In this chapter, we examine adult- and child-focused models of reading with respect to cognitive processing deficits associated with low literacy. We examine influential integrative models of reading and reading comprehension. We then review the empirical literature on components of reading ability, subdivided into three categories: language…

We study the links between family configuration and formation on the one hand and adult literacy skills on the other by analysing data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), a survey of 250,000 people aged 16 to 65 conducted by the OECD in 33 countries and economies. Literacy proficiency has an effect on…

To clarify the link between anomalous letter processing and developmental dyslexia, we examined the impact of surrounding contours on letter vs. pseudo-letter processing by three groups of children--phonological dyslexics and two controls, one matched for chronological age, the other for reading level--and three groups of adults differing by…

This study investigated the syntactic ability of 82 struggling adult readers who recognize words between the third and fifth grade levels. Analysis of the adults' performance on the TOLD-I:3 indicated that they were deficient on the syntactic task. Correlations found the struggling adult readers' oral language skills, written language skills, and…

The primary purpose of the study reported here was to examine whether phonological processes are the same or different in low literacy adults and children with or without reading disabilities in a consistent orthography. A sample of 150 subjects was selected and organized into four different groups: 53 low literacy adults, 29 reading disabled…

Three hundred and four participants in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study took a validated IQ-type test at age 11 years and a battery of cognitive tests at age 70 years. Three tests of health literacy were completed at age 72 years; the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults…

Household engagement in a child's education is a complex process; depending on the culture and the context, it may be revealed through a variety of behaviours. Using data from one district in rural Gujarat, India, four indicators of a household's educational engagement were employed to investigate the relationship between household literacy levels…

In this study the print awareness of 25 unschooled adult illiterates in the Netherlands was compared with that of 24 pre-reading children and of 23 low-educated literate adults with approximately four years of primary schooling. The illiterates were interviewed about their experiences with writing and all participants completed six assessments of…

"The State of the World's Children 2014 In Numbers: Every Child Counts" highlights the critical role data and monitoring play in realizing children's rights. Credible data, disseminated effectively and used correctly, make it possible to target interventions that help right the wrong of exclusion. Data do not, of themselves, change the…

This research investigates the amount of metalinguistic knowledge one can assume when teaching an adult to read. In addition, it questions the source of this awareness and whether it relates to general cognitive development, to schooling, or specifically to the act of learning to read. The subjects were sixty monolingual adults enrolled in a…

The main purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the relative importance of complexity of syllable structure and task differences in measuring phonological awareness in low-literacy adults. This study is a replication of a study with children conducted by S. A. Stahl and B. A. Murray (1994). Results indicated that the complexity of…

Supports the argument that there are differences between the reading strategies of children and adults and suggests that pedagogy can take these into account to make adult basic education programs more effective. (AEA)

Used longitudinal data from a sample of African-American children of teenaged mothers in the Baltimore, Maryland, area to examine determinants of functional literacy in adulthood. Found that preschool cognitive and behavioral functioning predicted literacy in young adulthood. Family environmental factors that predicted literacy in young adulthood…

Research on metacognition and literacy development in children and adults that was conducted during the past 15 years was reviewed to determine how metacognition can be applied to instructional approaches for adult literacy and how assessment methods may need to be modified if metacognition is to be applied successfully. Among the key findings of…

Papers and proposals resulting from educational and rural development fieldwork in the highlands of Papua New Guinea by the education staff and students of the University of Papua New Guinea are included in this collection. Providing essential background knowledge necessary for formulating solutions to the complex and politically sensitive issues…