Describes adult education efforts in Saudi Arabia's national program to eliminate the country's high illiteracy rate. Includes discussions of literacy training on television and in institutions, new schools and practices, the importance of economic and social implications, need for skilled manpower, and other adult education problems and goals.…

Major forces that will create more change in adult education programs and new concepts for the future of the adult learning society are described in this report of the Adult Education Conference of 1979. Changing demographics, new delivery systems, career education, competency-based education, credit for experience, and illiteracy are discussed.…

Provides an overview of articles included in this issue that address automatic evaluation of public service announcements about AIDS that are aimed at high-risk, low-literacy individuals; how children construe television programs; the concept of quality in broadcasting; and the use of video for inservice teacher training. (LRW)

Six articles discuss librarians as mediators in special circumstances. Highlights include the reference librarian and the information paraprofessional; effective reference mediation for nontraditional public library users, including mentally impaired patrons and illiterate adults; the academic librarian's role in the education process; and…

Suggests that the means to eliminate illiteracy are available in Africa if nations devise and implement a strategy of action based on an effective political will and adopting a methodical, rational approach. Discusses the current situation, negative factors, repercussions on development, and future demands. Argues that promoting basic education…

Data from the fifth sweep of Britain's National Child Development Study were analyzed to investigate the relationship between parents' literacy and numeracy problems, other parental characteristics, and their children's reading and mathematics abilities. Strong relationships were found between parents' self-reported literacy problems and their…

This publication presents a collection of materials on the German experience with literacy education. A timeline offers a brief account of adult literacy in the Federal Republic of Germany. "Literacy as a Problem in the Federal Republic of Germany" identifies the causes and impacts of "second-order illiteracy" (the loss of…

Researchers at Rio Salado Community College (Arizona) directing an educational research project, called the Southwest Advanced Learning System for Adults (SALSA), placed personal computers in the homes of production line workers as a supplement to traditional classroom basic skills training. Objectives were to determine whether this supplemental…

The Literacy and Health Project was set up to determine how reading and health problems were connected. A research phase documented the relationship between literacy and health. Information was collected from community organizations, literature review, three case studies in Ontario, and key informant interviews. The consultation process involved…

A review of current research on workplace literacy programs reveals few programs reporting rigorous evaluations. Assessments are often limited to the completion of questionnaires, surveys of program participants, and anecdotal reports of effectiveness. Occasionally, a standardized reading test provides an indication of learner gains. Only a few…

The trait-state model, a framework for understanding adult literacy, draws heavily on the social psychological literature. Allport (1961) first proposed the notion of trait. The overriding characteristics of focus on trait is the individual's possession of language control. Cattell (1950, 1979) emphasized the notion of state in relation to trait…

In the first portion of this document, abstracts are given for 30 projects that were designed to provide basic skills and literacy training to homeless adults in fiscal year 1989. The following information is provided for each project: state; grant award number; grantee; project title; project director, telephone number, and address; and…

Designed to help librarians and trustees make informed planning decisions concerning the development or improvement of library literacy services, this manual discusses the following topics: (1) the problem of illiteracy; (2) identifying adult new learners; (3) providers of literacy services; (4) the library's role in literacy activities; (5)…

This textbook is the fifth of six textbooks in a sequential reading series that makes use of the principles of modeling and assisted reading. The series can be used with small groups of three to five learners, with individual learners, or in a peer situation. The approach is that of modified language experience using sight words and context clues…

Intended for people in government and other agencies who make decisions on policy or on funding for literacy, this short report of an international seminar on literacy summarizes seminar themes. The first topic considered is the rationale for investment in education. The connection between literacy and national development is stressed, and three…