The educational policies and programs of the Pathet Lao are examined in some detail in this report. The first section looks generally at the colonial legacy and present context. Because of the meager resources made available for education under the French and the deprived conditions prevailing in what became the Pathet Lao zone, educational policy…

This report reviews legislative and administrative policies surrounding adult basic education, the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program (JOBS) of the Family Support Act, and the Job Training and Partnership Act (JTPA). Recommendations are made for the development of an effective continuum of literacy services. Section A is a historical…

Twenty percent of all Soviet citizens have completed secondary and higher education through evening schools; among older people, the percentage is even higher. A detailed history is given of the development of varied and flexible forms of adult education in the Soviet Union, including policies, statistics, instructional methods, and sample…

Illiteracy is a social and economic problem in South Carolina. In 1980, 445,202 persons in the state, 25 years of age or older, had less than an elementary school education. In relation to other states, South Carolina is ranked second according to the percentage of the adult population with less than high school completion. Statistics show that…

Findings and recommendations of the New York State Senate Committee on Investigations and Taxes are provided from an examination of adult illiteracy in New York State to estimate its extent and cost, to evaluate existing efforts, and to develop new approaches to reduce it. Findings show that there are approximately 2,040,000 functionally…

This study outlines some of the literacy problems of immigrants to Canada and the attempts being made to overcome these problems. The study first examines some of the popular definitions of literacy with a view to finding one that might be a goal for all illiterates in Canada regardless of their birthplace. Next, the latest data are analyzed to…

The result of a study on adult literacy undertaken by World Education, this book places the educational problem of adult literacy into the larger context of a changing society and offers a fresh perspective and a new way of thinking about the phenomenon. After defining functional literacy as the possession of skills perceived by particular persons…

This document is an English language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of the Fourth Indian Five Year Plan Report, Chapter 15, which deals with Education and Manpower. India's tasks in providing educational facilities for children in the 6-14 age group are immense. Only about 60% of that age group are in school today. The Plan refers to this…

There have been few, if any, significant changes in educational policy regarding the provision of adult literacy education in India over the past two decades. The changes that have taken place in India's adult literacy programs have occurred in the realm of technology rather than ideology, thereby supporting a continuity in the existing…

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…

The four papers that make up this document report on poverty issues as they pertain to adults with learning disabilities. "Programmatic Response to Welfare Clients with Learning Disabilities" (Glenn Young) describes steps in the Learning Disabilities Initiative that works with federal agencies, states, local governments, and nonprofit…

The first of two papers that comprise this document introduces Australia's response to 1990 as the United Nations (UN) International Literacy Year (ILY). The second paper sets policy directions for Australia's Literacy Year program. The first paper contains the six UN objectives for the year (to increase government action to combat illiteracy,…

A study was conducted to examine the literature on literacy and adult basic education and to identify various issues, trends, problems, possible solutions, and basic principles that might guide programs and policies in adult literacy and basic education in Canada. More than 120 documents were examined, raising such issues as what is literacy and…

Research conducted in Kenya had two purposes: to describe the literacy program and literacy learners and to determine the literacy skill levels of participants and to what use they are putting those skills. Researchers collected data from 5 districts in Kenya, including information about the characteristics and functioning of the literacy centers,…

Research conducted in Tanzania had two purposes: to describe the literacy program and literacy learners and to determine the literacy skill levels of participants and to what use they are putting those skills. Researchers spent a month in each of four villages gaining information about the socioeconomic system, communication, development, the role…