This study attempts to define dropouts, focus on the reasons for dropping out, and suggest some ways to overcome perceived barriers to participation in adult literacy programs. (SK)

The history of the literacy campaigns in Nigeria is the story of attempts made to focus on the importance of education outside the school walls and to make it a vehicle of social, political, and economic change. (Author/SK)

Reviews Elizabeth Eisenstein's "The Printing Press as an Agent of Change," which documents how print influenced the Renaissance and the Reformation and set the stage for the Age of Science. (AEA)

Describes Cuba's literacy crusade of 1961 and provides examples of materials and methods used. (AEA)

This report offers a brief account of Iraq's recent mass literacy initiative, considered within the broader context of illiteracy problems throughout the Arab world. The Iraqi experience is noteworthy for both the size and the unique character of the campaign launched by that nation's Arab Ba'ath Socialist regime. (Author/SJL)

Welfare-to-work programs are bringing more adults back to school. These programs are aimed at those who are 16 years or older without a high school diploma or its equivalent. However, many adult students leave school for a variety of reasons, including pregnancy, lack of interest, and transportation problems. Lists benchmarks for good adult…

Imagination is indispensable for knowing the world. However, visual and musical imagery are ignored in education. Adult literacy education can be enhanced by the process of reading the world through print, pictures, and music. (SK)

Offers a follow-up look at the life of an adult disabled reader and the academic, career, and personal success he has achieved in spite of his limited reading ability. (SR)

A sociocultural approach takes into account how literacy is acquired and used in social contexts. Socially determined meanings of literacy practices and the different ways cultures are valued reflect tensions between practical consciousness and official or dominant consciousness. Literacy education should recognize literacy as a cultural practice…

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)

A study of the various facets and dimensions of literacy programs in South Asia indicates that literacy is viewed as a means of human resource development geared toward meaningful participation of all sectors in society, with individual programs varying according to the magnitude of illiteracy, national goals, linguistic setting, and regional…

The National Issues Forum's Literacy Program uses study circles and group discussion to promote empowerment and enhance adult literacy through civic education. The program has helped the Westonka (Minnesota) Adult Basic Education project accomplish its mission and has expanded the staff's view of adult learning. (SK)

Summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of using computers in adult literacy instruction. Presents a matrix which permits teachers to see at a glance how any one of 112 specific software programs may be used. (RS)

Presents 10 tips for effective adult literacy programs, which were culled from presentations at the 1988 annual conference of American adult education directors. States that the key to success is having a sense of mission--nurturing a team spirit among the literacy program's staff and students. (RS)

Twenty-seven participants in a Job Training Partnership Act-funded literacy program at Houston Community College received one of three types of computer-assisted instruction (CAI). The longer CAI was used, the higher the posttest reading and mathematics scores. Students with higher skill levels at entry learned faster with CAI systems. (SK)