A national strategy to provide literacy education for all older Canadians who need it is described in this document. Developed in response to a 1989 survey finding that 64 percent of Canadians aged 55-69 experience some degree of trouble with everyday reading material, the strategy includes a rationale, objectives, and a 3-year start-up plan to…

This book reexamines dominant notions of what literacy is and challenges the problem-solution reflex approach to the issue. The book looks in detail at five principles advocated as central to the education of people who often can read, but wish they could read better, or who can write but wish they could write better. These principles focus on…

To properly assess the problem of adult literacy in the United States and to develop successful intervention programs, it is critical to view literacy not just as a technical proficiency but as a culturally shaped set of practices engaged in by individuals and groups, literate and illiterate. A successful literacy campaign must incorporate…

This report describes certain assumptions and tentative conclusions made by an Advisory Group of the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) about work with the mentally handicapped from a nonspecialist perspective. With the basic education organizer in mind, the report addresses six major issues. A definition of the term mentally handicapped…

Continuing education needs of the Latin American population are related to the need of Latin American countries for social and economic development. The source of continuing educaton needs is the area's differentiated socioeconomic development and cultural diversity. Some common features of Latin American educational systems, well known as…

The states should expand their efforts to provide literacy education to state employees, regardless of the type of job they hold or where their job is located. Every government agency whose employees work with or have contact with persons likely to need literacy education should assume identification and referral responsibilities. Likewise,…

This summary reports on the proceedings of a conference that was convened to focus attention on the implications of inadequate literacy levels among present and future employees of small businesses and to share successful approaches to the task of helping these employees develop the literacy skills required to meet ever-changing job requirements.…

Functional literacy promotes the search for a methodology capable of transforming literacy teaching into an educational process, by training the individual to analyze his problems, make an informed choice from among possible solutions, and apply learning to new situations. UNESCO should help member States develop strategies and mobilize resources.…

The Brazilian Literacy Movement (MOBRAL-El Movimento Brasileno de Alfabetizacion de Adultos) is discussed in terms of its legal and conceptual bases, organization, participants, technical aspects, and effectiveness. Established by law December 15, 1967 to lower the illiteracy rate in Brazil by improving educational opportunities for the…

The recent United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women concluded that if women are to advance in status socially, economically, and politically, they must have access to high quality education. Although women in the United States have steadily increased their educational status, the fact that 23 percent of women aged 25 and over have not gone…

Students and teachers in adult literacy programs in Columbus, Ohio, and London, England, were interviewed using structured questions relating to past educational history, perceptions of encouragers and barriers to participation in education, support systems, the nature of success, and future expectations. Those interviewed were selected by…

A statewide needs assessment surveyed felt training needs of administrators, instructors, and advisors of adult literacy programs in Florida. Data were collected in the following ways: questionnaires sent to recipients of Adult Supplemental Grants and advisory-council chairpersons; indepth interviews; a literature review and document analysis; and…

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…

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.…