One of the ironic facts that existed in our society is functional illiteracy. It does not mean that people cannot read or write. People know how to read and write but are unable to understand the meaning of a text they read. Thus, this research was held to answer the question of "How can students' awareness of functional literacy be…

This paper explores how Culturally Sustaining Systemic Functional Linguistics (CSSFL), a theoretical and pedagogical approach, facilitates emergent bilingual (EB) students' engagement in explicit, equitable literacy practices within the unique context of a middle school intensive reading classroom. This design-based research (DBR) study documents…

We live in a time of transition from print reading (off-line) to screen reading (on-line), where the role of the book and other literature is being taken over by different types of electronic devices (computers, tablets, smart phones). In the lives of young people, there is less and less printed media, because it is being pushed out by electronic…

This article examines the educational leadership of the first African American female principal in Richmond, Virginia: Mrs. Ethel Thompson Overby. It seeks to ascertain, through a historical framework utilizing critical race theory, how this particular educational and instructional leader conceptualized academic achievement given the context of…

Definitions of literacy that focus solely on reading words provide too narrow a framework for many students with severe disabilities. Obtaining information from the environment may be accomplished in a variety of modes, such as visual literacy, which is the ability to discern meaning conveyed through images. A component of visual literacy is…

Describes a case study involving the reading development of an adult nonreader (a woman in her early fifties) and discusses this growth in comparison with children beginning to read. Discusses the student's background and her literacy development and progress. Notes similarities and differences to children's learning. (SR)

Schools have come under sharp criticism for their apparent ineffectiveness in reading instruction, due to interpretations of recent functional literacy survey results. Several of the major surveys are examined in this document, and in some cases their data are reanalyzed to answer additional questions. The conclusion reached from this examination…

As an initial effort to assess reading in correctional institutions, a questionnaire was sent to some 70 state directors of corrections, both adult and juvenile, by the National Clearinghouse for Offender Literacy Programs which is sponsored by the American Bar Association, the American Correctional Association, and the National Association of…

In order to determine whether lessons addressed to the expressed personal interest of functionally illiterate adult students would improve their reading skills, 40 such students attending an urban adult education center were divided into two reading classes. All were tested on a silent reading subtest of the Adult Basic Learning Examination and…

Examines the relationship between level of schooling and literacy attainment in four rural communities in Guatemala. The authors first identify the grade at which most children become literate and then estimate the net contribution of schooling to literacy. They found that most children became literate with between three and four years of…

Intended for those involved in American social service and educational communities, this book addresses the widespread problem of illiteracy in the United States and the social consequences of this problem. Following an introduction, the chapters in the first section of the book discuss the growing crisis of illiterate America, specifically, the…

This report describes the development of an experimental program of job reading training designed to provide a level of functional literacy appropriate to minimal job task reading requirements in six major career clusters. Program effectiveness for both general and job reading training is described in data based on the reading performance of some…

Any use of language involves the following interlocking systems: (1) referential; (2) contextualization; and (3) ideology. These together constitute culturally viable "discourse systems." Examination of these systems as they operate in daily contexts reveals a paradox in the concept of literacy. (Author/BJV)

A project explored the reading comprehension skills and strategies of adult basic education (ABE) students. The target population was 55 students from 2 ABE programs in central Pennsylvania. They responded in interviews to a questionnaire that measured their knowledge about reading and reading comprehension strategies, and they participated in…

To measure the effectiveness of the Basic Skills Education Program (BSEP) reading curriculum--eight reading skill modules employing military job-specific reading materials and used by the U.S. Army in Europe (USAREUR)--and to provide information for improving it, a study examined 183 soldiers from 38 European posts who were enrolled in the BSEP…