This document reports oral and written testimony of witnesses at three Congressional hearings on eliminating illiteracy held in spring and summer, 1989. Witnesses included Senators Paul Simon, Howard Metzenbaum, Nancy Kassebaum, Strom Thurmond, Thad Cochran, and Orrin Hatch; Secretary of Education Lauro F. Cavazos; literacy program managers and…

This document contains teacher's materials that accompany Operation Storefront, the computer-assisted instruction package used in the Reading Assistance Program (RAP) that serves nonreading adults in Pasco County, Florida, who are 16 years or older and not in school. The target population for Operation Storefront is adults reading at or below the…

Several issues should be considered in selecting assessment instruments and procedures for use in adult literacy programs. Teachers must consider the purpose of the assessment; the appropriateness of the assessment instrument for adults; the reliability, validity, and practicality of the instrument; whether the assessment is culturally sensitive;…

The autonomous model of literacy--including its two features autonomy of text and autonomy of skill, which have been particularly influential in reading assessment--does not account for important aspects of reading. The pragmatic model of literacy accounts more adequately for how readers respond to text. An analysis of the 1976 and 1987 versions…

World Education, with a small grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, began an experimental pilot project in nonformal education at a university research center, a pilot project that eventually became the Government of Nepal's national literacy program. The program evolved gradually over 12 years (1977-89) and was molded in…

Four adult education programs being conducted in India are described in the case studies in this packet. Two of the projects involve literacy; the third promotes literacy as one part of its community development program, and the fourth trains workers in hotel management and catering technology. The literacy programs are (1) development of a…

This report contains the proceedings from a conference on the problems of low literacy among single mothers. The seminar involved practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and funders. The report includes an executive summary, six papers grouped according to three topic areas, a seminar agenda, a list of participants, and a 57-item bibliography.…

Efforts to solve intergenerational literacy must focus on the family as a unit. However, schools traditionally have a poor track record in dealing with minority/disadvantaged students and involving their parents. Studies have demonstrated the importance of family/community influence on children as well as the cultural and linguistic insensitivity…

The military has responded to recent demographic projections by upgrading its literacy standards: almost 95 percent of new recruits are high school graduates. In order to maintain its high recruitment standard, the military relies heavily on a standardized test, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Those who have not graduated from high…

The Older Worker Readiness Program, a demonstration program funded by the Kentucky Department for Employment Services during 1987-88, developed three centers to provide a combination of job search skills and literacy skills for individuals over 54 who want to enter the work force. A job placement component eventually was put in place for…

Specific ideas and procedures for motivating employees to sign up for and attend classes in English are outlined. The roles of the management in general and the supervisor in particular in supporting and encouraging attendance are emphasized. These individuals are seen as important in motivating, scheduling, implementing and retaining students,…

The member countries of the Commission of European Communities carried out various programs to combat illiteracy in their countries. The activities can be grouped in six areas: (1) adaptation of teaching to overcome the learning difficulties of disadvantaged pupils; (2) reconsideration and development of the objectives of language skills at the…

This manual was prepared for use by adult education teachers in facilitating a self-directed learning (SDL) group for students based on the modules described in the manual. The SDL group involves 10 sessions with specific objectives and activities for each session. Following an introduction, the manual is organized in five additional sections. The…

This document contains three parts: part 1 provides the framework of post-literacy; part 2 describes putting the learning strategies into action; and part 3 provides conclusions. In part 1, post-literacy is defined and learning strategies for post-literacy and continuing education are identified. In part 2, the following learning strategies are…

This annotated bibliography of supplementary materials for adult literacy students in Mississippi arranges the annotations in the following categories: automobiles; biography; communication skills; consumer information; coping skills; English as a second language; fiction; health, nutrition, and safety; history and government; insurance; job…