This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses, addresses keeping up with changes in laws affecting immigrants. Its objective is to teach students to track the legal framework that affects immigrants' lives and to build problem-solving…

This British guide contains reviews of software available for Basic Skills, including English for Speakers of Other Languages, in both education and training for employment. In addition, it offers guidance on how to use software effectively to develop basic skills. Section 1 provides information about the following aspects of the guide: computers…

This document contains 61 poems, short stories, and personal reflections that were selected from more than 300 entries submitted by adult literacy students throughout Ohio. The works included are as follows: "The Apartment" (Shirley Pettit); "The Last Poem Before I Die" (Lonnie Littleton); "A Family Lost" (Mary Rapp);…

The first phase of a persistence study used research as a tool to develop advice for practitioners on how to help adults persist in their studies. The study team defined persistence as adults who stay in programs for as long as they can, engage in self-directed study when they must drop out of their programs, and return to programs as soon as the…

This paper studied the usefulness of differential item functioning (DIF) methodology for examining potential mode effects. Although the goal was not to validate the comparability of the assessments per se, it is of interest to speculate why some formats could give rise to differential performance. Data were obtained from two instruments on which…

This report describes the design of the Literacy in Libraries Across America (LILAA) persistence study, the strategies that participating libraries are using to increase student persistence, and emerging implementation issues. It describes existing patterns in student persistence, identifies factors that support or inhibit persistence, and begins…

A project was conducted to establish criteria by which adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) student enrollment, completion, early separation, and educational level/category attainment are reported throughout Pennsylvania. First, staff at 10 Project Educational Quality for Adult Literacy (EQuAL) sites were interviewed to identify recurring…

This document, which was written for adult educators in Georgia, offers instructional plans and practical strategies for helping students in adult literacy, adult basic education (ABE), General Educational Development, and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs understand the credit traps that can hurt them. The document begins with a…

This report examines the effect that welfare reform in a strongly "work first" setting has had on community college programs for welfare recipients. The report looks at two community colleges in New York: Hostos Community College in the South Bronx and La Guardia Community College in Queens. Research data is drawn from interviews with 27…

This report presents results from an analysis of the adult basic education (ABE) reading instruction research base, focusing on principles derived from the research and a future research agenda. After an introduction, Chapter 2 presents methods used to select and evaluate research related to ABE reading instruction. Chapter 3 serves as an index to…

When teaching writing to adult learners, teachers must achieve a balance between "content" and "mechanics." The first step is to assign "real" writing for "real" purposes. The next step is to teach the writing process more than the product and teach the place that correct "mechanics" (spelling,…

This paper presents an evaluation of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) Teacher Development project. The ABE program was designed by the Hawaii Department of Education to meet the needs of educationally disadvantaged adults. Hawaii's community schools serve approximately 40,000 adults annually in the ABE program. Many of them are also enrolled in…

This study focused on the problem of deaf and hard of hearing learners who have very low English literacy levels compared to their ability levels. Participants in the study were deaf and hard of hearing adult learners in the Adult Basic Education Program of the Center on Deafness in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This mixed urban-rural population had…

This report profiles Ohio projects developed under Section 353 of the Adult Education Act (P.L. 100-297) during the 1998-99 year. The projects are part of an initiative taken by the Ohio Department of Education, Division of Career-Technical and Adult Education, to develop and implement a structure and system that links professional development to…

This publication is designed to help Neighborhood Networks centers create programs that meet the goals of adult literacy learners. (The centers provide residents of federally assisted or insured properties with training in economic self-sufficiency.) Chapter 1 highlights the special characteristics of adult learners--the challenges they face and…