This report proposes a plan of action to help the United States meet its literacy challenges. Section 1 is a call to action that emphasizes the challenge posed by the 1993 National Adult Literacy Survey that found more than 40 million adults--over a fifth of the adult population--have low literacy skills. Section 2 presents literacy as a national…

Shared writing is a technique for working with adult literacy learners that involves all members of the group, including the tutor, in regularly writing together, reading, and hearing each other's work, and occasionally preparing materials for publication to the outside community. In preparation for developing a professional development program…

Educators are asked to provide technology education to all, but special consideration must be given to those in both developing and developed nations who have no access to current technology and thus are disenfranchised. In order to redress the issue of disenfranchisement, one must try to correct the social imbalances that have created it.…

This booklet, which was developed for adult literacy educators in Australia, summarizes selected research on health practices, communication, and literacy and outlines some issues that adult literacy teachers might consider in their work. The booklet begins with three anecdotes previewing the practical everyday challenges that literacy poses for…

This self-paced, individualized manual provides guidance in evaluating the quality of adult education programs. The manual contains state-adopted indicators of program quality for Florida. Each of the indicators requires from 1 to 1-1/2 hours of review; a sample checklist or evaluation sheet is provided at the end of each indicator to allow for…

Since 1993, the Delaware Department of Correction has offered a Life Skills Program in its four state prisons. Each year, as many as 300 inmates (of the 5,000 housed inmates) enroll in the program, and nearly 85 percent of them graduate. The 4-month program has three major components: academics, violence reduction, and applied life skills. The…

Teachers transform lives, and the ripple effect goes on for years. Three pertinent questions are asked in this paper: Where does this power come from? What is its source? and What makes teachers so special? Two aspects of these questions are the multiplicity of identities that coexist within each teacher and the passion inside teachers that…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 gave tribal governments new authority to structure and administer their own cash assistance, employment and training, child care, and child support enforcement programs. This "Issue Notes" describes some current characteristics of tribal Temporary…

An instrument was developed to record adult basic education instructional time and funding data and predict future cost allocation to meet governmental regulations. Findings of a literature review were as follows: funding for such activities is tied to accounting for previous expenditures; continued funding is contingent upon post-activity…

This bulletin was prepared by a committee composed of teachers who have had extensive experience in teaching both aliens and native illiterates. The material may be of assistance to colleges, universities, and normal schools in giving instruction to those who are to teach elementary subjects to men and women; also that it may be found useful to…

Summaries of impact evaluations are presented to indicate the extent and types of studies that have been conducted. Studies reflect various segments of the field: employers, continuing professional education, adult basic education, career education, external degrees, libraries and counseling, continuing education of women, and discussion groups…

Stating that rural extension education in developing countries has neglected small, poor farmers, the author suggests a model changing extension services approach to concentrate on motivating poor farmers to increase production and raise their standard of living through localized personal contact, providing useful technology involving the whole…

Reviews literature regarding the counseling needs of adult basic education (ABE) learners. Discusses educational and personal problems unique to ABE students, the needs of adult women students and returning veterans, and the role of counseling staff. Lists recommendations for action. (DR)

Describes a successful project in Turkey that promoted a literate family environment in low socioeconomic contexts, focusing on mothers and their young children. Notes long-term effects of the intervention, as a result of which the intervention program has been transformed into a large-scale adult education program. (SR)

Women's literacy programs in rural Mali were studied through observation and surveys of 42 participants and 29 nonparticipants. Few participants acquired literacy skills, those that did rarely used them, and literacy acquisition had little socioeconomic impact on women's lives. General constraints on literacy usage in rural villages are discussed,…