The strategy of expanding the modern industrialized economic sector and the formal education system that developing countries have followed during the past twenty years has recently been questioned. In these countries, the informal economic sector is dominant and includes many more people in small business, crafts, and services. An innovative…

Recently, the definition of functional literacy has been broadened to include the completion of a secondary education or its equivalent. This definition focuses on obtaining the functional competencies required to perform adequately in adult life. Three major sets of functional competencies are represented in models developed by the Adult…

The primary goal of a multi-purpose project was to utilize both Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) and Laubach Literacy Action (LLA) in training volunteers to teach English to refugees. Catholic Social Services trained 163 volunteers who were placed in adult basic education (ABE) classes, small group instruction settings, and one-to-one tutoring…

Federal initiatives should be undertaken to reduce long-term structural unemployment in the United States. Long-term structural unemployment has risen during the 1970s and 1980s but is still primarily a problem of disadvantaged workers, not dislocated ones. The impact of technological change on occupations is felt mainly by the employed who are…

A research study explored how a group of adults who have had limited schooling (and therefore, would be expected to be nonparticipants in adult education programs) view their educational experiences and the opportunities open to them as adults. As an exploratory study, a focused sample of 40 members of the Northern Hotel Workers' Union in New…

A study examined the role of the state in providing adult literacy services. Questionnaires were sent to state adult education directors, state library directors, and state literacy commission directors in the 50 states and five territories, with a varying rate of return approximating 75 percent. Each questionnaire sought information about…

Women in prison have needs for career education, although it is often difficult to provide with scarce resources. Teachers of female prisoners saw a need for resources, experiences, and coping skills when asked for a response to female inmates' career education needs. Experiences were the most difficult to manage for teachers in prison schools,…

In a concerted effort to head off a situation in which almost half of the nation's young adults may conceivably be judged as having restricted literacy skills, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) has made a major commitment of human and financial resources to the area of adult literacy. ETS is directing a team of researchers and measurement…

This paper presents findings from a project to identify and pilot the most appropriate forms of learning support for students with specific learning difficulties. The specific focus is dyslexia among adult basic education students. The document suggests first that the tutor's awareness of specific learning difficulties be developed through…

This training manual was developed as a source of information about Competency-Based Adult Basic Education (CBABE) for administrators, counselors, and teachers involved in the implementation of a CBABE program. After section I provides an introduction to Brevard Community College's development of CBABE curricula, section II explains the purposes…

Adult literacy programs could be improved by determining the learning styles and life-styles of individual students and incorporating the findings into the instructional program. Many researchers have looked at adult students' lives and suggested teaching methods based on the studies. Some suggest using an instrument for identifying adults'…

This handbook is designed to be used by senior local education authority (LEA) and college managers and training officers responsible for the production of non-advanced further education (NAFE) development plans and annual programs in Great Britain. It focuses on key areas related to the provision of equality of opportunity for ethnic minorities.…

These adult basic education instructional materials on the prevention of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) include a student reader and a teacher's guide. The student reader contains six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces two characters--Ricco and Francis--and focuses on the definition of AIDS, the three stages of the disease, the cause, and…

The need for a better educated work force has created a corresponding need for workplace literacy programs. A number of issues have emerged as the focus of literacy education has shifted from improving social mobility to providing employment-related literacy programs. Some of these issues are related to the need for more resources for workplace…

A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE) in predicting success or lack of success in selected postsecondary health occupations programs. The predictor variables used in the project were the TABE reading and mathematics grade equivalent scores and the number of times each section of the TABE…