In the summer of 1978, at Church Teachers' College in Mandeville, Jamaica, a class of advanced students participating in the Jamaica Movement for the Advancement of Literacy (JAMAL) wrote, cast, rehearsed, and performed a play that satirized several major institutions--the family, the church, and the business sector--as well as class and gender…

Adult learners with low literacy skills compose a highly heterogeneous population in terms of demographic variables, educational backgrounds, knowledge and skills in reading, self-efficacy, motivation etc. They also face various difficulties in consistently attending offline literacy programs, such as unstable worktime, transportation…

Purpose: This report summarizes the Literacy for Deaf Immigrant Adults: A Symposium for Collaboration and Learning was a unique event, the first of its kind in Western Canada. Methods: An archival narrative approach was used to summarize and synthesize key outcomes from the symposium. Results: Participants identified key challenges as: (1) myths…

To serve adults with disabilities without a high school diploma, the federal government and states have funded adult education and literacy programs that provide services to accommodate the needs of those adults. In addition, the Tests of General Educational Development (GED Tests) provide adults with disabilities with testing accommodations to…

In this article, the author describes how difficult it is to know how critically literate her students are in the adult senior high school in which she is a teacher-librarian. She assumes that many would have gaps in their learning, including gaps in information and critical literacy skills, and that they were likely to approach all online…

Both the Financial Services Authority and the Basic Skills Agency are committed to supporting those individuals and organisations working to improve the financial capability of themselves and others. The development of the National Strategy for Financial Capability, coordinated by the Financial Services Authority, and the commissioning of a…

Describes the theoretical framework and practical application of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). Concludes that the survey is based on an empirically-proven statistical construct that has been executed accurately with results that shed light on the relationship between functional literacy and national and individual well being.…

States that French authorities refused to make International Adult Literacy Survey results public, citing methodological flaws, the need for better procedural precautions, and a more adequate notion of literacy. Presents a synthesis of the counter investigations demanded by French authorities that justify their doubts on the IALS definitions and…

Evaluates the International Adult Literacy Survey (as reported in OECD 1997) from a New Literacy Studies perspective. Criticism of the survey includes charges that: it provides only a partial picture of literacy; culture is treated as bias; and the test items do not represent the real-life items as claimed. Contains 30 references. (PGS)

The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) has serious limitations. Interpretation of data often manifests an ethnocentric Western attitude, ranking handling of data-based information higher than experiential and contextualized information, and ignoring how people solve problems in their life context. Proposes an alternative model, called…

Points out the difficulties of defining and operationalizing literacy and literacy development across communities with diverse socioeconomic profiles. Proposes consideration of diverse socioeconomic patterns and level of community (in addition to macro-level of nation-state and the micro-level of individual) to analyze matters relating to literacy…

Document addresses political and ethical questions generated by OECD's International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the New Zealand Foresight Project. Calls for further critical work on changing patterns of literate activity in the information age, stressing the importance of contemplating futures other than those driven by imperatives of global…

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) is undertaking a comprehensive assessment of literacy in the United States. The assessment will examine how technology offers new resources and creates opportunities to reach learners and improve productivity of learning. OTA will identify ways to increase learning access in existing programs and overcome…