The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was a collaborative effort by seven governments and three intergovernmental organizations to describe and compare the literacy skills of people from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each country drew a probability sample from which results…

Developed by the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, these curriculum materials for the area of electrical and instrumentation contain three lessons that deal with getting meanings from context. Each lesson consists of an objective, instruction, and exercises. Lesson 1 contains 8 exercises, Lesson 2 has 10, and Lesson 3 has…

Developed by the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, these curriculum materials for the area of electrical and instrumentation contain a lesson that deals with reading charts and tables. The lesson consists of an objective, instruction, and 10 exercises. Three types of problems are provided in each exercise: "try…

Developed by the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, these curriculum materials for the area of electrical and instrumentation contain a lesson that deals with problem solving using charts and tables. The lesson consists of an objective, instruction, and 10 exercises. The objective for the lesson is for the student to learn…

Developed by the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, these curriculum materials for the occupational area of millwright contain a lesson that deals with reading charts and tables. The lesson consists of an objective, instruction, and 10 exercises. Three types of problems are provided in each exercise: "try…

Developed by the ABCs of Construction National Workplace Literacy Project, these curriculum materials for the occupational area of millwright contain a lesson that deals with problem solving using charts and tables. The lesson consists of an objective, instruction, and eight exercises. The objective for the lesson is for the student to learn to…

This special theme issue reports key results from a comprehensive assessment of skill development among the rural workforce and of rural education and job training in rural areas. This comprehensive assessment had three goals: to develop better measures of rural skills than were previously available, to identify human capital initiatives that…

This module is the third of five integrated professional development modules for adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) personnel. This module is in the form of a 6-hour workshop, the purpose of which is to provide professional development for ALBE personnel in managing an ALBE learning environment. An overview consists of these components:…

These two documents are products of a project to improve the capability of the Pennsylvania Regional Staff Development Centers to provide current, research-based workplace literacy training and technical assistance to adult basic and literacy education programs. The final report describes these project activities: development of training materials…

Even Start is a family literacy and support program for families with young children. This paper identifies several characteristics of adult learners in order to suggest effective approaches for working with adults to improve literacy skills. The first section presents five case studies illustrating adults with different histories, circumstances,…

The whole language approach to reading instruction emphasizes a literature-based program rather than the traditional skills-related approach. The principles and practices of whole language have engendered both educational and political debate for the following reasons: whole language challenges the traditional educational power arrangement, giving…

This magazine, which is designed for managers of Australian companies who are interested in raising their firms' productivity and meeting quality standards by developing a comprehensive approach to workplace communication, includes a variety of materials for and about improving communication within their organization. Most of the magazine is…

The Job Enhancement Training (JET) Program was a partnership between Pensacola Junior College (PJC) and Armstrong World Industries (Florida). The partners implemented a workplace literacy training program at the company's Pensacola plant using a five-phase social context curriculum model. The curriculum, based on job analysis, used small-group…

There are several sides to the debate between adult basic education administrators and teachers concerning the practice of defining literacy by, and dividing adult education programs into, grade levels. Some believe that grade levels are irrelevant or demeaning to typical adult job requirements. Others believe that numerical scores derived by…

This annual report is designed to assess the efforts of Tennessee's State Board of Education and Higher Education Commission, to provide an overview of the challenges and prospects for public education in Tennessee, and to present a statement on educational plans and goals for the future. The report outlines 15 improvement initiatives for…