A survey group of the State Literacy Workforce Development Council studied the impact of illiteracy on Alabama's work force and economy using census data. Findings indicated that 55 percent of Alabama's adults functioned at literacy levels inadequate to meet the demands of a modern, technical society. Costs to business and industry were lost…

Media reports suggest widespread illiteracy among adults who may not be able to read, write, speak, or otherwise communicate competently enough to meet the demands of modern society. No consensus has been reached regarding a definition of illiteracy or supporting statistics. Estimates of adult illiteracy range form 0.5% to 50%, meaning that of the…

Research on adult literacy suggests that some formidable problems lie ahead as efforts continue toward ensuring that every adult in the United States is literate and possesses skills necessary for economic competitiveness and citizenship. Among the difficulties facing existing approaches are three interrelated issues. First, current programs serve…

This report begins with the governor's designation of the North Dakota State Library as the official state agency responsible for the state's participation in the 1991 White House Conference on Library and Information Services, describes budgetary problems encountered by the library in planning for state activities, and lists the 12 members of the…

The use of small groups in adult literacy and basic education has been stimulated by a desire to provide a more learner-centered and collaborative learning environment. Another set of factors promoting their use is related to increased use of language experience or whole language as instructional approaches in adult literacy and basic education.…

Focusing on programs that successfully expanded primary education in rural areas and among young girls, this report describes a mobilizing project that assisted six local programs in documenting and disseminating their methods. The report discusses the six successful projects: (1) the PROPEL project in Pune, India; (2) the 900 Schools Project in…

Women in development refers to the needs and problems of women in developing countries and the responsibility of industrialized countries to ensure that aid programs serve the best interests of these women. A concern of adult educators is the relationship between adult education and the challenges facing women in the development of their…

The crisis in education that faces the nations of the world at the end of the 20th century requires not only a new approach to the development of education as a social institution, but also the restructuring of the traditional systems of planning and management of education. The democratization of educational planning is called for, in which a…

A project in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, investigated whether the use of computers along with Laubach literacy materials could significantly raise the reading level of adults presently reading at the 0-4 grade levels. Adults in a control and an experimental group (15 in each) worked one-on-one with volunteer tutors using the "Laubach Way to…

This Congressional hearing deals with the views of the private sector concerning adult illiteracy. Included among those organizations and firms represented at the hearing were the following: the Free Library of Philadelphia, B. Dalton Bookseller, the Hispanic Higher Education Coalition, Polaroid Company, Laubach Literacy Action, and the…

These state profiles for Program Year 1988 contain information based on 1980 Census data and information taken from the Annual Financial and Statistical Reports submitted to the Department of Education by the states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. State profiles are arranged alphabetically by state. For each state, these demographic…

The aim of this study was to describe and compare the socio-economic factors that can be expected to influence the education system in Portugal, where urbanization has been very slow. The report examines basic needs in Portugal's 18 districts and makes recommendations about resource allocation to planners of adult education programs. Extensive…

A study of the Center for Literacy's (CFL) program was conducted to provide information on retention and attrition in an urban, open-entry/open-exit, individualized, goal-based literacy program. An exploratory analysis that used student and tutor records from 1985 through 1989 provided a summary of demographics and attendance patterns. This…

This book contains 29 essays which grew out of presentations delivered at a conference on the right to literacy whose participants were invited to consider differing definitions and historical understandings of literacy and the political, pedagogical, and theoretical implications of the many approaches to literacy education that have been taken…