More than 1,000 New South Wales adults are being helped to overcome illiteracy in a program aimed at teaching them reading and writing which was introduced into the Evening Colleges of the New South Wales Education Department in Mid-1972. (WL)

This book develops an understanding of literacy and illiteracy through the life stories of 12 adults from diverse backgrounds living in the United States, 6 in Appalachia and 6 in California. Part 1 provides a summary of three areas of research offering insights and descriptive data about literacy: ethnographic studies of everyday literacy,…

Paper is concerned with a UNESCO project, intended to apply the methods of correspondence teaching to newly literate and semi-literate workers and to raise them to a sufficient level to begin technical training. (Author)

Illiterate adults could neither delete nor add a phone at the beginning of a non-word; but these tasks were performed by people who learned to read rudimentarily as adults. Awareness of speech as a sequence of phones is thus not attained spontaneously but is probably provided by learning to read. (Author/CP)

Based on interviews in Cuba and publications generally unavailable in the U.S., author examines history and success of Cuban literacy campaign. Outlines logistical/pedagogical challenges; describes recruitment and training of volunteer teachers and development of instructional methods. Concludes with case studies illustrating application of Paulo…

Explores government adult basic education (ABE) statistics in one fundamental area, the present level of illiteracy in the United States, concentrating particularly on changes in illiteracy levels during the 1960's. (WL)

A field experiment conducted to make a comparative study of two adult literacy primers indicated that if two comparable groups of adults are subjected to a literacy training course using the two different primers for an equal period of time, there is no significant difference between the literacy attainment level of the two groups. (TA)

Describes a case study involving the reading development of an adult nonreader (a woman in her early fifties) and discusses this growth in comparison with children beginning to read. Discusses the student's background and her literacy development and progress. Notes similarities and differences to children's learning. (SR)

Examines the growth of recognition of adult illiteracy in Western Europe and North America since the early 1970s. Discusses the invisibility of the problem, types of illiteracy identified in schools, importance of literacy across the curriculum, links between illiteracy and poverty, and involvement of international organizations. Contains 36…

Presents Botswana's experience with a national literacy program as a model for the understanding of policies and implementation of national literacy programs. Concludes that, although the Botswana National Literacy Programme represents a significant effort in adult literacy education, a rapid increase in the literacy rate is unlikely. (KO)

Discusses Kentucky's efforts to increase adult literacy through the New Books for New Readers program in which scholars were asked to write books emphasizing adult topics with a reading level of third to fifth grade. Describes the process through which the target audience is involved in the creation of books for the program. (KO)

Describes three school programs designed to provide alternative schooling for Brazilian street children and illiterate adult students with the basic skills to survive in their world. Directly or indirectly embedded in Freirean principles, the three programs are: (1) Sao Paulo Interdisciplinary School Reform; (2) Projeto Axe: Schooling for Street…

In Fall 1992, 400 telephone interviews established levels of basic skills difficulties among the work force as encountered or perceived by employers in the United Kingdom. Costs to employers of poor basic skills and the effect of these on their operation were quantified and described. Respondents were mainly personnel/training managers or…