The Adult Tutoring Program within the Literacy Center of West Michigan has been running monthly professional developments (PDs) (known as tutor in-services) for volunteer tutors since early 2021. All in-services fit into at least one of the categories of strategies, life skills, civics, next steps, or digital literacy. The team has been able to…

The three of us met in 2014 through our shared interest in adult literacy. We are colleagues as practitioners and as researchers; altogether, we have been in the field of adult literacy in Canada since the 1980s. Our experiences working with learners come from our role as volunteer tutors and paid staff in provincially funded programs and…

This paper reports and reflects on a collaborative and multi-layered action enquiry project in the New Zealand polytechnic sector. In the context of widespread national professional development centred on adult literacy and numeracy teaching and learning in vocational educational institutions, an action enquiry methodology was piloted with…

Highlighting the application of ethnomusicology beyond the traditional boundaries of the academy, this article investigates the use of music in adult literacy education. In 2005, as part of the Literacy and Equality in Irish Society (LEIS) project, adult literacy tutors working in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (UK), were invited to enrol in…

Project Read at the San Mateo Public Library is one of 106 library programs in California helping adults improve their reading, writing, and communication skills. Like many adult literacy programs, Project Read trains and matches volunteer tutors with students. About 30% of the Project Read students are men in Project 90 (P-90), a residential drug…

Scholars of adult basic literacy curricular materials have argued that the skill-based, deficit-oriented approach of many such materials denies the interests and motivations of adult learners. Exploring why these kinds of curricular materials are prevalent in adult basic literacy education, this article focuses on the case of ProLiteracy, a…

Through case studies of adult literacy learners and the volunteer tutors who instructed them, this article illustrates the strengths and challenges faced by these kinds of instructional pairs. The descriptions help to reveal critical issues that can inform researchers' and practitioners' thinking and practice with regard to tutor training and…

Australian adult literacy programs feature the use of volunteer tutors, emphasis on personal growth, and fostering of self-esteem. (SK)

HMP Cornton Vale is Scotland's only female prison. Based in Stirlingshire, it accommodates adults and young women, both sentenced and untried. Most sentenced prisoners are short-term prisoners with sentences of between two and four years. Cornton Vale offers a range of formal and non-formal activities for the women, some educational, others…

The Small Group Learning Methodology Project in Australia demonstrated the powerful effect of group membership upon adult literacy. Group learning was facilitated by shared purpose, satisfaction of needs through interdependence, individual growth through group goals, and use of both whole group and one-to-one interaction. (SK)

Delaware County (Pennsylvania) Community College received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to use college work-study students to teach literacy. The college cooperated with the Delaware County Literacy Council in order to train tutors and clerical personnel and place them in tutoring or program support functions. A total of 30…

Two literacy programs based at the State University of New York, College at Brockport (SUNY-Brockport) universities have achieved some success, but both programs have changed, for various reasons. University students have much to gain from their involvement in literacy programs, including the satisfaction of helping others, the opportunity to…

In an effort to respond to Vermont teachers' and tutors' need for learning disabilities instruction, the Stern Center for Language and Learning developed a model program to teach adults with learning disabilities. The program included 12 hours of instruction presented over Vermont interactive television to over 100 adult basic education (ABE)…

Materials are provided on an adult right-to-read program for Collin County developed by the Allen Independent School District Community Education department. Narratives by the district coordinator, program director, and volunteer director set forth administrative considerations, general guidelines, information on evaluations and tutor training, a…

In this document are a final report and guide from a project to produce a 30-minute training videotape that provided volunteer tutors and paid adult educators with concrete methods, techniques, and activities to help adult learners improve their numeracy skills. According to the final report, representatives of various adult education…