To clarify and examine conventional wisdom and stereotypes about adult literacy, this paper focuses on the approaches of individually oriented and community-oriented programs. An examination of the literature base (encompassing research reports, informal accounts, manuals and handbooks, and theoretical, philosophical, and policy articles) leads to the conclusion that these different approaches work successfully with different segments of the illiterate adult population. The underlying issues of conflicting definitions of illiteracy, the nature of the reading process, characteristics of illiterate adults, and the purposes of literacy education are elaborated. A discussion follows of the implications of these issues for the choice of program models and of approaches to such program aspects as planning and evaluation, instructor preparation, curriculum, and instructional methods and materials, from the standpoints of the individual orientation and the community-based orientation. This information is synthesized in a concluding chapter that presents a series of recommendations for the improvement of literacy education: a wider range of program models, greater emphasis on community-oriented efforts, more leadership from literacy educators, a state and national context for literacy programs, new models of teaching-learning interaction, increased input from illiterate adults, and additional research on reading processes, competency-based education, volunteers, student characteristics, and educational technology. (SK)