The Colorado Adult Literacy Commission assessed the status of illiteracy in Colorado and the degree to which current programs met students' needs. Participants at regional meetings identified these issues: (1) low basic skills hamper economic development; (2) low literacy levels represent a threat to health and safety; (3) illiteracy and crime are…

This report provides an account of the Comprehensive Learning Program, an experimental program in literacy provided to adults by Fordham University's School Consultation Center (New York). The program targeted learning-disabled adults whose lack of literacy skills resulted in unemployment or significant underemployment. The program's design…

The report describes a federally funded 3-year demonstration program for the vocational training of urban young adults with severe learning diasbilities who have left high school special education programs. The program, "The Integrated Skills Vocational Training Program," involved the collaboration of a not-for-profit trade school, the…

This study describes efforts by the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) to promote literacy among six language groups of northern Ghana during the years 1972-1979. The report is organized into three parts. Part I provides general background for an understanding and evaluation of what took place. It first describes the national and local setting…

This document addresses issues related to the problem that many U.S. citizens do not have literacy skills adequate to meet their needs and ambitions. The first section of the paper provides an overview of the problem, discussing how to define literacy, how it has been measured, some estimates of how many people are illiterate, who they are and…

By the year 2000, most new entrants to the work force will be women, minorities, or immigrants who have not mastered the skills necessary for the entry-level jobs of the future--the ability to conceptualize, analyze, and communicate well. However, research has demonstrated that these people, who are at risk of chronic unemployment, do not perform…

Illiteracy is intergenerational and is correlated with poverty. Especially significant is the effect of the mother's education level on children's academic achievement. A number of recent initiatives are emphasizing the role of parents as reading boosters. However, this approach fuels the debate between those who view literacy as skill development…

The Family Support Act of 1988 is based on the assumption that education, training, work experience, and support are the way to reduce welfare dependence. The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training program in the act requires participation of many welfare recipients in state job training programs. Comprehensive welfare reform programs in…

Representatives of the business community define workplace literacy according to how well informed are the spokespersons for business, how expansive is their view of the role of literacy, and the extent to which literacy bears on their firms' productivity. These elements affect business people's understanding of what constitutes workplace…

This document describes a workplace literacy program designed to improve the literacy skills of entry-level workers in the housekeeping, food service, and laundry departments of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. An introduction describes the goals of the program and the employees served (low-literate adults who relied on word of mouth for most…

West Virginia Northern Community College provided workplace literacy education and training for employees of Weirton Steel Corporation and Union Carbide Corporation. For Weirton Steel the training included 4,040 hours of instruction in fundamental literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking, and math), oral and written communications (including…

The symposium on Issues of Parent Involvement and Literacy marked the culmination of a collaborative project of Trinity College in Washington, D.C. and the Arlington (Virginia) Public Schools to reach out to limited-English-proficient (LEP) parents. This was accomplished by providing cultural and language information so that parents could become…

Many youth face the following educational and economic barriers to success: (1) increased high school dropout rates; (2) adolescent pregnancy; (3) chronic unemployment; (4) poverty; (5) drug abuse; (6) suicide; and (7) crime and delinquency. The Atlantic Community College (New Jersey) Youth Corps Program, a successful conservation and service…

This study focused on the identification and description of environmental characteristics and their relationship to basic skills exposure. The objectives of the study were to identify the major factors that characterize environments in which learning is intended to occur, and to delineate patterns of co-exposure to basic skills and environmental…

The forces or pressures that have produced a concern for fundamental skills of literacy are briefly considered, and a number of related questions are raised about willingness and capabilities for dealing with the issues in a deliberative, systematic manner. A major premise is the belief that the back-to-basics movement can be understood best in…