Purpose: The purpose of this document is to provide an annotated bibliography on best practices for late entry learners into college academic upgrading programs. It is intended for practitioners, administrators, and researchers and others with an interest in this field. Method: This annotated bibliography synthesizes sources related to late entry…

When floodwater swept through the McVities biscuit factory in Carlisle in January 2005 few were confident that it would reopen. The factory, in the Caldewgate area of the city, was one of the first casualties of the flood, as water, nine feet deep in places, coursed trough the food preparation areas, destroying equipment and covering everything in…

Research and development on formative assessment has paid little attention to part-time adult basic education in informal community-based settings. A three-year project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the National Research Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, and the Quality Improvement Agency addresses that gap in vocational and…

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…

There is a highly compelling case for using technology on a large scale to increase access to and improve America's adult education and workforce skills enterprise. By the reckoning of the National Commission on Adult Literacy and others, the nation must reach many more millions of adults with effective college- and job-readiness skills programs…

In 2009 Australia's vocational education and training (VET) system, in common with so many other areas of public policy and the economy, was preoccupied by the effects of the global economic downturn and, like other sectors, sought to reposition itself to deal with the economic fallout, while anticipating its role in the recovery. Yet, as…

The United Kingdom has established an Adult Literacy Resource Agency and a three-year television and radio adult literacy project. Public libraries are involved in these projects and provide special services for adult student-readers. (Author/KP)

A large proportion of the UK adult population has very poor literacy and/or numeracy skills (see the 1999 Moser Report, the 2003 "Skills for Life" Survey and the 2006 Leitch report). In 1999, the Moser report found that approximately 20% of adults in England had severe literacy difficulties, whilst around 40% had some numeracy problems.…

This paper presents a study of dominant educational discourses through textual critique and argues that such an approach enables education studies to preserve an important distinction from teacher training. The texts deconstructed here are specific to English education, but the discourses at work have international relevance as the rhetorics of…

This document summarizes an extensive study of policies and practices in adult literacy and adult basic education in a number of countries undertaken by Rosa McKenna and Lynne Fitzpatrick. The original study contains considerably greater detail and analyses issues on a country-by-country basis. The countries studied--Canada, the Republic of…

This bibliography was compiled for the 2006 Summer Institute at The Centre for Literacy-"Accountability and Public Trust: Restoring the Balance." The selections include lectures, research studies, policy papers, and government documents that describe and analyze recent concepts of accountability in the context of government funding in…

The aim of this report was to analyze, through a desktop audit, international trends in adult literacy policy and programs. The audit includes an examination of the significant research undertaken, and policy statements made by international institutions such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the…

Reflects on 25 years of adult basic education in Britain, finding progress in understanding the nature of adult learning needs, the conceptualization of literacy, teacher preparation, and educational opportunities. Identifies challenges in motivating adults to participate and improving the effectiveness of basic skills provision. (SK)

Describes an experimental system which uses pictorial representation for labeling prescribed medicines in the United Kingdom. Since the pictorial approach breaks the language barrier, the labels should present no problems either to illiterates or minority groups who have difficulty in understanding English. (JEG)

Services provided by the national adult literacy program in the United Kingdom include supplementary reading materials, educational certification, special-interest programs, and media broadcasts. A general description of the program is included. (AM)