Adult basic education (ABE) in Hong Kong includes mostly basic Chinese, but also some arithmetic and English. The emphasis is on teaching learners life skills. Both government-run programs and partially government-subsidized programs run by voluntary agencies such as Caritas and the YMCA are common. A case study was made of the Caritas ABE Centre…

In 1984, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen undertook a nationwide literacy campaign, which mobilized the entire nation in an effort to reach an estimated 194,000 illiterate people, 77 percent of them women. The campaign plan demanded the full and active participation of formal school teachers and students at secondary level and above as…

Human survival means more than purely physical survival. Human beings, because of language, also have a cultural nature that must survive. In today's world, all speak, but more than one-fourth of the world's people--and more than half in developing nations--do not have the uniquely human capacity of reading and writing. The diffusion of literacy…

The United Nations' Regional Programme for the Universalization and Renewal of Primary Education and the Eradication of Adult Illiteracy in the Arab States by the Year 2000 (ARABUPEAL) began in 1987. Among the educational problems confronting Arab States are that their educational objectives do not specifically relate to development objectives,…

Significant reductions in adult illiteracy can be achieved most cost-effectively by focusing more resources on the education of women. These monies contribute not only to women's development but also to the educational achievement of their children. Educated adults have more influence on their children's education; the children become literate…

Two of Unesco's major education programs, the universalizaation of basic education and literacy education, have emphasized the need for teachers trained in their particular disciplines and pedagogical techniques. Developing countries, faced with a shortage of qualified teachers, have realized that they cannot rely solely on the formal education…

This final report presents materials from a conference that addressed the evolution of adult education and the development of adult education as an essential prerequisite for lifelong education. Among other concerns were measures to improve international and regional cooperation to promote adult education. Part I is the General Report, which…

Comprising a study of the application of linguistics to literacy, the 16 papers in this book were prepared by contributors from both developing and developed nations. The papers in the first section illustrate the relevance of certain developments in theoretical and applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics to literacy teaching.…

The primary objectives of this seminar was to provide concrete and diversified field experiences in functional literacy approaches, principles, methods and techniques carried out within the framework of an ongoing population education and family planning program. Included in the report are an introduction, general operational procedures…

The Work-Oriented Literacy Pilot Project in Iran is based on the hypothesis that illiteracy on the part of workers hinders the growth of productivity and must therefore be considered as a factor retarding development. The study visit and seminar was intended to enable the participants to gain insight into the potentialities revealed by work…

The Adult Basic Education Program at Umgeni Water, a water authority in South Africa, is a workplace literacy program that seeks to impart skills within the workplace that can be used in community development, benefiting both the business and community involved. From a pilot project in 1989, the adult education program at Umgeni Water has grown…

This paper looks at the following aspect of the professionalization of adult education in India: professional training of adult educators. It first defines professionalization and then discusses the following essential prerequisite for that process: the development of a well-designed professional training program with adequate institutional…

Examines the linkage between the global problems of today and the educational problems faced by third world countries. Specifically discussed are educational change in developing countries, the drive against illiteracy, and the democratization of education. Developing countries are on the right road toward solving the problem of education. (RM)

Nicaragua's National Literacy Crusade of 1980 has brought impressive results. Through a mass mobilization effort, people of all ages served in 60,000 Sandinista Literacy Units; those who read taught those who could not. This article describes the program's implementation and outcomes. (Author/WD)

The author comments on Rafe-uz-Zaman's approach to literacy education (see v9, n1 of this journal) and points out that literacy in adult education must progress from one stage to the next. He discusses pre-literacy (temporarily bypassing literacy instruction), life-oriented and work-oriented literacy education, educational supply and demand, and…