This digest about issues currently being debated in the adult literacy field examines the appropriate goals and objectives for adult literacy education, professionalization of the field, and literacy program evaluation. The first section reflects the disagreement between those who believe the purpose of literacy education should be to support…

Designed to provide a comprehensive literacy reference for public libraries, this handbook presents a glossary of terms, background information on functional literacy, and brief reviews of 14 additional topics: (1) literacy statistics; (2) adult performance levels; (3) the problem of adult education; (4) illiteracy generates itself; (5) about…

The Kansas Volunteer Tutor Utilization (KV-TUTOR) project was undertaken to explore some of the possibilities of using volunteer tutors in adult basic education (ABE) programs. A volunteer structure was developed at 16 local ABE programs throughout the state. KV-TUTOR actively promoted these volunteer systems by contacting (through letters, phone…

A study was conducted to determine if visualization could be used as an organizational tool to help adult education students improve their reading comprehension by helping them to see the structure of what they are reading in a sort of verbal picture of organized ideas. Following a review of research, which identified five areas in which…

Three studies were conducted to determine the validity of the idea that adult literacy students have greater reading potential (and thus can learn in much shorter periods of time) than school children who score at comparable levels to the adults on standardized reading tests, and that adults are more efficient learners than such children. The…

A case study is described in which an application of Goodman's Psycholinguistic Guessing Game model of reading was attempted with an elderly illiterate woman. Instructional materials were devised consistent with the theory of the game, and a tutorial was conducted. Researcher observations were recorded with respect to the subject's…

A research team approach was selected for an ethnographic project to identify those variables that influenced the adult beginning readers' acquisition of reading strategies and their effect on reading achievement. Weekly staff meetings focused on (1) identifying initial conceptualization and emerging foci reflected in the data, and (2) continually…

A college-level reading center program was adapted for use in helping a group of state employees improve their reading skills. This paper explains how the program originated and describes program procedures (including diagnosis, the determination of individual and course objectives, record keeping, class format, and class presentations) materials…

The games and simulations presented in this monograph represent an appropriate technology for the literacy instructor to use with adult students as a stimulus for discussion and analysis and as a motivational technique. Chapters in this monograph present reasons to use games and simulations, explanations of what games and simulations are,…

A PROCEDURE TO TEACH NATIVE SAMOANS HOW TO TEACH READING IS DESCRIBED. THE STORY SEQUENCE IDEA WAS USED FOR SELF-TEACHING. CLASS MEMBERS COLLECTED SAMOAN LEGENDS AND RECORDED VILLAGE LIFE IN ORIGINAL BOOKS ADAPTED TO VARIOUS READING LEVELS. THIS PRODUCTION WAS DIVIDED INTO SIX STEPS--(1) ANALYZING EXISTING TEXTBOOKS, (2) WRITING THE STORIES, (3)…

The Developmental Education Questionnaire was mailed nationwide, in November 1974, to members of the Special Interest Group for Two Year Colleges of the International Reading Association. Responses were made by 109 of the 252 members. The purpose of the questionnaire was to develop a profile of the organization of developmental education programs…

This yearbook contains the papers presented at the third annual meeting of the Southwest Reading Conference for Colleges and Universities as well as additional articles of interest written by members. Topics considered: reading in the college curriculum, evaluation of the tachistoscope in reading improvement programs, recent research relative to…

The New School of Liberal Arts, a part of Brooklyn College, utilized team teaching techniques in order to raise reading, writing, and general skills levels of underprepared college students in the New York City area. During the year's study, students received intensive developmental help in conjunction with content courses in social institutions,…

The assessment of current practices in college reading improvement courses offered by four-year, degree-granting public institutions in the Midwest was the focus of this survey. Undertaken to determine the availability of such courses and to identify current practices, materials and methods utilized, the survey tapped one hundred thirty-two…

An investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of a reading and study skills program for students taking a great number of courses that require quantitative reasoning, as well as other skills. Subjects were 53 freshmen enrolled at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. All of the subjects had failed one or more courses. A…