Describes three approaches to combatting the high illiteracy rates among adults: (1) working early with children who are poor readers or nonreaders, (2) improving adult literacy programs, and (3) training adult educators to teach lifelong learning along with reading skills. (CH)

Examines the relationship between education and the socioeconomic development of the English-speaking Caribbean, and the role of continuing education in this process. Looks at the participation of women in education and draws attention to recent government initiatives on adult education and literacy that may be of help to women. (CH)

Today, being literate entails more than reading, writing, and spelling correctly. Literacy also includes the following: a process that is a creative set of social practices that vary according to context, text, and purpose; a process that integrates language skills with thinking; and a political process that empowers people and is inextricably…

The author discusses current uses of computers in adult basic skills instruction. Compares three primary systems available for purchase in adult literacy instruction: (1) Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations (PLATO), (2) Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC), and (3) Principle of the Alphabet Literacy System (PALS). Presents…

The National Literacy Act of 1991 (NLA) established the National Institute for Literacy to ensure that literacy would have a place on the federal policy agenda and to invigorate a national effort to improve adult literacy. This report briefly summarizes the primary activities and accomplishments of the National Institute for Literacy over a…

The authors review current practices in writing instruction in adult literacy classes. They observe that students spend little time writing. Innovative teaching activities are mentioned. They discuss goals of writing instruction and how to adapt present practices to meet the writing requirements of the General Educational Development Test. (CH)

This document contains a mission statement, goals, and strategies and recommendations prepared by the Arkansas Governor's Commission on Adult Literacy. Goals include increasing from approximately 29,000 to 100,000 the number of adult learners engaged in pursuing at least one higher functional level of literacy by 1992-93 and quadrupling the…

This memo is designed to assist Wisconsin's Special Committee on Employment Disincentives in reviewing the issue of adult illiteracy. Section A provides information on the extent of illiteracy in the United States. Section B discusses selected literacy programs at the federal, state, and local levels. Results are provided of a study of federal…

Discusses the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s: the context of the time, its educational programs, instruction, teachers, and how it handled the problem of illiteracy. Examines whether this kind of program would work in the 1990s, concluding that many of the programs components would transfer well to the present. (SR)

This report describes certain assumptions and tentative conclusions made by an Advisory Group of the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) about work with the mentally handicapped from a nonspecialist perspective. With the basic education organizer in mind, the report addresses six major issues. A definition of the term mentally handicapped…

Organizations and groups responsible for the bulk of the nation's adult basic skills provision are currently reaching an estimated 9-10 percent of the needy population. This represents an increase from the 7-8 percent reached in 1984. Adult Basic Education (ABE), the largest single program in the nation, has shown an overall growth in enrollment…

This summary reports on the proceedings of a conference that was convened to focus attention on the implications of inadequate literacy levels among present and future employees of small businesses and to share successful approaches to the task of helping these employees develop the literacy skills required to meet ever-changing job requirements.…

This document contains the proceedings of a conference on adult learners conducted to identify barriers that prevent certain groups of adults from participating in lifelong learning opportunities and to deepen understanding of practices and institutional arrangements that better enable such adults to learn. Following a summary of the workshops of…

Illiteracy is a social and economic problem in South Carolina. In 1980, 445,202 persons in the state, 25 years of age or older, had less than an elementary school education. In relation to other states, South Carolina is ranked second according to the percentage of the adult population with less than high school completion. Statistics show that…

This brief presents summary information and contacts/references for a sampling of programs and resources that have been developed to support small business workplace literacy projects. Twenty-two contacts are included: Finger Lakes Regional Education Center for Economic Development; Development Assistance Corporation; Wayne Community College;…