One of the greatest challenges in education today is to adapt and respond to a linguistically and culturally diverse world, and to combat social disintegration and discrimination. Participatory and collaborative action research represents an empowering and emancipatory approach to this challenge because the "target groups" become…

This booklet is designed to sensitize volunteer literacy tutors to the special needs and interests of illiterate older learners. It also gives useful tips for creating successful and self-rewarding learning experiences. The first section on the world of older adults with literacy problems describes some of the characteristics of this group. In the…

Literacy and illiteracy are cultural; the need to read, to write, and to compute comes from values placed on these functions by the cultural or social group in which one lives. They are also intergenerational. This intergenerational factor should be turned around so that parents transmit literacy to children. Illiteracy is also costly to society…

This Brief first summarizes research findings regarding computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and its effectiveness in adult literacy education programs. The following findings are given: CAI is effective for a significant number of adult learners; CAI is effective because it provides the adult learner with flexibility, control, individualization,…

This document consists of a workshop guide and a presentation guide for a workshop on writing successful grants for adult literacy and education programs. The workshop guide begins with a list of the major outcomes to be achieved through completion of the activities in the workshop. The guide is then divided into four sections that correspond to…

This report provides an overview of the efforts and results of adult basic education centers and classroom teachers and volunteers who provide instruction in the most basic and essential skills for the educationally disadvantaged adults in New York. Charts and graphs illustrate the data that are presented in this photograph-enhanced compilation of…

In an era of rising public criticism of education and decreasing resources, strategic planning can be a major tool for educational administrators who wish to respond to the increasing challenges their adult literacy programs face. Strategic planning can be defined as a disciplined effort to produce fundamental decisions and actions that shape and…

This document provides a framework for local education agencies to monitor, support, and evaluate basic skills provision for adults. It sets out a general approach to evaluation based on three crucial factors in basic skills provision: inputs, process, and outcomes. It suggests some possible program indicators for basic skills, including average…

This manual is designed to serve as a step-by-step guide for managers of volunteer adult literacy sites. It discusses day-to-day responsibilities, suggests procedures, and provides forms and directions for their use. The guide is organized in four sections. Following information on the guide and background information on literacy education in…

These curriculum materials were collected from teachers in the Lehman College Adult Learning Center (New York). They include various activities and resources, such as a series of questions about the aims of teaching adults, a list of sources for adult basic education (ABE) materials, poems, and autobiographical materials. Teaching suggestions and…

This handbook is designed to help literacy coordinators, especially in New Mexico, develop and implement volunteer literacy programs. The seven chapters provide information on (1) organizing the program; (2) recruitment of volunteers and students; (3) training tutors; (4) methods of instruction; (5) recordkeeping; (6) recognition and placement for…

This guide describes a model for a community-based literacy program for older adults that uses older adults as tutors. Guidelines are provided to program sponsors for implementing literacy education for older adults. Chapter I provides an overview of the problem of illiterate older adults and literacy education for them. Chapter II addresses the…

Adult illiteracy is a complex, costly, and growing social problem. Three common areas of controversy related to the problem are: (1) definitions of adult literacy, (2) characteristics of illiterate adults, and (3) the purposes of literacy education. Illiteracy can be understood only in relation to a culture's definition of literacy. Due to…

Although volunteer tutors traditionally have formed the basis of the programs of Laubach Literacy Action and Literacy Volunteers of America, volunteers have begun to play a greater role in adult literacy instruction provided through community-based organizations, correctional institutions, churches, and federally funded adult basic education.…

This document, which was written for adult educators in Georgia, offers instructional plans and practical strategies for helping students in adult literacy, adult basic education, General Educational Development, and English-as-a-second-language programs become critical television viewers. The document begins with a discussion of why television…