In response to a deficiency in basic skills demonstrated by students admitted to Santa Fe Community College (SFCC), a Vocational Skills Assessment (VSA) program was developed to increase student awareness of personal and vocational strengths through hands-on assessment of their abilities. The VSA program has four integrated courses: (1) Skills…

This paper, focusing on schooling for children in Africa, recommends a pedagogy that begins with the practical, everyday experiences of the child and proceeds by extension toward more abstract ideas. It is pointed out that the basic areas of survival--food, clothing, and shelter--could be treated in courses in agriculture, home economics, and…

The study developed a definition of "independent living" for handicapped individuals and evaluated the definition's seven domains using data provided by 3,758 handicapped members of the 1980 sophomore cohort of the High School and Beyond National Longitudinal Survey (N=14,553). The seven domains are: (1) self-care and advocacy skills;…

Interviews, record reviews, student follow-up, achievement tests, survey instruments, and observation were used to gather data for the 1986/87 evaluation of the Topeka (Kansas) Educable Mentally Handicapped (EMH) Program. Strengths of the program were identified and included: a dedicated, well-trained staff; a good special education/regular…

The Survival Skills Center described in this report operates at Columbia College, CA, to provide individualized instruction in basic reading, writing, and math skills using a series of modules which focus on problems commonly encountered in everyday life. After discussing the need for such instruction among nontraditional students, the paper…

The development and implementation of the Dallas Independent School District's Basic Objectives Assessment Test (BOAT) are described. Beginning in 1979, this minimum competency test was administered system-wide to all students in grades 8-12 (except for those enrolled as special education students), and beginning in 1983 it will be used in…

The Communication Experience Approach (CEA), a modification of the Language Experience Approach to teaching reading, involves the use of group activities designed to help functionally illiterate persons learn basic communication skills. This paper first discusses six distinct processes in the CEA: setting a specific purpose for communicating,…

The paper describes a system used in Nebraska in which vocational rehabilitation specialists determine who is a high need client and develop programs via a social-ecological or "person-environment" perspective. A high need client is defined as an individual who will require considerable staff support, intervention, and time. A three-phase study…

Media statements and pronouncements by leaders in various sectors throughout the nation confirm that literacy still means the ability to work with the printed or written word. It is also evident that the term literacy includes more than reading. Literacy encompasses writing, speaking and listening, computing, and even problem-solving skills.…

The paper describes common problems associated with special education curricula used in developing countries. Some of the problems are: (1) an emphasis on rote recall rather than comprehension and application of knowledge; (2) a focus on academic rather than functional skill training; (3) the teaching of generic, readiness, and preacademic skills…

A middle school program in Phoenix, New York, was planned to provide for trainable and low functioning educable mentally retarded students in an integrated setting. Cooperation between the planning team and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation resulted in a program for 13 students aged 11 to 14 with four major areas of concentration: social…

The study identified elementary level non-academic employment competencies needed by students with visual impairments. The first phase of the study validated and prioritized 32 competencies needed for successful employment of adults with visual impairments. Competencies were rated by 141 professionals including coordinators of services for…

The statewide implementation of the Georgia State Board of Education (GSBE) policy for high school graduation requirements was begun in September, 1980. It specifically stated that the GSBE would be responsible for assessing the basic skills, or learner skills, of students enrolled in public schools. It further stated that each local school system…

This paper is a report of the proceedings and a synthesis of discussion from a conference on the state of basic skills in American education held in Racine, Wisconsin, in April 1977. The participants were national education leaders, including specialists in different curriculum areas, legislators, public school administrators, and leaders from…

The functional competencies of 131 women offenders incarcerated in Texas were assessed and than compared to the functional competencies of 868 free-world women in Texas surveyed during the Adult Performance Level (APL) Project. The findings support the following conclusions: (1) women in the free-world are more functionally competent than women…