Much research on reading and writing in schools continues to focus on individual cognitive skills. In contrast, investigations of literacy-learning in out-of-school settings have often taken a socio-cultural perspective, situating reading and writing in social relations and cultural institutions. The last 20 years have seen a proliferation of…

Current accountability policy that bases assessment on validity and reliability criteria in the positivist research tradition is counterproductive to serving adult learners and their communities. In this article, we outline a framework for accountability that allows for the emergence and demonstration of the full range of program outcomes and…

The aim of this article is to investigate the predictive capacity of major determinants of literacy proficiency that are associated with a variety of contexts including school, home, work, community and leisure. An identical structural model based on previous research is fitted to data for 18 countries. The results show that even after accounting…

The 2017 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 53rd in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…

The 54th in a series of publications initiated in 1962, the purpose of the "Digest" is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of education from prekindergarten through graduate school. It contains data on a variety of topics, including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and…

This study examined the extent to which English language, literacy and numeracy teachers used classroom management strategies to meet the needs of adult Sudanese refugee learners. While teachers met the needs of these learners insofar as they coincided with those of other refugee groups, the highly oral language culture of these learners appeared…

The English "Skills for Life" strategy symbolises the prominent place that adult basic skills have claimed in education and training policy in England since the beginning of this century. The strategy aims to improve the skills of a large number of learners over a ten year period (2001-2010). This paper explores what we can learn about…

There is strong evidence that participation in education and training can produce social capital outcomes. There is also strong evidence that such outcomes are useful outcomes; they can enhance the development of other outcomes often called human capital and they can contribute to the social-economic wellbeing of the learners and the communities…

Drawing upon two research projects, this paper analyses changes affecting the in-service training of adult literacy, numeracy and teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages in England. There are many issues raised in this paper, particularly how in-service teacher education programmes in England can meet the diversity of learner need, how…

Since 2002, adult numeracy specifications have been introduced for the first time in England. This article investigates the relevance of Bernstein and Shulman's theoretical frameworks to teacher training using the new Level 4 adult numeracy teacher training programmes as an example. The article discusses Bernstein's theories relating to pedagogic…

The state of adult literacy programs, including the Chicago Public Library Literacy Initiative, is described. After the Vietnam War, Congress passed adult education legislation, and Laubach Literacy Action and Literacy Volunteers of America became the nation's largest network of literacy providers. These and other literacy programs have problems:…

The Delta Adult Literacy Council, Inc. (DALC) is a volunteer, nonprofit organization that seeks to recruit, assess, train, match, and support volunteer tutors and adult new readers. Its accomplishments, its history as a literacy organization, and its tutor training process are described. The process of student recruitment and support involves…

An evaluation model for workplace literacy programs was developed and applied at two industrial plants. Development of the model included a literature review and consultation with plant managers. The model included interviews, questionnaires, Cloze tests, class observation, plant-gathered productivity indexes, and supervisor ratings. The…

A project in British Columbia, Canada, explored a deeper understanding of what it would be like to become literate and probed how that experience related to the life of the educator. The phenomenological study began with a literature search. It focused on and explored the stories of three adult learners, using the journals of two and extrapolating…

This manual is designed to guide literacy providers through the process of producing a book of writings by their adult literacy students. The book is organized in seven chapters. Chapter 1 advocates the value of writing and provides a rationale for a book of writing by literacy students. Chapter 2 provides details of a workshop to be conducted to…