A literature review examined the relationship of adults' verbal and mathematical literacy to employers' investments in training, employee wages, unemployment probabilities, unemployment duration, technological change, productivity, and economic growth. Most of the publications analyzed dealt with the United States. The analysis revealed that…

This paper explores the transition in research efforts that study women from the adult literacy policies and programs, through educational practices to leadership training directed specifically toward women. Literacy issues are continuing to focus on adult education, but are also expanding to the families as well. The most successful programs are…

These four papers look at some conditions and circumstances surrounding the literacy education movement and at education's response to a new set of cultural requirements for effective living. They provide ideas for administrators of private and public adult education programs, business and industry executives, and all concerned with adult…

The effectiveness of the National Center for Study Adult Learning Literacy's (NCSALL's) Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network was examined by reviewing how, from 1997 to 2001, adult basic education teachers from 14 states served as liaisons between practitioners in their states and the NCSALL by engaging in the following activities:…

Studies in Canada have shown that between 16 percent and 38 percent of Canadians are illiterate or have low literacy skills and, therefore, have difficulties in accessing and using medical care and medical information. They have also found a contributory connection between low literacy and poor health and over-use or inappropriate use of health…

Recent history of policy development for adult literacy and basic education (ALBE) in Australia is in need of scrutiny. Two lines of analysis are useful for framing developments in language policy in Australia: the first examines the ways in which professional cultures operate to influence policy and the second looks at orientations in policy.…

Unlike those of several of it major economic competitors, the U.S. system of preparation for work stresses educational attainment rather than qualitative standards or occupationally specific assessments of knowledge or skills. The resultant emphasis on longer education produces a more qualified work force, but the quest for longer schooling has…

The patterns of word recognition errors among native and nonnative speakers of English in adult basic education classes were compared in a study that focused on the 212 of the 676 learners in the Adult Reading Components Study who scored between grade equivalent (GE) 4 and 6 in word recognition. Key findings were as follows: (1) highly similar…

Despite the extensive work that has been done and continues to take place in the field of literacy in Nepal, it was not until very recently that literacy activity in Nepal was reflected in writing. Increasingly, however, literacy practitioners in Nepal are realizing the importance of documenting their experiences, and literature devoted to the…

The Study of Adult Reading Acquisition (SARA) is a longitudinal research project designed to measure the development of reading subskills in adults enrolled in instructional programs. The study participants are all students enrolled in a variety of adult education sites and settings, including correctional institutions, community-based programs,…

Reviews recent research in multilingualism in Southern Africa, focusing on the role of languages in education, sociolinguistics, and language policy. Much of the research is on South Africa. Topics discussed include language of instruction in schools, teacher education, higher education, adult literacy, language contact, gender and linguistic…

The program goal of family literacy is to use early intervention to break the cycle of illiteracy perpetuated by parents' undereducation. This paper describes family literacy as a dropout prevention strategy that should be most heavily concentrated on the prenatal through 8-year-old child; a child ready for school is less likely to become a…

This review provides a background summary of the Commonwealth's involvement in the field of adult literacy in Australia. The review is not research based and does not make recommendations, but it highlights the issues that are important for the future direction of the Commonwealth's involvement in the field. The review is organized into seven…

This issue reproduces articles adapted from country reports presented to a Regional Seminar on Adult Education and Development in Asia and Oceania, Bangkok, November 1980. A summary of adult and nonformal education in the region forms section 1. Highlights of the country articles in section 2 include Afghanistan--national literacy campaign;…

Cultural sensitivity is a goal for effective educators in Canada. They must make a clear differentiation between multicultural adults for whom English is a second language, who are pursuing linguistic needs for functioning in the Canadian workplace, and culturally unique First Nation (Native American) students, who have always lived in Canada and…