Thirty-five years after independence the Mozambican illiteracy rate has been reduced from 93% to just over 50% according to official statistics. Although this indicates an enormous achievement in the area of education, the challenge of today still is to design appropriate adult basic education programmes including literacy, numeracy and life…

Literacy should be viewed as a continuum of undereducation, stretching from those who cannot read and write at all at the low end to those who have less than a high school education at the high end. People at different points have different needs, which may differ greatly from those current literacy programs try to meet. The track record of…

The purpose of the handbook is to simplify the routine business of beginning and/or operating an Adult Basic Education (ABE) Program. It describes in some detail the planning of an ABE program and deals with: the demographic survey of the population; the creation of an advisory board; the determination of the educational needs of the community;…

A model for program planning in adult basic education is presented, the prototype having been produced by 40 coordinators, teachers, and adult learners. It was designed to meet the need, in adult education programs, for stabilization through systematic planning. A systems approach is defined with systems analysis, anasynthesis, and planning…

This textbook for practitioners and students of adult education is a full-length examination of the nature and scope of adult education as it has evolved in Canada over the past 150 years, with particular emphasis on recent experience. The book is organized in 10 chapters. The first chapter deals with definitions. Chapter 2 presents a discussion…

A study was conducted to describe and analyze the types of curricular and instructional approaches currently being used in adult literacy programs in New York City. A small representative sample of 16 programs and 48 staff members were selected for study. Information was gathered through onsite observation and interviews with 39 staff members.…

The Army's Basic Skills Education Program (BSEP) was studied to consider whether it was properly designed to determine the basic skills needed in Army jobs and to be effectively implemented. Information and reports on BSEP were reviewed, and three major commands were selected for evaluation. In designing the program, the Army did not identify the…

This handbook is intended for teachers new to adult basic education (ABE) programs and attempts to cover concepts of adult learning and the role of the educator as facilitator and resource for self-directed learners. Background information is provided concerning the phenomenon of illiteracy with discussions of basic principles (particularly…

This paper describes the conduct and the results of an evaluability assessment of the Adult Education Program, PL 91-230. It presents the findings on the intended program, the actual program, the plausibility of the objectives, the measurement of the objectives, and the program evaluability and options for improvement. (Author/LMO)

This book is intended to assist literacy program administrators, coordinators, instructors, and volunteers in the design and implementation of literacy programs for homeless adults. Chapter 1 discusses barriers to instruction when serving homeless adults, including shelter environment, impermanence of location and opportunity, and the effects of…

Although the emphasis on adult literacy/basic education is increasing, the high dropout rate from programs in these areas is a concern. Why learners choose to participate or not to participate in such programs can be understood in terms of three sets of factors. Learner-inherent factors include self-evaluation, goals, and capabilities. Life…

A study investigated the ways in which the provision for adult literacy in Northern Ireland has developed since 1975. Questionnaires were circulated to program organizers, tutors, and other personnel to determine (1) enrollment patterns, (2) program organization and the evolution toward "adult basic education," (3) personnel resources…

A study created a typology of 271 adult literacy programs nationwide describing their distribution along two dimensions: (1) relevance of materials to learner needs and sociocultural context (life-contextual/decontextual), and (2) extent of learner control of decisions about program activities (dialogic/monologic). A questionnaire elicited…

When it was discovered that fewer than 75 residents in urban subsidized housing communities were enrolled in the adult programs at Pensacola Junior College, it was decided to develop an outreach program to extend the college's services to 650 illiterate, indigent, and unemployed adults in these communities. The program was operated out of mobile…

A study was conducted to review the adult basic education (ABE) program in Tennessee in relation to program goals and objectives, classroom situations, student perceptions, and benefits of ABE. The evaluation team members spent 10 months collecting and compiling data relevant to program proposals, observations, special programs,…