This guidebook is a practical reference for people working on the development and use of literacy materials, such as planners, administrators, writers, illustrators, and producers. Section I on rationale and principle of learning materials covers the following: categories of learners, learning behavior of adults, steps in curriculum development,…

The University of Akron's Reading Assessment Component (RAC) research study assessed the effectiveness of a computer-based literacy program, Principles of the Alphabet Literacy System (PALS), as an alternative to classroom instruction for functionally illiterate adults living in Summit County, Ohio. The RAC study assessed four objectives: (1)…

This book is intended to assist literacy program administrators, coordinators, instructors, and volunteers in the design and implementation of literacy programs for homeless adults. Chapter 1 discusses barriers to instruction when serving homeless adults, including shelter environment, impermanence of location and opportunity, and the effects of…

The effectiveness of using computer courseware developed for adults reading below the fourth-grade level was investigated with inmates at Rockview State Correctional Institution. Data were collected both to establish multiple baseline data and to permit experimental group comparison with a control group. The multiple baselines portion of the study…

This policy guide is designed to assist governors and state leaders in analyzing the issue of adult literacy and in proposing specific policy strategies for dealing with this national problem. The book offers practical guidance in two areas critical to effective action: it clarifies definitions of "literacy" and "illiteracy" and provides a…

The Literacy Volunteers of America-Danbury, Connecticut, is a nonprofit community organization that provides free instruction in English for those to whom English is still largely a foreign language. For 10 years it has also provided free instruction in reading and writing for English-speaking persons whose education has not provided these skills.…

Evaluation of adult literacy programs requires different criteria from those used to judge regular schooling. Indicators for evaluating adult voluntary programs with individualized curricula are recruitment; retention, including absenteeism; one-on-one tutoring with volunteers; training in a context; support services; the "quick-fix" syndrome;…

An evaluation of the Boston Workplace Education Collaborative (BWEC) was conducted during 1989. The BWEC is a partnership among Roxbury Community College, the Boston Private Industry Council, and the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) of Massachusetts to provide workplace literacy educational opportunities…

This report contains two sections: a summary of a conference on state literacy initiatives including the agenda and list of participants, and a series of profiles of the literacy efforts of individual states. The four issues identified and discussed at the meeting were (1) development of state initiatives; (2) coordination and expansion of state…

A test of job-specific literacy, called the McCoy Assessment of Worksite Literacy Abilities (MAWSLA), could not predict the job success of the 100 employees who took it. The 108-item test was based on literary tasks encountered by employees in the course of a routine day at McCoy Electronics Company, a 560-employee firm in Pennsylvania. The…

In Malawi, adult literacy deserves immediate attention in order to promote health, family planning, and productivity. While policy commitment for adult literacy promotion has not been lacking, intensified action has been. In 1979 the government accepted the Unesco Mission Report to undertake a functional literacy program on the successful…

This resource manual of ideas for incorporating functional literacy applications into student lessons is intended for volunteers trained to teach one-to-one in adult literacy programs and for teachers of adult students. The ideas are designed to increase beginning student exposure to and familiarity with functional literacy materials. It provides…

A program funded by USAID to help the Adult Literacy Organization of Zimbabwe (ALOZ) increase its capacity to provide training and supervision for adult literacy teachers and to publish and distribute literacy texts is evaluated. Methodology used included questionnaires, interviews with ALOZ staff, observation of grant activities, and a review of…

Adults, whatever their competence, are not obsolete. Education for adults is the font we must draw on to make possible the new environment in education that we call lifetime learning and recurrent education. Following the lead of Europe in planning broad-based adult education programs, the United States has begun to fund and operate diversified…

The document was prepared as part of a UNESCO contract to train 16 counterpart officials of UNESCO-sponsored literacy projects. Functional literacy was studied in three parts, all dealing with the total planning process. First was project planning. Literacy projects must consider national educational plans and be related to relevant economic…