Adult literacy is an essential subject to examine given its impact on human development indicators. A significant gap exists as nation-states progress on these indices, especially in developing economies. National governments and international and bilateral development organizations seek to improve adult literacy metrics for the developing world…

This article examines cross-country variations in adult skills inequality and asks why skills in Anglophone countries are so unequal. Drawing on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's recent Survey of Adult Skills and other surveys, it investigates the differences across countries and country groups in inequality in both…

Fourteen papers are provided from a symposium to provide general input into the 1990 Unesco International Literacy Year by reviewing and documenting existing knowledge and current issues in the field of women and literacy with special emphasis on developing countries. Specific topics are as follows: the definition of literacy; review of methods;…

The papers in these proceedings include a number of themes such as enduring and progressive social change, good practice and positive outcomes, and strategies of survival, resistance and subversion. They are: "Achievement, Personal Development, and Positive Outcomes" (Viv Anderson); "Raising Standards" (Paul Armstrong);…