reading matter; comparison with high school textbooks was made to determine a reading-level gap. A minimum high school reading comprehension level was assumed in workplace materials; textbooks often exhibited lower scores on reading formulas. (SK)

Content analysis and trend extrapolation using case studies of 18 workplace literacy programs in Canada were used to develop a framework of good practice. Elements included program orientation, partnerships, equity, change agents, assessment, ongoing learning, adult education foundations, content, delivery, professional development, and…

Naturalistic observations and interviews with service workers found on-the-job reading was based on knowledge of codes and rules of practice and required problem-solving and metacognitive strategies. Workplace competencies should be considered within their social and cultural context. (SK)

A collaborative, holistic, and integrated approach to workplace education is needed to deal with a complex workplace and world. Critical elements include financial and organizational commitment to education and training, comprehensive program evaluation, balanced emphasis on worker skills, a challenge to the deficit model, and alternatives to the…

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…

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)