A study of the Center for Literacy's (CFL) program was conducted to provide information on retention and attrition in an urban, open-entry/open-exit, individualized, goal-based literacy program. An exploratory analysis that used student and tutor records from 1985 through 1989 provided a summary of demographics and attendance patterns. This…

The first document in this set is a final report titled "Preparation for the Mathematics GED Test: A Computer Based Program," which describes a project to develop a General Educational Development (GED) mathematics preparation program for the adult learner at the 9-12 grade level. The other two documents are a teacher's guide and a…

This document reports the oral and written testimony of witnesses at a Congressional hearing held to review the vocational program and examine H.R. 3053, which would allow the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs to issue exemplary rehabilitation certificates for certain persons discharged from the Armed Forces. Witnesses included Members of Congress,…

This document summarizes the proceedings of the first meeting of the Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL). The report is organized in five parts that cover the following: (1) background, objectives, participants, summaries of opening speeches, and working methods of the conference; (2) review of the progress in the implementation…

Language and culture shape the meanings that are attached to experience and to text. Yet, it is often believed that literacy work can be standardized and formalized, industrialized and normalized, as if adult new readers constructed meaning differently from proficient readers. Workplace literacy programs too often teach the employer's meaning and…

The second of two conferences on adult literacy focused on the broader contexts of adult literacy. That is, lack of basic skills is not a problem in a vaccum but is bound up with people's other problems and needs and the forces shaping their lives; likewise, efforts to teach basic skills must be viewed in relation to the local, state, and national…

This guide is designed to promote and assist in the integration of the civics curriculum, required for immigrant legalization, into the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) curriculum through both curriculum development and program planning. The guide has two major parts. The first part is a listing, in a suggested sequence, of civics/ESL…

The Iowa Adult Basic Education Assessment Study was conducted to document the qualities of excellence, accountability, and purpose that are present in Iowa's adult basic education (ABE) program. A six-step documentation procedure included creation of an ABE task force; submission of written assessment reports from ABE coordinators; development,…

International Literacy Year, 1990, is intended to alert readers to the persistence of illiteracy. The challenge of illiteracy can only be met by concerted action on the part of all those concerned, acting together to conquer ignorance, eliminate poverty, promote peace, and assert the solidarity and interdependence of nations and peoples. As early…

This book is an account of the development and implementation of the University of Massachusetts English Family Literacy Project, presented as a curriculum guide for others who may be involved in developing English-as-a-Second-Language and family literacy programs for immigrants and refugees. An introductory section describes the program, the…

This packet of materials from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner's English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) workplace literacy program, defunct since the newspaper's closing, contains the following items: an overview of the program; a list of units and subunits; two sample lesson plans; teacher guidelines about evaluation and progress; lists of specific…

A home-based Spanish literacy program for Spanish-speaking parents in Elgin, Illinois, which began as a project of the Elgin school district, is described. The program originated with a search for literacy instructional materials for this group. The curriculum was designed to focus on functional Spanish literacy and basic arithmetic skills, the…

This study investigated the use of drama in a Spanish native language literacy course to engage adult students in the process of discussing their world. Nine 2-hour class sessions with 18 students were videotaped. During this period, using the theory of emancipatory education, the students developed a theater script based on an incident in a…

The need for workplace skills upgrading has never been more acute. In Canada, many awareness-building initiatives for literacy have been started. The most successful efforts will probably be those based on a partnership model that links companies and unions with educators who understand adult learning styles. Before a workplace literacy program…

Noting that the popular press and other media have purveyed much information and misinformation about the status of adult literacy in the United States, this paper focuses upon what is known about literacy levels and gives special attention to changes in literacy demands and to what is currently being done to meet those demands. The first section…