Two articles are referenced that note the importance of understanding the contradictions underlying literacy program policies and practices. They underscore the importance of ethnographic research as a means of informing policy. Implications are discussed. (Contains 21 references.) (Author/LB)

Critical thinking is examined as a set of skills and a means for social change. It is presented as not just higher order thinking but also a search for the social, historical, and political roots of conventional knowledge and an orientation to transform learning and society. (Contains 15 references.) (LB)

It is suggested that those championing the growing national family literacy movement in the United States miss the point that society itself, not the families, constructs the conditions of poverty. Implications for meaningful change are discussed. (Contains 13 references.) (LB)

As the number of organizations engaged in some form of workplace literacy training grows, their capacity to enhance worker skills/knowledge and improve productivity becomes more challenging. Two factors are important: instructional program fit in the workplace and types of organizational support available. (Contains six references.) (LB)

Problems in the definition of competency-based education are discussed. Theory and examples are cited in three areas: limited range of competencies, emphasis on knowledge rather than use, and lack of requirements for a phrasebook approach. (Contains four references.) (LB)

The term "alternative assessment" has become commonplace in the field of adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy. Just what it means and how to practice it are discussed. (Contains 14 references.) (LB)

The relationship between U.S. national policies on literacy, available literacy programs, and individual lives is examined. A discussion of the pressures to become literate in English is followed by an analysis of language use in immigrant families and the effect of native language loss. Recommendations regarding the plurality of literacies are…

The role of teachers, teacher educators, researchers, program planners, and advocates in the somewhat unfocused field of adult literacy is discussed. They are invited to focus on three directions: shifting focus to families and communities, knowledge development, and multilevel collaboration. (Contains 10 references.) (LB)

The increasing popularity of participatory approaches to adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction have positive and negative implications. Although learner-centered content helps adults learn best, it may also limit learning resulting from the learners' own marginalization. Political (i.e., social context) factors must be considered.…

Two articles on English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy are reviewed regarding the role of the teacher. One emphasizes a North American context with well-trained and experienced teachers; the other, a context whereby learners delineate their literacy use and teachers may be less experienced. An account of Chinese literacy training is reported.…

The whole-language approach is discussed as a perspective-in-practice anchored in a vision of a equitable, diverse society. (Contains four references.) (LB)