This study assessed the utility of document prevalence and familiarity as predictors of adult document literacy performance. Three indexes--quantifying document prevalence, document familiarity, and the frequency of document use--were constructed using survey responses from an adult community sample and documents collected from government agencies…

The Education for All (EFA) goals aim to increase adult literacy levels by 50% by 2015, and yet the number without access to literacy remains obstinately high at over 800 million. This paper examines a number of initiatives, such as the Millennium Development goals, EFA and the UN Literacy Decade, and assesses what level of priority their…

The Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will establish technical standards and guidelines to ensure that the survey design and implementation processes of PIAAC yield high-quality and internationally comparable data. This document provides a revised version of the technical standards and guidelines originally…

Objective: To compare performance of the newest vital sign (NVS) with existing literacy measures. Methods: We administered the NVS and REALM to 129 patients, and NVS and S-TOFHLA to 119 patients all in public clinics. Results: The NVS demonstrated high sensitivity for detecting limited literacy and moderate specificity (area under the receiver…

This paper examines the recent increase in the concern of adult literacy for citizenship, especially aimed at women in developing societies. It looks at what is happening in this field and why; it examines some of the critiques of this range of activity; and it suggests some alternatives which in the end may be more effective in promoting both…

This newsletter, published five times a year, features articles on issues of concern to adult, family, and youth literacy practitioners, as well as recommended resources, announcements, and teaching strategies. This issue contains: (1) Using a License to Drive Improvement: Professional Development in Massachusetts (Jon Steinberg); (2) Building…

Each fall, the Iowa Department of Education collects enrollment data from Iowa's community colleges on the 10th business day of the semester. The fall data collection contains data on the 2009-10 academic year (fiscal year 2010). This report is the only report on fiscal year 2010 until next year's "Annual Condition of Iowa's Community…

Millennium Development Goals were established by the United Nations to help underdeveloped countries to overcome problems of illiteracy, poverty, low health status and quality of life. Much emphasis was placed on the attainment of MDG targets in education because of its pivotal role in national development. The targets include education for all…

This paper explores limits and possibilities for students' book bags as data sources in educational research. A discussion of the feasibility of book bags as data sources is followed by a brief description of an ethnographic research project focused on literacy and schooling in families of General Education Diploma (GED) students. The larger study…

This Canadian study investigated how the transfer of learning occurred in an employment preparation programme for adults with low literacy skills using a multi-site case study research design. Four different programmes involving trainees, instructors and workplace supervisors participated in the investigation. Results indicated that the transfer…

"Research messages 2011" is a collection of summaries of research projects published by National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in 2011. The publication also has an overview essay that captures the themes and highlights from the research for the year, including: (1) the initial education and training of young people and…

Since its creation in 1991, the National Institute for Literacy has provided national leadership on adult literacy. In 1998, with the addition of funds for dissemination of scientifically-based reading research, the Institute has been a catalyst for improving opportunities for adults, youth, and children to thrive in a progressively literate…

Language, literacy and numeracy are necessary for greater workforce participation, productivity and social inclusion. Being able to measure the level of proficiency in these skills, and any changes in the level of skills, is important for getting a sense of how well language, literacy and numeracy programs are working. Two measurement tools used…

Background/Context: In contrast to cultural constructs that equate education with cognitive development and formal schooling, the Latin American cultural model of educacion encompasses academic knowledge and social competence. Prior scholarship has mainly investigated parental notions of educacion vis-a-vis childrearing and schooling, primarily…

The primary purpose of this report is to explore within the Canadian context the relationship between Self-Reported Learning Disabilities (SRLD) and low literacy performance using the Canadian portion of the public data set from the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (IALSS). Two primary research questions related to SRLD…