Nationally approved adult numeracy teacher training programmes were started in September 2002 following the introduction of subject specifications by the Department for Education and Skills and the Further National Training Organisation in England. These programmes delivered by higher education institutions and further education colleges were…

The message about general literacy standards in Canada (as reported in the Southam Literacy Survey) is that approximately five million Canadians are illiterate. The validity of this message must be challenged because a group of middle-class Canadians with middle-class values established the criteria for being "literate" and felt that all…

Literacy and illiteracy are cultural; the need to read, to write, and to compute comes from values placed on these functions by the cultural or social group in which one lives. They are also intergenerational. This intergenerational factor should be turned around so that parents transmit literacy to children. Illiteracy is also costly to society…

Describes how the work of modern poets can expand adult learners' views of the uses of reading and writing and their own ability and specifically shows how the works of Carl Sandburg, Lucille Clifton, William Carlos Williams, and Langston Hughes can be used to teach adults to read. (SRT)

Describes the Soviet Union's success in eradicating illiteracy and the role that adult education made in that effort. Elimination of illiteracy began in 1919 and was achieved by 1959, when 99.3 percent of males and 97.3 percent of females between the ages of 9 and 49 were literate. (JOW)

Argues that literacy has indirect cognitive effects through the conceptual distinctions and social practices that it fosters. Examines the distinction between what is given in a text and what is inferred by readers. Argues that children's acquisition of this distinction is decisive in the development of a literary thought mode. (JD)

Encourages use of the newspaper to remediate skills in older nonreaders. Proposes teaching essential reading skills concomitant with basic voting procedures so that nonreading adults will be able to function in society and describes seven activities requiring use of critical, literal and inferential skills. (JK)

Reviews Jonathan Kozol's book, "Illiterate America." Asserts that Kozol's argument is insensitive to cultural variation and stems from an unquestioning commitment to humanism. Argues that conventional definitions of "literacy" have tended to be more closely related to particular social structures and values than to cognitive development and…

The author explores why he believes the Adult Performance Level criteria, related objectives and the instructional strategies, and programs that follow from the objectives are unsupportable by any empirical evidence and detrimental to both individuals and society. (CT)

The author suggests that the specification of common literacy demands that are valid on the societal level, that is, which are applicable and meaningful to diverse adults living in diverse environments, is an impossible task. He further suggests that the development of a valid and uniform national curriculum for functional literacy is equally…

The author suggests that a key concept of Marxist social theory--the mode of production--provides a useful analytical tool for a better understanding of the development of literacy in society (and thus furnishes the theoretical basis for an improved practice of adult literacy work). (Author/CT)

A personal visit by the author to Great Britain revealed a different approach to teaching literacy than commonly found in the United States. The British concept of literacy training placed a high value on the student's self-concept, on student responsibility, and on learner participation. (Author/CT)

Praises Peter Johnston's thoughtful, constructive use of the term dyslexia in his article that appeared in the May 1985, "Harvard Educational Review." (HOD)

Focuses upon the relationship between Paulo Freire's ideas and radical community education as a way of assessing the degree to which Freire's work may be applicable to western societies in general. (JOW)

This study attempts to define dropouts, focus on the reasons for dropping out, and suggest some ways to overcome perceived barriers to participation in adult literacy programs. (SK)