In order to improve on the curriculum and participation rate of adult learners in the current Adult Basic Education (ABE) program in Nigeria, this explorative study investigated the entrepreneurial (or vocational) training needs of illiterate women in Cross River State (CRS). Three research questions were posed to elicit from the participants…

In the early 1990s, UNESCO estimated that perhaps 97% of the world's 650 million disabled persons were unable to read or write, leading to significant efforts throughout the developing world to ensure that all children with disabilities attended school through "inclusive education" programmes. But what of the vast majority of persons with…

This paper and the four commissioned works on which it is based are guided by the important question: How can we start valuing practices and outcomes of teaching and learning that are difficult to reduce to numbers? As the process of developing indicators for the Post-2015 education targets unfolds, some of the targets are at risk of being dropped…

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments related to the development of indicators of educational progress in the context of the Post 2015 deliberations to generate a new international architecture for educational investment through to 2030. There have been a plethora of suggestions and several parallel consultation processes…

There are an estimated 23 million functionally illiterate adults through the country; 30 million more have such limited proficiency that they are only marginally capable of being productive workers. The proportion of undereducated Appalachian adults is estimated to be substantially higher. Literacy programs offer hope, but are usually underfunded.…

The concensus of opinions concerning current literacy programmes was that, in spite of the fact that communication skills (reading, writing, arithmetic) are sill viewed as important, there was an expressed need for subjects and educational materials and aids relevant to production in agriculture as well as in industry. (Author)

Examines the failure of adult literacy programs in North America. Argues that the problem's scope and funding limitations demand cost- effective measures: prevention of early childhood deprivations that stunt cognitive development, replacement of many full-time programs with part-time or drop-in programs, and use of volunteers. (SV)

Article described an attempt to re-evaluate the literacy movement, to encourage adult new readers to see the cause of their literacy differences as one that lies outside themselves. (Author/RK)

India's National Adult Education Program ( NAEP), which focuses on the needs of illiterate adults in the 15-35 age group, is described with particular attention given to the importance of improving occupational skills and raising the level of awareness regarding the predicament of the poor and illiterate. (LBH)

Patients must be able to understand oral and written instructions and health care materials. Patients with low literacy levels need educational programs and materials designed to teach them how to manage their health needs. (SK)

Approximately 25 million adults are currently reading below the fifth-grade level, and another 35 to 40 million adults read between the fifth- and eighth-grade levels. This is particularly significant for the American press inasmuch as the average daily newspaper is written at a minimum of a ninth-grade reading level. A number of unexamined…

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…

The International Seminar on Functional Illiteracy and Professional Incompetence as Risk Factors of Modern Civilization and the Role of Adult Continuing Education in Overcoming Them examined the modern problem and definition of illiteracy, the causes of professional illiteracy, measures to eliminate the causes, and recommendations for further…

Discussion of illiteracy in Australia: (1) statistical evidence on the incidence of adult illiteracy, (2) explanations for illiteracy, and (3) possible solutions to combat illiteracy. (ABM)