The role of functional literacy, linked to employment, leads to a narrow view of rural learners' need both economically and socially. The drive for individuals to take responsibility for their own learning and development is, indeed, a good thing. However, the burden of guilt felt by those who are unable, or unwilling, to achieve the standards set…

Attention has been focused on whether U.S. competitiveness in a global market can be sustained if the work force has deficient reading skills. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 90 million adults (50 percent of the adult population) do not have the literacy skills they need to function in society. These persons have limited reading…

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…

This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in an adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) course, focuses on access to adult learning opportunities. The following items are included: module overview; list of basic, thinking, interpersonal, information utilization, and other skills…

The late commissioner of education, James Allen, proclaimed the "Right to Read" as the educational target of the current decade. The object was to inculcate and improve reading skills among 25 percent of the American population who either lacked or were deficient in them. Has this goal been at least half-way attained? Midway through the…

This booklet describes existing and planned government initiatives to address the long-standing issue of low achievement in basic literacy and numeracy skills in England. The booklet begins with a brief explanation of the economic and social importance of basic functional literacy and numeracy skills. Part 1 is a discussion of English government…

This three-part annual report examines the challenges facing Arizona and the nation in the "war on adult illiteracy" and describes the state's responses to the multiple aspects of lifelong learning. Demographic data in Part I point out the basic elements of the challenges in adult education in Arizona. These challenges include cultural…

This handbook is intended to help administrators and instructors of adult basic education and English-as-a-Second-Language programs use the 30 Tierra de Oportunidad (Land of Opportunity) instructional modules, which address four strands or clusters relating to the different major domains in which adults function: work life, family life, community,…

Three abstracts and seventy-five acquisitions related to adult literacy are presented. A few of the acquisition entries are in French. The abstracts are of the following: "Directory of Organizations Offering Literacy Training Courses," by the International Institute of Adult Literacy Methods; "Directory of Universities and Institutes Offering…