A study investigated the nature and extent of adult illiteracy and the characteristics of the less literate populations in Philadelphia. Data were collected through 2,197 telephone interviews and 607 personal interviews. The personal interviews involved use of a modified version of the instrument developed by the National Assessment of Educational…

Functionally illiterate adults differ in several ways from children in a learning setting: they have a broader range of experience, they are more rigid and resistant to change, they know what they want from education, they are free to drop out at any time, they may have a long history of failure, they want to see immediate and visible progress,…

This study examined intake records from 114 students enrolled in literacy training. Several variables obtained at intake were found to be related to persistence. Dropouts tended to (1) be young and Hispanic, (2) not be seeking high school equivalency certification, (3) be unemployed but available for work, and (4) have other illiterate family…

Data were obtained from the National Child Development Study (NCDS), a large-scale longitudinal study in the United Kingdom following up a sample of people born in a single week in 1958 through to adult life, to demonstrate that poor numeracy skills have a major impact. At age 37, a 10 percent sample of 1,714 cohort members were interviewed and…

IN A LARGE-SCALE FIELD TEST WITH FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE ADULTS, THIS PROJECT EVALUATED FOUR READING SYSTEMS--LEARNING TO READ AND SPELL, READING IN HIGH GEAR, MOTT BASIC LANGUAGE SKILLS PROGRAM, AND SYSTEMS FOR SUCCESS. TESTING WAS CONDUCTED IN SEVEN COMMUNITIES IN NEW YORK, THREE IN NEW JERSEY, AND FIVE IN CALIFORNIA, PROVIDING A MIXTURE OF…

Monumental social and economic problems confront the rural communities of the South. Diversification of the rural economy is the key to revitalizing the rural South, but new industries, anticipating the need for a more highly skilled work force, find the region's human capital resources to be deficient. Vibrant economies are not sustainable in a…

The philosophy behind adult literacy in Zanzibar is that adult literacy is a process whereby the illiterate is empowered to become aware of his or her potential. Literacy activities emphasize a relation to work, sometimes known as functional literacy. Specific objectives of literacy programs are to improve living conditions, impart self-reliant…

As indicated in the original project application to the United States Office of Education, this report seeks mainly to analyze and clarify the current state of adult basic educational guidance and counseling in the states of Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Statistics appear on (1) numbers of potential and actual students in…

The first year report summarizes the activities of Project ERA (Enrollment, Retention, and Advancement), an adult basic education demonstration project in the Providence Model Cities area. The program was committed to demonstrate an effective and imaginative effort in the Model Cities area for recruiting and instructing hard-core functionally…

The six-chapter book highlights the main issues and findings of the 1979 New Delhi Conference on Non-formal Education for Development. Chapter 1 defines non-formal education, discusses development needs, and discusses motivation at the political, operational, and participatory level. Chapter 1 includes two case studies of non-formal education in…

A study identified the most effective and low cost programs currently in operation and described in adult literacy literature that would significantly reduce adult illiteracy in California by 1994. Recommendations were made for a statewide plan to replicate those programs in communities throughout the state. A literature review focused on eight…

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 yearbook contains 18 papers reflecting the major trends in adult education research in the Nordic countries in 1992-93. The following papers are included: "Popular Adult Education and Social Mobilization: Reflections in Connection with the Swedish Committee on Power" (Rubenson); "Direction of Finnish Adult Education Policies…