The Convenience Store Workplace Literacy Curriculum was developed for English-as-a-Second-Language classes offered by the Southland Corporation, 7-Eleven stores, through a national workplace literacy grant. It is based on an analysis of the tasks and interactions common to a convenience store worksite. Store employees, managers, field consultants,…

Workplace education curriculum models may be based on the functional context, ethnographic/student-centered, or participatory approach. Curricula based on the functional context approach focus on the abilities (functions) needed by workers at a specific worksite, and workers are unlikely to have much input in deciding what or how they will study.…

The Massachusetts Workplace Literacy Consortium sought to upgrade work-related literacy skills at 22 partner sites in the state. Members included manufacturers, health care organizations, educational institutions, and labor unions. In its third year, the consortium served 1,179 workers with classes in English for speakers of other languages, adult…

This guide raises and discusses questions to guide workplace literacy. The historic context for this handbook is the progress of Project REACH from its inception in 1986 to the present. An introduction considers how an workplace literacy. An introduction considers how an organization's history affects program decisions. Chapter 1 looks at…

This reading curriculum for the Education for Employment Project (a project based on business and education partnerships, with the goal of producing the finest, best educated, and most skilled work force in the United States has as its purpose the development of strategic readers critical thinkers who view reading as a lifelong interactive process…

Representing a selection from the American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA) Literacy Conference, these seven papers include: "Remarks Prepared for Delivery ANPA Literacy Conference" (Labor Secretary, Elizabeth Dole); "National Education Goal #5: A Challenge for Everyone" (Assistant Secretary of Education, Ted Sanders);…

Sociocultural concerns have provided the framework for literacy expectations throughout the history of the United States, and have determined the extent to which national emphasis has been placed on adult literacy programs. Early literacy programs have been traced to the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. The next surge of interest in…

Investment in literacy upgrading can pay rich dividends in both quality of life for individuals and benefits to society. Literacy can become the gateway to a fuller understanding of ideas and responsible participation as citizens. Unfortunately, academic abilities of schooled youth are not keeping pace with the skills/knowledge requirements of…

This paper is a summary of existing literature on the literacy requirements of various businesses and industries, including the Federal Government. The findings came from a spring 1979 search for literature on the literacy requirements of various businesses and industries during 1969-1979. The report contains information on the following topics:…

Reports on the problem of adult functional illiteracy in the workplace and discusses how some companies and business-sponsored organizations are dealing with this problem. Describes Polaroid Corporation's in-house literacy training program in detail. (CH)

This book explores changing understandings of literacy and its place in contemporary workplace settings. It points to new questions and dilemmas to consider in planning and teaching workplace education. By taking a social perspective on literacies in the workplace, this book challenges traditional thinking about workplace literacy as functional…

This document presents the transcript of Congressional hearings held before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources on the scope and implications of illiteracy in the United States and on school and adult programs addressing literacy. After opening statements of the Hon. James M. Jeffords and the Hon. Christopher J. Dodd, the transcript for the…

A study examined the relevancy of freshman composition to writing in the workplace. Four professionals in middle management who had been out of college for a number of years were surveyed by e-mail about their writing in the workplace, college education, freshman writing classes, and importance of seven skills employers want employees to have.…

Examines ways in which the evaluative criteria of literacy education are being displaced by those with a work force development focus. Illustrates the consequences of criterion bleed: the concept of basic skills is being shifted from a means of democratic participation to a tool for employment. Urges adult literacy educators to adopt a critical…

Three experts in the field of basic skills training (David Harman, Diane Kangisser, and Karl Haigler) share their thoughts on giving employees and/or job applicants proficiency tests and, when necessary, remedial training in reading, writing, and mathematics. (Editor)