Adult basic education's role, from the beginning, has been about serving people with foundational skill needs. The author, Judy Mortrude, agrees with the argument that adult literacy education needs to be repositioned within a new framework of lifelong and life-wide learning, a framework in which new policies are formulated, programs are designed…

As the largest funder of adult basic education (ABE) in the nation, providing over $600 million through its Basic Grants to States (U.S. Department of Education, 2019), the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) drives ABE policies and practices. In a review of the announcement on Title II, the phrase "transition to" is repeated…

In the United States, adult and workforce education (AE) seems to be located, simultaneously, both everywhere and nowhere in particular. Ongoing shifts in national economic demands and changes in requirements for training and education have brought learning in the adult years into the federal public policy arena. Sometimes referred to as lifelong…

This paper analyses Botswana's commitment to lifelong learning policy and discusses how it can help the state achieve its vision for sustainable development. First, it argues that while Botswana is renowned for its economic success, it still fails to address positively such traditional challenges as poverty, unemployment and income inequality,…

Nepal is a multilingual country with low adult literacy rate (about 57% in 2008). Through different policy documents and motivation from some of the transnational organizations such as UNESCO, Nepal is on the process of adopting lifelong learning perspective as a major educational policy. In this context the article raises two issues: how to…

Despite the importance of and advocacy for developing literacy skills for successful and rewarding participation in the community, there remains a common perception that becoming literate is not possible for people with intellectual disabilities. Until recently, limited research has been undertaken to investigate the literacy skills of adults with…

New research shows that adults with the lowest literacy and numeracy skills are likely to have experienced substantial disadvantage from early childhood. As the journeys of many adult learners attest, education can transform opportunity. What is more likely to motivate them to take up an educational offer is a life course transition or a new…

In March 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged that the situation in the Chinese countryside is desperate and claimed new resources would be devoted to healthcare and education. This announcement should have pleased architects of the Chinese "learning initiative" who are building learning cities and villages. The authors describe why…

This bibliography was compiled for The Centre for Literacy's 2004 Summer Institute: "Adult Basic Education: Impact of Policy on Practice: International Perspectives". The references and annotations point to relevant research studies, advocacy papers, and government documents that describe and discuss the role that policy plays in shaping…

This is the final report and recommendations of the Steering Committee for "A Learning Alberta": a report gleaned from a series of discussions and reports to review the Advanced Education system in Alberta. In order to foster a strong system, the committee recommended the achievement of six key goals and provided a 20 year strategic plan…

This study of social capital employs data from the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL), funded by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) and conducted at Portland State University to increase understanding of the learning process of adults with limited formal education. It provides longitudinal data on…

This bibliography was compiled for The Centre for Literacy's 2005 Summer Institute: "Adult Basic Education & Literacy, Media and Technology." The references and annotations point to relevant research, project, strategy and evaluation reports that describe and analyze the current and future influences of changing technologies on…

For the purpose of this report, adult education is assumed to have the following characteristics: (1) It is carried on voluntarily and during the leisure time of a mature individual; and (2) The study is seriously undertaken and is pursued under guidance. During the past biennium there has been much activity in the field of adult education. The…