This book is a personal history of adult literacy as seen through the eyes of a student. The document assesses and evaluates styles of teaching and the student's role through the years 1969-1986 in England. The focus is on developing a new approach to literacy work, based on the principle of student-centered learning. In this method, the adult…

The essays in this collection, presented as letters to teachers, reaffirm Paulo Freire's place as the most significant educator in the world during the last half of the 20th century. As North America experiences a rapid change to conditions approximating those of the Third World, Freire's pedagogy becomes more important, not only for his methods…

Based on research with literacy learners, instructors, and practicing therapists, this book re-examines learning through a lens focused on the prevalence of and effects of violence in women's lives. Section 1, "Canaries in the Mine," highlights a shift away from seeing those who have experienced violence as damaged and towards…

First presented as papers in a symposium on literacy conducted at the University of Alabama, essays in this volume explore three areas of human literacy--law, linguistics, and the English language; testing; and literacy's relation with culture and human consciousness. Following an introduction examining literacy as a human problem, the following…

Private and personal literacy practices of reading and writing, which have typically been regarded as less important than the more visible and public literacies used by men, are important in the lives of women because they aid the development and empowerment of the self. Qualitative interviews were conducted with six women of diverse socioeconomic…

This book presents an overview of and prescription for adult education in India. Following an introduction to the problem of illiteracy in India, the book's 14 chapters cover a broad spectrum of adult education issues. Topics discussed include adult education and national development; roles of voluntary organizations, universities, colleges, and…

Offering a variety of perspectives, the articles in this book are intended for those who teach reading and writing; those who make policy influencing what is taught, how, and to whom; and those individuals who would influence the influential. The 18 articles are grouped into four sections: "Literacy, Politics, and Policies"; "Forms of Literacy";…

This book examines the connection between poverty and illiteracy among women in a global context and presents guidelines for developing literacy activities for women. The following topics are covered: defining literacy (negative effects of illiteracy and literacy programs for women); global context (literacy gap, gender disparities, urban/rural…

In this book, 16 authors from Europe, Africa, and the United States reflect on the transformations that are currently taking place in the field of adult and continuing education. The 12 chapters are "Reconciling the Irreconcilable? Adult and Continuing Education Between Personal Development, Corporate Concerns, and Public Responsibility"…

This book contains eight papers reporting research projects that were conducted by adult language, literacy, and numeracy practitioners with funding provided through one-time scholarships to Tasmanian students in the field of adult language and literacy. The following papers are included: "Foreword" (Ian Falk); "Preface"…

This book represents the beginning dialogue and critique of social, political, economic, and historical forms of hegemony operating in the adult education field. Twenty-three chapters are grouped into five sections. Section I, Deconstructing Exclusion and Inclusion in Adult Education, offers a dialogue on hegemony and critiques the philosophical,…

This book, which is based on a broad concept of adult education that embraces all forms of organized learning undertaken by adults, draws on empirical information and case studies to provide a theory of applied political economy to explain the interface between society and adult education in developing countries. The following are among the topics…

The community literacy program of Western District Adult Basic Education in Georgia was examined to demonstrate how the meaning and value of literacy is a function of specific local institutions. The goal of the examination was to theorize literacy by constructing a localized framework for understanding literacy within a given institution in order…

This book examines literacy for sustainable development in the age of information. It begins by discussing the relationship between literacy and hegemony, social policy, national language policy, colonial relations, and postcolonial realities. Also discussed in the introduction are views and definitions of literacy and considerations in mapping a…