This book, intended to serve as a professional reference work, proposes to define the field of Adult Basic Education in its evolution, its contribution to professional education, and the principal problems and issues. The volume contains the following treatises: "Definitions and Evolution of the Concepts" (Thomas); "Selected…

This study describes efforts by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) to promote literacy among six language groups of northern Ghana during the years 1972-1979. The report is organized into three parts. Part I provides general background for an understanding and evaluation of what took place. It first describes the national and local setting…

The monograph presents the writing of suitable "follow-up" books for new adult readers in developing countries in the dual context of lifelong learning and of support for development by communication. It presents writing for new readers from the perspectives of high level policy makers, reading materials specialists in ministries and…

Developed for consideration by the Chancellor and Virginia State Board of Community Colleges, other public officials, and all citizens of the Commonwealth, this task force report examines the future of Virginia's community colleges in economic development and workplace literacy. The report sets forth ten challenges which stand as obstacles to the…

This document addresses issues related to the problem that many U.S. citizens do not have literacy skills adequate to meet their needs and ambitions. The first section of the paper provides an overview of the problem, discussing how to define literacy, how it has been measured, some estimates of how many people are illiterate, who they are and…

By the year 2000, most new entrants to the work force will be women, minorities, or immigrants who have not mastered the skills necessary for the entry-level jobs of the future--the ability to conceptualize, analyze, and communicate well. However, research has demonstrated that these people, who are at risk of chronic unemployment, do not perform…

An evaluation was made of PACE (Parent and Child Education), a family literacy program initiated in Kentucky in 1986. PACE was created because of the widespread belief that the state has a serious problem with undereducation of its adult population and the belief also that this problem is the result of persistent patterns of educational failure…

A study evaluated the IBM Principles of Adult Literacy (PALS) program in 1988-89. Three adult education centers in Georgia (two with PALS and one without) were studied to determine whether, for adult nonreaders, the PALS program produced gains in reading equal to or greater than those produced by a traditional noncomputerized program. In addition…

Adult literacy programs need reliable information about program quality and effectiveness for accountability, improvement of practice, and expansion of knowledge. Evaluation and assessment reflect fundamental beliefs about adult learners, concepts of literacy, and educational settings. Resources for planning program evaluations include surveys,…

The Family Support Act of 1988 is based on the assumption that education, training, work experience, and support are the way to reduce welfare dependence. The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training program in the act requires participation of many welfare recipients in state job training programs. Comprehensive welfare reform programs in…

Representatives of the business community define workplace literacy according to how well informed are the spokespersons for business, how expansive is their view of the role of literacy, and the extent to which literacy bears on their firms' productivity. These elements affect business people's understanding of what constitutes workplace…

High school noncompletion is a complex problem that requires complex solutions that schools are often inhibited from implementing quickly. Alternative educational services are often necessary for students who are able to complete high school but who find school an unrewarding place in which to learn. A loose network of public and private programs…

A study compared the performances of adults who were learning to read with those of two groups of preliterate and second-grade children on selected cognitive tasks and on the display of certain metacognitive understandings. It was hypothesized that if the adults (who could not successfully read a passage from a fourth-grade reader) did as well as…

This document describes a workplace literacy program designed to improve the literacy skills of entry-level workers in the housekeeping, food service, and laundry departments of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. An introduction describes the goals of the program and the employees served (low-literate adults who relied on word of mouth for most…

West Virginia Northern Community College provided workplace literacy education and training for employees of Weirton Steel Corporation and Union Carbide Corporation. For Weirton Steel the training included 4,040 hours of instruction in fundamental literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking, and math), oral and written communications (including…