Objective: To compare performance of the newest vital sign (NVS) with existing literacy measures. Methods: We administered the NVS and REALM to 129 patients, and NVS and S-TOFHLA to 119 patients all in public clinics. Results: The NVS demonstrated high sensitivity for detecting limited literacy and moderate specificity (area under the receiver…

Research has identified the barriers adult learners face in attaining their education and English proficiency goals, entering and advancing in employment, succeeding in postsecondary education and training, and navigating service systems. Most adult learners face long odds in trying to meet these goals. What would it take to address these barriers…

One major report after another shows that the United States needs a large, innovative, and effective adult education and workforce skills system. It is essential to the national security, economic stability, and democratic way of life. To address this need fully a leadership agency focused on a singular national goal is required, one with a…

The relationship between job requirements, individual skills and the participation of workers in further education and training, with an emphasis on older workers, is the focus of this report. It found that workers who reported that their jobs are demanding relative to their skills were more likely to participate in education and training.…

First published in 1957, following a battle with nervous lawyers, "The Uses of Literacy" is recognized as one of the founding texts of cultural studies. Its critique of mass culture reverberated far beyond that discipline. It influenced the librarians of the day who were beginning to think about issues of class and consider their…

This book explores the social practice of literacy, numeracy and language and its implications for teaching and learning adult basic skills. Leading international experts argue that literacy, numeracy and language are more than just a set of skills or techniques, but are shaped by the social and cultural context within which they are taking place;…

This paper explores limits and possibilities for students' book bags as data sources in educational research. A discussion of the feasibility of book bags as data sources is followed by a brief description of an ethnographic research project focused on literacy and schooling in families of General Education Diploma (GED) students. The larger study…

It is widely documented that U.S. students score below their OECD counterparts on international achievement tests, but it is less commonly known that ultimately, U.S. native adults catch up. In this paper, we explore institutional explanations for differences in the evolution of literacy over young adulthood across wealthy OECD countries. We use…

There is a growing interest in health literacy and in developing curricula for health care providers and for the general public. However, developing curriculum without accompanying evaluation plans is like starting a race without a finish line, and current measures of health literacy are not up to the task of evaluating curriculum. This research…

This paper examines a recent government initiative aimed at raising adult literacy levels across the Canadian province of British Columbia by 2010. Through analysis of policy documents and interviews conducted with policymakers, analysts, researchers and practitioners, the author argues that the current focus on adult literacy in British Columbia…

The purpose of this report is to help advance the recommendations of the National Commission on Adult Literacy, for the Adult Education and Economic Growth Act under development by Congressmen Patrick Kennedy and Reuben Hinojosa. Current law is compared to National Commission amendments in such areas as: Adult and Dislocated Worker Employment and…

We obtained data from 124 volunteer instructors in adult literacy, using an instrument developed to assess what the volunteers knew about providing reading instruction to adults. Results showed that volunteers with bachelor's degrees or higher and those who had teacher's certificates were significantly more knowledgeable about providing reading…

The primary purpose of this report is to explore within the Canadian context the relationship between Self-Reported Learning Disabilities (SRLD) and low literacy performance using the Canadian portion of the public data set from the 2003 International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (IALSS). Two primary research questions related to SRLD…

The Literacy and Equality in Irish Society (LEIS) Project is an example of a project which used alternative non-text methodologies to help literacy and basic education learners explore and understand how inequalities in society have impacted on their lives. The project focused on inequalities, shifting the emphasis in literacy and basic skills…

This article traces the development of adult literacy as a field of practice in Ireland. It examines how literacy is understood and looks at key moments in the recent development of policy showing how adult literacy has become a central focus of Government policy in both the Republic and in Northern Ireland. It concludes that while the development…