This toolkit is a resource to help adult education instructors and administrators better understand the problem of health literacy as it affects their learners. It is designed to support creative approaches to helping learners increase their health literacy as they engage in sound, productive adult literacy instruction. Information resources are…

This paper discusses the various educational technology movements and initiatives currently underway in China and the impact they may have on the literacy rate of the Chinese people. Topics addressed include: (1) China's political history and its impact on the educational system, including China under the rule of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and…

"Focus on Basics" is the quarterly publication of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. It presents best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policymakers. "Focus on Basics" is dedicated to…

A study examined systematically the relationship of 40 teacher characteristics and the reading improvement of adult basic education (ABE) and adult secondary education (ASE) students. Subjects were 50 adult basic and secondary education teachers and 663 of their students from a dozen adult literacy programs in a Southern state. A multiple…

The human cognitive system may have a developmental property that makes acquisition of fluent reading skills difficult after a certain age. This problem may be seen to affect two different populations: participants in adult literacy programs who lacked access to schools as children and educated adults fluent in languages with non-Latin scripts.…

A study was conducted to identify the literacy needs of adults with disabilities and to examine the extent to which these needs are being met by community-based adult basic literacy programs in the metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada area. Data for the study were gathered through questionnaires used to interview 15 potential adult learners with…

This two-page lesson plan for Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL) uses a children's book ("Jip: His Story,"' by Katherine Paterson) to provide an integrated learning experience for students. The lesson plan includes a synopsis of the story and general suggestions for using the story in a basic skills class. It also…

This document, which was written for adult educators in Georgia, offers instructional plans and practical strategies for helping students in adult literacy, adult basic education, General Educational Development, and English-as-a-second-language programs become critical television viewers. The document begins with a discussion of why television…

This document offers individual institution reports for partnership programs in Wyoming's seven community colleges. The colleges are: (1) Casper College; (2) Central Wyoming College; (3) Eastern Wyoming College; (4) Laramie County Community College; (5) Northwest College; (6) Sheridan College; and (7) Western Wyoming Community College. Wyoming…

This guide presents materials to improve understanding and communication between health care practitioners and patients or between teachers and learners. It contains descriptions of health education materials addressing issues of culture and low-literacy and has information written in languages other than English. It includes materials not found…

This project was developed to increase attendance at inservices and workshops that are provided to continue the training of tutors in the South Pittsburgh office of the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council (GPLC). A questionnaire was designed and mailed to all (about 20) tutors in the area to obtain input about how prepared they felt, and whether…

Discourse analysis reveals how the meanings of literacy are both socially produced and variable between different discourses. A recent consultation with researchers is used to demonstrate how the outcomes were influenced by the discourses of participants and organizers. An argument is made to establish a literacy discourse analysis tradition to…

This paper analyzes the determinants of literacy and earnings in Ghana. Introductory sections discuss developments in literacy in the United States and Great Britain, literacy rates in developing countries, worldwide increases in literacy, literature on the determinants of literacy, aspects of the Ghanaian economy and educational spending, and the…

Bakery Europa and the Straub Clinic in Hawaii participated in Project BELIEVE, a 3-year (1995-98) workplace literacy project conducted in partnership with the University of Hawaii's College of Education. Instruction focused on the literacy, communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills needed to succeed in the baking and health care…

Botswana's national literacy program and its role in both democracy building and national development efforts is discussed in this paper. Literacy groups can be found in villages and towns throughout the country. The proportion of literate adults has increased from 34% in 1966 to 68.9% in 1993. Yet the absence of 81% of the eligible population…