Life for uneducated women involves contending with myriad barriers to economic self-sufficiency. The average income for individuals without at least a high school diploma or GED is about $18,734. That income level falls close to the poverty line established by the federal government for a family of three or more. Further compounding the problem…

This manual documents a family literacy program developed by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and conducted at a local elementary school. It describes how the program combined General Educational Development (GED) courses for parents with a preschool program for their 3- to 4-year-old children. Based on the Kenan Family Literacy model…

After all had completed community college remedial reading courses, 47 General Educational Development graduates and 92 traditional high school graduates, all high risk, were compared. No significant differences appeared in grade point average, total credits, degree credits, retention rate, or average grade in English and health classes. (SK)

Economic and demographic changes are dramatically increasing the need for adult education, basic literacy, and English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) programs. Millions of Illinois residents lack the level of literacy skills needed to obtain good jobs, perform well on the job, and function well in an increasingly complex society. Addressing the scope…

For nineteen years, Mercy Learning Center, a community-based literacy organization, has provided basic literacy instruction to low-income women in Bridgeport, Connecticut. During that time it has grown from three students and two tutors to 450 students, 155 tutors, and five full-time teachers. This growth has been affected by changes in welfare…

This document traces the history of adult education (AE) in California from the 1850s through the present. Chapter 1 traces AE in California from the 1850s through the 1940s, and chapter 2 summarizes AE governance, finance, and programming in the 1950s. Chapter 3 focuses on the new federal role in AE and AE program growth in the 1960s, with…

Profiles are provided for the outstanding adult basic education (ABE) program in each of 10 regions. Each profile provides a brief background; discusses the program's focus(es); describes program activities, operation, and components; presents some figures on the population served; and provides the name, address, and telephone number of a contact…

This curriculum module contains lesson plans and application activities that were developed to help adult students master the mathematics skills needed to earn a general high school equivalency diploma. Included in the module are materials designed to help students improve their understanding of mathematics and achieve the following objectives:…

The 12 programs selected as 1996 winners of the Secretary's Awards for Outstanding Adult Education and Literacy Programs illustrate a diverse range of promising practices for the 21st century. Winners were selected based on the presence of 10 elements, including the following: effective and potentially replicable practices; measurable objectives…

Even Start is a national program of early childhood and adult education to improve family literacy. This document is a series of four appendices which accompany the National Evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program, a 4-year effort to assess projects, participants, and effects of Even Start. Appendix A provides in-depth description of…

The Even Start program was authorized by Congress in 1988 to provide early childhood, adult, and parenting education to participating families in a family literacy initiative. This document provides an executive summary of the National Evaluation of Even Start, which assessed services, participants and effectiveness. The summary highlights topics…

This curriculum module contains lesson plans and application activities that were developed to help adult students master the writing skills needed to earn a general high school equivalency diploma. Included in the module are materials designed to help students demonstrate effective writing and master specific objectives in the following writing…

This report documents how the Business/Training Institute of Northwest Iowa Community College and Coilcraft, Inc., of Hawarden, Iowa, worked as partners to establish a basic workplace skills program for Coilcraft's workers. The project goals were to develop and offer a workplace literacy program that would enroll 160 workers and prepare them to…

This document includes a final performance report and evaluation report from the Weck Ed program, through which job-linked adult basic education and General Educational Development (GED) test preparation courses that were jointly developed by the company Pilling Weck and Durham Technical Community College were offered to Pilling Weck employees on…

The College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois, formed an educational and business partnership with four area businesses to design and implement workplace literacy programs targeted to the needs of each business. The project's four objectives were as follows: develop a model of cooperation between a community college and the business community…