The Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) assesses applications to its Prior Learning and Assessment (PLAR) program. This 1999-2000 report is the second annual account of SIAST assessments of PLAR requests. PLAR Policy identifies the following standards for quality assurance in assessing learning for credit: (1)…

Case studies of three nontraditional female college graduates from an Appalachian community in eastern Kentucky examined whether and how education changed these women's literacy habits. Also addressed were the literate practices they used in job, home, and community settings; the effects of their education on their children; and whether…

This research brief highlights findings from a qualitative study of the contextual factors that shape engagement in adult literacy education. Engagement is mental effort focused on learning and is a precondition to learning progress. Some researchers focus on engagement as a cognitive, or mental, process closely related to such things as…

This book uses critical theory analysis to understand the culture of the university and how it affects the educational plans of adults. The six chapters of the book depict the areas in which adult students are victimized by academic culture. Chapter 1 provides the study's research question and investigative methodology. Chapter 2 defines the…

The Literacy Learning Center Project, a project of the Meriden Public Library (Connecticut), targeted the educationally underserved and functionally illiterate, and involved recruitment, retention, space renovation, coalition building, public awareness, training, basic literacy, collection development, tutoring, computer assisted services, and…

This book is a guide to teaching English vocabulary to second-language learners. The book is divided into 30 chapters that teach 240 critical words. This vocabulary includes what English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL), adult literacy, and pre-general equivalency diploma students need to get ahead in today's competitive world. The guide's distinctive…

This paper describes a 1996 study that compared the student teaching experiences of a traditional and a nontraditional student to ascertain what differences in their experiences might imply about teacher preparation. The two students kept journals that could be written in at any time of the day. They recorded their impressions of their situation…

This document contains 61 poems, short stories, and personal reflections that were selected from more than 300 entries submitted by adult literacy students throughout Ohio. The works included are as follows: "The Apartment" (Shirley Pettit); "The Last Poem Before I Die" (Lonnie Littleton); "A Family Lost" (Mary Rapp);…

The first phase of a persistence study used research as a tool to develop advice for practitioners on how to help adults persist in their studies. The study team defined persistence as adults who stay in programs for as long as they can, engage in self-directed study when they must drop out of their programs, and return to programs as soon as the…

A study examined the use of educational aid provided by employers to employees, including the types of employees and educational and training programs that employers support. Two National Center for Education Statistics data sets provided the data for the analysis: National Household Education Survey, which provides information describing all…

Deborah Tannen's framework for interpersonal communication between males and females (published in 1990) was used to explore how male and female distance education students meet their primary needs through communication. The study population consisted of the 19 female and 6 male students enrolled in a 13-week computer conferencing course at the…

Today's youth are entering adult and vocational education with learning self-images that have been damaged, rather than strengthened, by school and early career experiences. Adult educators should devote more attention to the analysis of the life-courses of different deprived groups of individuals. Changes in the conditions of life-courses in…

Warns that the transition of older people into higher education will not be easy. Society has fixed conceptualizations of older people as learners. Argues that institutions of higher education are beginning to be more responsive to older people, and gerontological theory might prove useful in guiding action. (Author/JAC)

Examines the impact of new student populations on community colleges. Notes the proliferation of remedial programs, individualized instruction, and diagnostic testing and placement services in response to student learning problems and the expansion of noncredit offerings, experiential learning credit, and cooperative education programs responding…

The unique needs and experiences of the group of New York City public school paraprofessionals for whom Medgar Evers College established a training program are discussed. Most are over 35, Black or Hispanic, and the first generation in their families to attend college. (MSE)