Facing rapid economic and demographic changes, Barrow County (Georgia) has committed itself to improving adult literacy. The Barrow County Adult Learning Center provides various educational services, including a GED program, adult classes in English and math, English-as-a-Second-Language classes, and a basic computer program. Local businesses,…

Describes a university literacy tutorial program in which older adult college students received tutor training and then carried out one-to-one reading tutorials with adult male learners who were rehabilitating addicts. Offers two case studies, and shows that the program had a significant impact on tutors' commitment to community volunteerism and…

A survey of coordinators and tutors in 50 adult-literacy programs in western Canada examined program activities involving writing; amount and type of instruction devoted to writing; and staff attitudes about the value of writing in the program, their own writing skills, potential of writing as a self-development tool, and professional-development…

Discusses the role of ideology in the World Bank's funding decisions. Describes the issues of literacy and development, especially as related to the World Bank. Concludes that adult literacy programs, which have relatively unpredictable and uncontrollable outcomes, may represent a commitment that, politically and culturally, is too risky for the…

Identifies dominant meanings of literacy within contemporary proposals for educational reform in North America, Britain, and Australasia, examining the meanings and noting the serious imbalance within current reform visions for literacy education. The paper examines four types of literacy constructions (lingering basics, new basics, elite…

Summarizes the experiences of workers from non-English-speaking backgrounds (NESB) in accessing safety information. The article examines the issue through the workers' eyes and focuses on the potential relationships between language and literacy and workplace health and safety and a concern for the reasons why some NESB workers are losers in…

Examines the use of English as the "lingua franca" in Fiji and analyzes the reasons for the rapid growth of the manufacturing industry there. The article reviews publications discussing adult literacy, English as a Second Language (ESL), and communication on the island. It is concluded that the manufacturing industry will see the benefit…

Highlights significance of adult literacy programs in Botswana and Zimbabwe. Concludes that the traditional approach to adult literacy is dominant in both countries, despite differences in national contexts and despite the fact that this traditional approach is largely ineffective. (Contains 51 references.) (NB)

Investigated the meaning to participating mothers of their involvement in a family literacy program in a low income, urban neighborhood. Interviews with mothers involved in the Family Reading Program indicated that mothers were concerned for their children's welfare, engaged in literacy practices, and utilized appropriate help from the school.…

This study examines cross-national differences in returns to literacy skills and explores possible explanations for such differences. Data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) are analyzed using multilevel models. Returns to literacy skills are higher in liberal market economies (LMEs) than in social market economies (SMEs).…

Nationally approved adult numeracy teacher training programmes were started in September 2002 following the introduction of subject specifications by the Department for Education and Skills and the Further National Training Organisation in England. These programmes delivered by higher education institutions and further education colleges were…

This study extends the knowledge garnered from work with younger populations to determine the reading comprehension strategies most important to adults' success on outcome measures and to align them with previously researched interventions. According to an analysis of competence-based standardized tests of literacy (such as the General Educational…

"Illiteracy" is still a powerful concept in adult literacy education. St. Clair and Sandlin examine the use of the term and the policies and programs it currently justifies. The authors argue that the concept of illiteracy should be avoided due to its inherent deficit focus.

This research monograph prepared for the National Commission on Adult Literacy is primarily designed to describe and analyze the net annual fiscal contributions (tax payments minus cash and in-kind transfers and institutionalization costs) of U.S. adults (ages 16-64) by their educational attainment in recent years. The report begins with an…

The vast majority of American-born adults are exposed to written language from a very early age. Most Americans live in a print-based society where letters and words are everywhere! Drive, walk, or bike down any American street and you will see numerous eye-catching billboards, signs, and storefronts. Our towns, cities, neighborhoods, and homes…