Compiled from information contained in the Program Year 1994-95 Annual Narrative Performance Reports submitted by states to the U.S. Department of Education, this paper shares selected information on recent developments in volunteerism in adult education. The paper is organized into three sections. Selected states are highlighted in each section.…

Compiled from information contained in the Program Year 1994-95 Annual Narrative Performance Reports submitted by states to the U.S. Department of Education, this update shares selected information on recent developments in family literacy programs. Section 1 provides information on new or existing collaborations in these states: Colorado,…

This independent learning packet, which is intended as a guide and tool for teachers, counselors, and tutors who work with members of the Spanish-speaking population, contains basic information about the Spanish language and Hispanic American culture. The packet begins with a brief pretest. Presented next is a discussion of Spanish as a world…

Current welfare reform efforts are based on the assumption that limiting government support will promote personal responsibility, driving welfare recipients to obtain additional education and training in order to meet employment targets. But is education and training--human capital--the answer to poverty and welfare dependency, especially in rural…

The Goodwill Literacy Initiative evaluated its services during the 1994-95 program year. This time frame was chosen because several program enhancements were implemented that reflect the literacy initiative's mission to combine adult basic education with work force development. Three developments were aimed at student retention: a formal…

This summary reports on a research project that looked at the relationship of whole language instruction to adult basic education (ABE) learning. It begins with the background of the three research projects. This section discusses the staff development program that enabled teachers to understand whole language, its principles, and its strategies…

A literacy needs assessment on an aboriginal island reserve in Canada was conducted to address courses to improve the literacy of adult aboriginal students. Fifty-one adults responded to the questionnaire relative to the need to initiate an adult education program. Questionnaire results indicated that secondary school upgrading courses in…

During the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), trained staff interviewed nearly 1,150 inmates in 80 federal and state prisons that had been randomly selected to represent prisons across the country. Survey participants completed diverse literacy tasks and answered questions regarding demographic characteristics, educational background, and…

An evening adult literacy program was developed to provide pre-General Educational Development (GED) instruction to residents of a men's shelter who desired to become dry cleaners pressers. Because an intake assessment of the 32 enrollees revealed that only 34% of them were high school dropouts and more than 50% had some college background, the…

This guide, which is intended to assist literacy practitioners interested in establishing collaborative learning (CL) groups, outlines a collaborative learning approach that was developed during a project to coordinate citywide adult literacy efforts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Discussed in the guide's eight sections are the following topics:…

This document consists of the final report and teacher handbook from a project conducted to develop a curriculum of information, strategies, and activities for adult basic education teachers, tutors, and counselors to use in helping adult students improve their higher order thinking skills. Findings of a review of the available literature on…

A project was conducted to design an alternative assessment tool for use with adult learners traditionally identified as reading below fifth-grade level. This assessment allows for the creation of a goal-oriented Individual Education Plan that is personalized to the learner's needs and educational goals. The approach, analogous to the art…

An educator in a bilingual family literacy program offers 10 suggestions for enhancing the retention of limited-English-proficient (LEP) adult students, accompanied by anecdotes of personal classroom experiences. Guidelines include: (1) being responsive to student expectations about teaching method and acknowledging cultural differences; (2)…

This annotated bibliography lists more than 340 resources for adult literacy programs (especially in Canada). All materials are listed by title; grade levels, prices, International Standard Book Numbers, and order numbers are included when available. Resources that include skills instruction are grouped into the following sections: reading,…

Statistical data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics were analyzed to identify correlations between race/ethnicity, age, and prose literacy among adults in 1992. According to the analysis, prose literacy was highest among those adults with the highest levels of educational attainment, and adults aged 19-54 had higher average…