Learners' motivations for participating in adult basic education (ABE) are important; determining their needs is crucial to evaluating programs to see if their needs are being met and is also important in determining instructional content and methods. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 323 randomly selected ABE students in Iowa. During…

Some of the leading concepts of phenomenology have direct relevance for the practice of adult education. Adults bring to the learning experience a vast stock of assimilated knowledge. Very important to the process is the notion of critical reflection as a constituent of this stock of knowledge--the knowledge is not merely stored but is judged and…

THE APPLICATION OF THE LAUBACH METHOD TO TEACH ILLITERATE ADULTS BY TELEVISION WAS REPORTED. THE PROGRAM INVOLVED 600 STUDENTS OF WHOM 250 COMPLETED THE COURSE OF STUDY. THE STUDENTS WERE ILLITERATES ABOUT 40 YEARS OF AGE WITH 2 TO 3 YEARS OF FORMAL SCHOOLING. LESSONS WERE PREPARED AND TELECAST USING MATERIAL DEVELOPED BY F.C. LAUBACH. CLASSES…

The program, methodology, techniques, and materials used at the Adult Continuing Education Center located at Danville (Illinois) Junior College are described. The program is divided into five levels from beginning or introductory through GED preparation. A non-graded, individualization approach is used with support for such an approach found in…

A discussion of the needs and consideration of the appropriateness of various methodological approaches used in conducting research projects on adult literacy. (WL)

The Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAEL) designed the Adult Learning Focused Institution (ALFI) Assessment Toolkit specifically for colleges and universities that want to retain undergraduate adult learners by providing programs that meet and exceed their expectations. The ALFI Assessment Tools are a pair of survey instruments that are…

The selections presented in this paper are intended to provide readers with a general understanding of some of the key issues and practices that bear on the implementation of educational technologies in adult literacy programs. The sources listed are not exhaustive but cover two dozen major reports, articles, and Web sites produced by the federal…

With increasing interest in improving the quality of adult literacy, numeracy and language provision, there has been growing interest in gaining an overview of what teachers actually do with their learners. This study looked at how 15 teachers taught over an average of 167 minutes in a cross-section of New Zealand classrooms. The report details…

This Final Performance Report provides information and data to the U.S. Department of Education for the federally-funded Library Literacy Program. The report includes the following sections: general information; quantitative data; and narrative report. The Chester County Library (Chester, South Carolina) serves a community of 25,000-50,000 people.…

An investigation was conducted of the implementation of a new orientation procedure for adult basic education students in 17 classes spread throughout three rural counties and one city in the Dublin, Virginia, area. The new orientation procedure was contained in a guide that called for teachers to implement it in five consecutive class periods.…

Reports on the first New York Literacy Vision Screening, which investigated whether illiterate adults enrolled in illiteracy programs might have undetected visual problems that were interfering with their quest for literacy. Finds a startling 66 percent with vision problems. (SR)

Throughout its history, adult literacy education has been defined, researched, and controlled by external entities. Action research is now enabling literacy practitioners and learners to gain a voice through production of their own knowledge. The applicability, benefits, and inherent risks of practitioner action research are discussed. Contains 53…

This article presents my views and reflections on working with adult ESL learners at a community-based adult literacy program in the Southwest. In this article, I share my experience working with adult learners learning English as a second language and critically address and discuss issues significant to the learners in their language and…

Broad agreement exists in the society about the desirability of U.S. residents speaking English. Policymakers, community and civic leaders, and social scientists--and especially non-English speakers themselves--agree that knowledge of English is the gateway to full participation in U.S. society and its many rewards. Yet learning a language is…

The Sioux Hudson Literacy Council in partnership with AlphaPlus Centre in Toronto, Ontario and Confederation College, Sioux Lookout Campus, is making groundbreaking strides to reach adult learners who reside in remote, isolated communities of Northwestern Ontario. Generous funding from the National Literacy Secretariat in collaboration with…