Participatory literacy programmes in developing countries are often seen as an important tool for women's empowerment and equality. This article problematises the way in which evaluation of progress towards these goals is couched in a linear trajectory, and often fails to uncover the messy reality of women's negotiations to achieve their own aims.…

After decades of neglect adult literacy and numeracy (ALN) learning in Scotland has been accorded the prominence that it has always merited but seldom received. Understandings of the concept of literacies and what it means to be literate have similarly undergone significant change in the last few decades. This shift has entailed a recognition of…

What does it mean for a community writing assistance program to bridge the gap between the university and the community? What makes for a successful alliance between these two worlds usually considered distinct? Our paper addresses these questions by reflecting on the factors that have contributed to the growing success of our CWA program at the…

This study examined the equivalency of computer and conventional versions of the Test of Workplace Essential Skills (TOWES), a test of adult literacy skills in Reading Text, Document Use and Numeracy. Seventy-three college students completed the computer version, and their scores were compared with those who had taken the test in the conventional…

Through access to assistive technology, adult students with learning disabilities can improve their literacy skills and goal attainment as a supplement to regular adult basic education classes. This article describes a project that investigated whether increased engagement with text-to-speech and speech-recognition software could improve…

Metacognition provides insights into the internal information processing of an individual. Studies around metacognition and reading have demonstrated that metacognitive thinking during reading reveals an individual's knowledge of the reading process. In examining adult literacy students, metacognitive descriptions can provide insight into…

An ethnographic study examined illiterates and their understanding of literacy. The theoretical background of the study is based on the thesis of "contemporary orality": that India is a fundamentally oral culture that retains all the characteristics of primary orality (Walter Ong's term) through the use of speech as the dominant medium…

Research conducted by the Canadian Institute for Adult Education revealed an alarming degree of illiteracy among francophone adults living in Canada. In the province of Alberta the illiteracy rate was dramatic, with estimates of up to 10,000 adults who were francophone by birth and yet illiterate in French. This report describes the underlying…

This document consists of the four issues of the "ILY Newsletter" issued during 1990. The January/February issue, "The Book Voyage," reports on the International Literacy Year (ILY) project in which a series of books travels around the world and people who have recently learned to read and write express messages in the books,…

This is a congressional hearing on the topic of adult education and proposed amendments to Public Law 97-377, the Adult Education Act. Testimony includes statements from individuals representing the United States Department of Education; director of adult education, Sheehan High School, Wallingford, Connecticut; American Association for Adult and…

Journal is available from the National Institute of Adult Education, 35 Queen Anne Street, London, WIM OBL.

The article examines the effect of international awards and measures of recognition of performance in literacy on literacy program improvement and expansion. (AG)

This research investigates the amount of metalinguistic knowledge one can assume when teaching an adult to read. In addition, it questions the source of this awareness and whether it relates to general cognitive development, to schooling, or specifically to the act of learning to read. The subjects were sixty monolingual adults enrolled in a…

This volume is the report of the proceedings of a seminar on adult education held in Tehran, Iran. The twelve papers included discuss such topics as adult literacy programs in Iran, literacy in Turkey, adult literacy problems and programs of Pakistan, the purpose of literacy training, defining literacy, planning literacy training programs,…

Presenting demographic information on educational achievement in the Southwest region, and, by comparison, the entire United States, the document serves as a resource instrument for those planning educational programs to alleviate adult illiteracy. Information is based upon the 1970 Census and is divided into six chapters which deal individually…