After reiterating the findings of an earlier examination of job literacy, this paper discusses the results of a job literacy survey involving interviews with 107 individuals representing 100 occupations ranging from short-order cooks and assembly-line workers to lawyers and corporation vice-presidents. Other aspects of the research findings…

In a three-year project which began in 1965, the Cleveland Public Library established three Reading Centers for functionally illiterate adults. The purpose of the Centers was not to teach reading, but to develop already existent reading skills in disadvantaged adults. The staffing process, the establishment of the Centers, the attempts to identify…

The first section of this paper reports the results of numerous literacy studies in which adults were tested on a variety of tasks, including filling out forms, answering questions about newspaper classified advertisements, and dealing with certain facets of consumer economics. The percentage of adults in the United States reported to be literate…

In the course of his work and travels in the Third World and as a result of his studies in the philosophy of education, the author of this book evolved a theory for the education of illiterates, especially adults, based on the conviction that every human being, no matter how "ignorant" or submerged in the "culture of silence," is capable of…

Describes an experimental system which uses pictorial representation for labeling prescribed medicines in the United Kingdom. Since the pictorial approach breaks the language barrier, the labels should present no problems either to illiterates or minority groups who have difficulty in understanding English. (JEG)

Describes how the work of modern poets can expand adult learners' views of the uses of reading and writing and their own ability and specifically shows how the works of Carl Sandburg, Lucille Clifton, William Carlos Williams, and Langston Hughes can be used to teach adults to read. (SRT)

Describes the Soviet Union's success in eradicating illiteracy and the role that adult education made in that effort. Elimination of illiteracy began in 1919 and was achieved by 1959, when 99.3 percent of males and 97.3 percent of females between the ages of 9 and 49 were literate. (JOW)

Argues that literacy has indirect cognitive effects through the conceptual distinctions and social practices that it fosters. Examines the distinction between what is given in a text and what is inferred by readers. Argues that children's acquisition of this distinction is decisive in the development of a literary thought mode. (JD)

Encourages use of the newspaper to remediate skills in older nonreaders. Proposes teaching essential reading skills concomitant with basic voting procedures so that nonreading adults will be able to function in society and describes seven activities requiring use of critical, literal and inferential skills. (JK)

Reviews Jonathan Kozol's book, "Illiterate America." Asserts that Kozol's argument is insensitive to cultural variation and stems from an unquestioning commitment to humanism. Argues that conventional definitions of "literacy" have tended to be more closely related to particular social structures and values than to cognitive development and…

Various projects implemented to combat illiteracy in the Third World are explored. Highlights include women's ability to exercise right to learn, adult illiteracy rates, World Literacy of Canada (WLC), the Nicaraguan literacy crusade, and a WLC development education program that encouraged Canadians to prepare materials in "plain…

The author explores why he believes the Adult Performance Level criteria, related objectives and the instructional strategies, and programs that follow from the objectives are unsupportable by any empirical evidence and detrimental to both individuals and society. (CT)

The author suggests that the specification of common literacy demands that are valid on the societal level, that is, which are applicable and meaningful to diverse adults living in diverse environments, is an impossible task. He further suggests that the development of a valid and uniform national curriculum for functional literacy is equally…

Rapid population growth, rising competition for resources, and increasing environmental deterioration are intertwined factors in the human predicament that feed political tensions and conflicts of the late twentieth century. Outlines dimensions of this predicament (including data on population, growth, military spending, quality of life, and…

The author suggests that a key concept of Marxist social theory--the mode of production--provides a useful analytical tool for a better understanding of the development of literacy in society (and thus furnishes the theoretical basis for an improved practice of adult literacy work). (Author/CT)