The paper presents the results of a qualitative study into the lives of people with inadequate functional literacy skills. The data were collected through a biographical interview with a respondent whose characteristics correspond to those of a hypothetical person likely to exhibit signs of low functional literacy. The characteristics, such as…

The role and special contributions of women in the development of academic and research librarianship in the United States are shown through the careers of six major librarians: Katherine Sharp, Isadore Gilbert Mudge, Margaret Mann, Adelaide Hasse, Flora Belle Ludington, and Genevieve Walton. (Author)

Through a discourse of diversity, specialism, equality and choice, selective schooling is again on the UK education agenda. A previous selection policy operated between 1944 and 1964. The argument that some children are more suited to a vocational education and others to an academic one is evident now and then. This paper focuses on the…

The case of Mary Ellen, whose maltreatment as a child began the organized response to child abuse in the United States, is reviewed. The paper emphasizes Mary Ellen's rescue from her stepmother, her life after intervention, and her meaningful and productive life as a wife and mother. (JDD)

These 12 profiles show the successes of workers with various handicaps who can serve as role models for people with disabilities and personalize knowledge for the non-disabled. Each profile begins with a brief remark by the individual on barriers and continues with his or her perspective on the work world and a discussion of his or her experiences…

Short biographies of 26 Mexican American men and women are presented in this textbook for 8th grade students. The biographies reveal how each individual has made an impact upon the life of the Mexican American and on our society. Numerous occupations, professions, life styles, economic conditions, and different political points of view are…

This book uses biographical, longitudinal, and reflexive methods to chronicle, analyze, and theorize about the personal and sociocultural dimensions of motivation in the biographies of adult learners. Following an introduction and explanation of research methods, chapter 3 examines the problem of stated reasons for learning and the arbitrariness…