Although Traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Church Education (TCE) has been involved in literacy teaching for over two millennia, its potential as a model and an asset for adult literacy programmes has not been recognised by literacy providers. This paper examines how people of different generations acquire and practise literacy within TCE, including…

For more than a decade, the number of adults who cannot read has plateaued at around 32 million (HuffPost Books, 2014). According to the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, 67% of children are not proficient readers by the end of third grade (Smith, 2015). Given the high stakes attached to acquiring multiple literacies in order to access basic…

Considers how a spiritual connection across age differences affects literacy education. Notes that the Bible is foremost among the texts adult basic literacy students want to read. Claims that being students of stories of faith and religion does not mean that educators become proselytizers or that they ignore the difference between public and…

The following intergenerational literacy programs are described in this document: (1) a Boston University program that provides about 112 hours of training for work-study students who then work as tutors for adults; (2) a program that uses the paired reading technique to involve parents in the development of their children's reading in the United…

Twelve articles in this special issue look at changes in adult basic education (ABE) including the following: changes in policy, the overhaul of welfare, state governance, workforce development, family literacy, the connection with employment and training, contextualized literacy, health education, political and economic literacy, adult literacy…

The field of cognitive science (as represented, for instance, by intergenerational literacy programs) offers new ways to think about increasing cognitive abilities, which is particularly important in view of the disappointing outcomes of many intervention programs that do not seem to make their participants more knowledgeable or better thinkers.…

This handbook describes a model project that provided literacy instruction for parents of preschool and primary school children and suggests on-going activities for parents to do with children at home. It also provides suggestions for implementing a similar program in other locales. The section on recruitment offers suggestions and sample…

In the light of recent initiatives, new questions have arisen regarding the federal role in literacy. Although federal adult literacy efforts have been ineffective, the link between literacy and the productivity of the work force may justify a stronger national investment in literacy. Among the major federally supported literacy programs are the…

Breaking the continuing cycle of low literacy levels transmitted from one generation to another is the philosophy behind family and intergenerational literacy programs. This Practice Brief describes some of the family literacy program models that are proving effective. It also summarizes strategies and resources that can help practitioners. The…

The Family Literacy Program in Eau Claire, Wisconsin is an example of a strong linkage between professional educators, volunteers, and parents. The program uses the strengths of reading professionals working with preschool students and adult learners in order to break the intergenerational cycle of illiteracy. Cooperation and hard work are the…

This report discusses an intergenerational project instituted in 1989 at the Jewish Community Center--JCCS David G. Neurman Senior Center in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). The project is based on the idea that children and older adult immigrants could share a learning environment in order to meet specific language objectives. Project objectives and…

A project to promote collaboration between child and adult literacy educators in a family English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy program is described. It arose from conflicting opinions and concerns voiced by teachers familiar with different student groups and with different instructional frames of reference. Quarterly teacher preplanning…

Located in Baytown, Texas, Sterling Municipal Library's Adult Literacy Project provided free one-to-one tutoring to all totally and functionally illiterate adults in its service area. All tutoring was performed in the library during regular hours of operation. The project used Literacy Volunteers of America methodology and limited itself to…

Teachers' and developers' descriptions of intergenerational literacy programs for immigrants are collected here. Topics addressed include appropriate program design, the quality of intergenerational collaboration, student journals, learner-centered curriculum design, traditional and personal storytelling as a literacy approach, education and…

A Massachusetts family literacy project, the Northampton Family Literacy Project, is described, in which adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners enrolled in a community educational center in order to learn English as their children enrolled in a child care program at the local library. Both groups were involved in language activities,…