This report presents the proceedings of a 1978 international seminar held in Berlin which was convened by the German Foundation for International Development (Deutsche Stiftung fur internationale Entwicklung) in cooperation with Teheran's International Institute for Adult Literacy Methods. The designated purpose of the seminar was to examine current needs assessment and curriculum development practices, to identify appropriate and effective methods and approaches for curriculum development of basic education programs, and to guide the development of a curriculum development handbook for basic education programs. The first of three sections reviews background information on the preparation and organization of the seminar. In section 2 abstracts of ten case studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America are presented. Also included are reports from the seminar working groups, suggestions for improved curriculum development practices, and recommendations for the proposed monograph on curriculum development. Section 3 presents a tentative outline for the monograph. Guidelines for the preparation of case studies and a progress report on the series "Literacy in Development" are included in the appendixes. (CSS)