The International Reading Association's Position Statement on Young Adolescents' Literacy Learning states, "It is during the middle years of schooling that most students refine their reading preferences, become sophisticated readers of informational text, and lay the groundwork for the lifelong reading habit." As the National Assessment of…

The author states that public policymakers and the nation's leadership, including business and industry, will need to throw their influence behind any effort made to promote literacy leadership at all levels by broadening the educational enterprise. (CT)

Messages from the Governor and the State Librarian of Montana, background information on preconference activities, and an overview of the governor's conference process introduce this conference report. The report covers: (1) the planning process, including the purpose and goals of the conference, members of the various committees and…

Offers an extended discussion of poverty and class in America. Explores definitions of class and the government's role in the maintenance of poverty and wealth. Presents alternative explanations for the causes of poverty in the United States. Brings into question the functionalist axiom that literacy is a tool for school and economic success. (RS)

Given the strong sense of passing time which seems to be wired into human beings, it is only natural that the Year 2000, or Y2K in contemporary jargon, should lead to serious speculation about the future. Reading and literacy, old skills relatively speaking, continue rightly to figure in those predictions (along with the technologically advanced…

Democracy in western countries now depends on literacy at every level: censuses by which governments can plan for the future; elections which are the cornerstone of democratic choice; local meetings which have agendas and minutes--the whole apparatus of social living is organized and recorded through literacy. This paper is concerned with how…

The retention factor of literacy must be the target variable in any projection of literacy programs of the future. Further, the success of literacy programs of the future is contingent upon the resolution of three major problem areas: (1) the concept of literacy; (2) the programs of literacy; and (3) the politics of literacy. A concept of literacy…

Discusses development of educational television in Nigeria, some aspects of educational and instructional television, and their importance in Nigerian education and national development. Some educational programs broadcast on Nigerian television are described, major problems facing the television industry are discussed, and recommendations for…

Social divisions of gender, class, race, ethnicity, and religion constitute a structure of power disparities that influences the form and content of literacy programs in developing nations. Adult educators have a social responsibility to identify how literacy activities may be reinforcing unjust or unequal societies. (SK)

Suggests that Canada's public education system continues to successfully enculturate and educate students of varying abilities and vocational aspirations. Claims that if the Ontario Literacy Test succeeds in undermining public confidence in the present system, the Harris government will have set the stage for the system's demise by creating a…

The article raises misgivings toward recent proposals to require standardized literacy testing for 10- to 14-year-olds in Australia. Three other papers on the dangers and possibilities of literacy assessment are reviewed. It is concluded that the teacher parent partnership and learning are threatened by an increased government role in assessment.…

Presents a conversation between two researchers and frequent collaborators on studies of policy for at-risk children. Discusses what they learned about teaching reading from studies conducted during the past century. Identifies themes significant at various points in time that have surfaced again. Discusses their views on school choice, teacher…

Contrasts the purposes and methods of government-sponsored literacy programs in Latin America, which seek to improve the lot of the poor by developing better skills, with those of popular education movements, which attempt to empower people to change social structures. (SK)

The two central themes of this discussion guide on the conference theme, Library and Information Services for Enhancing Lifelong Learning, relate to the roles of the library in supporting the educational programs of schools and universities, and in supporting adult education, continuing education, and lifelong learning. Following a general…

Describes the roles of various divisions of the American Library Association (ALA) in helping to pass the youth services resolution at the 1991 White House Conference on Library and Information Services (WHCLIS2). A sidebar contains the text of the resolution, which is entitled The Omnibus Children and Youth Literacy through Libraries Act. (LRW)