The fifth National Education Goal--every adult will be literate and possess the necessary skills for competing in a global economy and to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship--is being implemented in part through workplace literacy programs. To reach the goal of universal literacy in the United States, five objectives were…

This digest about issues currently being debated in the adult literacy field examines the appropriate goals and objectives for adult literacy education, professionalization of the field, and literacy program evaluation. The first section reflects the disagreement between those who believe the purpose of literacy education should be to support…

The need for a better educated work force has created a corresponding need for workplace literacy programs. A number of issues have emerged as the focus of literacy education has shifted from improving social mobility to providing employment-related literacy programs. Some of these issues are related to the need for more resources for workplace…

Workplace literacy programs have been viewed as the way to raise workers' basic skills so they could perform more effectively in increasingly complex work environments. As these programs have proliferated, so have the number of issues associated with workplace literacy. Some issues are related to assumptions underlying the need for workplace…

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 emphasizes the placement of people in jobs as the first step in the welfare reform process rather than the development of basic and job skills. This has forced adult and vocational educators to rethink the role their programs can play in welfare reform. The move to…

Workplace literacy was the focus of attention during the era of the National Workplace Literacy Program (NWLP), funded by the U.S. Department of Education from 1988-1996. Since then, it has not disappeared, in part because recent legislation such as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Welfare Reform Act has increased the work-related focus of…