A survey of 11 adult literacy practitioner research networks in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada indicated the following: primary purposes were professional development and outlet for practitioner voice; predominant methods were action and participatory research; 10 had government funding; and challenges included lack of…

Describes five African American women learners who were participating in a community-based General Education Development program. Argues that a lack of engagement is in part due to the "scripts" of school reading, which they have carried with them into adulthood and which alienate them from the act of reading. (SG)

We have not reached the literacy goals set by James Allen in 1969, and we will not have universal adult literacy by the year 2000, as the President and the nation's governors have projected. However, some modest gains in reading proficiency occurred in the 1970s. Focusing limited resources will help. Includes 24 references. (MLH)

Explores the nature of illiteracy for adults who have made no or minimal progress in learning to read or write. Finds further support for using the whole language approach and the language experience approach for adult beginning readers. (RS)

Describes and critically analyzes adult literacy training efforts in Zambia from 1945 to 1986. Offers the integrated small-scale approach as a more beneficial and cost effective means of training. Suggests that a grass roots method which attacks illiteracy both across and within the community will lead to the most effective program. (KO)

Describes a Canadian curriculum development project; analyzes underlying policy assumptions. Advocates involvement of prison educators and inmates in the process if curriculum is to meet the educational needs of inmates. (Author/LAM)

Focuses on the difficulty of moving literacy programs from the classroom to the workplace. Suggests that writing consultants face similar difficulties as they develop writing-across-the-curriculum programs and consult with public schools K-12. (JAD)

New technology and management styles are increasing the level of basic skills required of workers. In a world of global competition and technological change, basic skills education is a survival issue for businesses. (JOW)

Describes a case study that focused on the influence of the family's literacy interactions on all family members. Describes how, once the student learning to read (a 47-year-old father and grandfather) invited the family to take part in his learning, his reading improved, and the frequency and nature of family interactions changed. (SR)

Gatehouse Books in Manchester and Pecket Well College in West Yorkshire are publishers of adult basic education materials. They offer different and inspiring models for what can happen when adult literacy work merges with the activities and philosophy of the community writing and publishing movement. (JOW)

Implications of the Australia Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) for the English language needs of long-term migrant residents, especially women, are discussed. It is suggested that the revised AMEP policy aims to involve a wider range of organizations and providers. (LB)

Some of the broad issues of literacy and national economy are addressed in this article, which provides a historical context for the claims frequently made by policymakers and employer organizations about the economic benefits of increased language skills. Contains 42 references. (LB)

Reviews Malta's history with respect to language policy and adult literacy. The role that Maltese and English languages play in the country's culture and the nature of adult literacy programs for these languages are outlined. Other topics include emigration, colonialism, bureaucratic centralization, and female participation. (Contains 28…

Compares and comments on two recent national surveys of adult literacy standards in the United States and Canada, which move away from reporting the number of literates/illiterates and use levels of literacy proficiency. Notes that different concepts for literacy levels, different types of sampling, and different ways of measuring literacy and…

A review of Maghreb language and literacy covers the following: historical and cultural context; sociolinguistic situation; language policies and planning; language and literacy use; literacy education in three instructional contexts (Quranic, public primary, and adult literacy schooling); and future directions. (42 references) (LB)