Examines a model of professional development including preprofessional, autonomous, collegial, and postprofessional phases. Addresses the importance of reflective practice in moving from autonomous to collegial. Suggests the potential for computer-mediated communication to promote reflective dialogue. (Contains 30 references.) (SK)

An analysis is provided of the belief that theories developed about literacy within different academic disciplines and development campaigns have been built around contradictory assumptions. The conclusion is made that research is needed in order to make literacy instruction more functional in adult literacy programs. (109 references) (GLR)

Focuses on developments in the field of adult literacy in the 1990s and outlines seven areas related to key topics in the field. Provides a brief analysis of major research findings in each of these areas and offers a prognosis of the next generation of adult literacy work in the United States. (SLD)

Examines four "puzzling" results of the National Adult Literacy Survey: (1) the ability to use printed information effectively is unevenly distributed in the United States; (2) adults exhibited a large gap between performance and perception of literacy skills; (3) increased literacy did not always correspond with significant earnings…

The purpose of this book is to introduce the research on readability, defined here as reading ease. The first part of the book covers how people read. A series of national literacy surveys show that the average person in the U.S. and most other countries are adults of limited reading skills. For example, the average adult in the U.S. reads at the…

A more literate society cannot be created in the United States or elsewhere without a more comprehensive conceptual framework. This framework attempts explicitly to link children's acquisition of literacy with that of adults and assumes there is no single normative theory to literacy development. In a life-span and life-space approach, literacy…

Statistics indicating that the problem of illiteracy is lessening mask a greater problem--that of functional illiteracy. Functional illiterates may have some reading and writing skills but are not able to apply them as functioning members of society. A 1975 study using the most sophisticated instrument that had ever been used to determine…

The article provides a brief review of the literature regarding current practices for teaching reading to adults and children. Much of the methodology that has proven effective with school-aged poor readers, such as the teaching of phonics in a direct instruction manner, may be quite appropriate for use at the adult level. (Author/DB)

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "Using Information and Communication Technologies in Adult Literacy Education: New Practices, New Challenges," and is an added resource for further information. The contents of this support document are divided into two parts. Part I includes: (1) Literature…

This literature review explores competing views of the relationship between adult literacy and U.S. economic difficulties. Trends in public policy, legislation, labor forecasting, and workplace training from the 1960s to the present are reviewed. Consequences of the perceived gap between workers' skills and national economic needs are discussed.…

A review of Maghreb language and literacy covers the following: historical and cultural context; sociolinguistic situation; language policies and planning; language and literacy use; literacy education in three instructional contexts (Quranic, public primary, and adult literacy schooling); and future directions. (42 references) (LB)

Immigrants form an important and growing part of the Canadian population. Governments recognize the need to help new immigrants integrate into Canadian society by learning to speak either English or French, and therefore offer or support Language training programs. The federal Government, through the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, runs…

Due to fragmentation of the field, framing and engaging in debates over adult literacy standards have been particularly difficult. The discourse of adult literacy standards reflects this fragmentation. The terms content standards and opportunity-to-learn (OTL) standards have typically not been used. The term performance standards has been used…

Twelve essays written in Spanish on the state of adult education in Latin America are presented. The essays are organized into three main sections, including: "Concepto y evolucion historica de la educacion de adultos" (Conception and Historical Evolution of Adult Education); "Aspectos particulares" (Specific Subjects); and…

Approximately 25 million adults are currently reading below the fifth-grade level, and another 35 to 40 million adults read between the fifth- and eighth-grade levels. This is particularly significant for the American press inasmuch as the average daily newspaper is written at a minimum of a ninth-grade reading level. A number of unexamined…