This document is a report of a symposium whose participants are involved with the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development, a project engaged in a longitudinal study of 80 low-income families with preschool-aged children in Boston (Massachusetts). The project was designed to identify possible success factors for children from…

This publication contains 21 reports that explore and document literacy. Following an introduction (Jean-Paul Hautecoeur), the first part deals with literacy in North America. Reports are "Functional Illiteracy and the 'New Literacy'" (Jean-Pierre Velis); "Literacy Policy in Quebec: An Historical Overview" (Jean-Paul…

Two studies investigated the performance of Florida high school seniors on the Tests of General Educational Development (GED Tests). The GED Test Battery, as revised in 1980, consists of 290 items in 5 subject areas (writing, social studies, science, reading, and mathematics). In the first study, the performance of 1,200 Florida students was…

The Workplace Literacy Project conducted in Pima County, Arizona, provided workplace literacy training for 161 trainees at 8 worksites and 3 off-site locations. Worksites included industrial and service employers. Support services, including child care, transportation, educational counseling, and tutoring, were made available to participants…

The advent of the "information age," and the electronic communication technologies that are part of it, was supposed to replace print. However, this has not been the case, as the amount of print materials being produced and read has increased along with the electronic equipment. Far from replacing established media and communication…

This special demonstration project was undertaken to field test and disseminate a curriculum entitled Emergency English for Refugees (EER). Designed to meet the immediate English language needs of pre- and non-literate adult refugees and immigrants, the EER is a 26-unit competency-based English-as-a-second-language (ESL) curriculum that deals with…

A conference was held to discuss concerns in adult education for women, in India, where only 18 percent of the women, compared to 40 percent of the men, are literate. A major theme of the conference was motivation--how does one motivate women to attend literacy education? For what reasons should they become literate? Many women see no need or have…

THIS GUIDE PRESENTS A VARIETY OF MATERIALS, METHODS, AND IDEAS FOR TEACHING FUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATE ADULTS (WITH LESS THAN GRADE 4 READING ABILITY). EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON HELPING ADULTS TO READ INDEPENDENTLY AND TO ATTAIN A LEVEL OF SKILL SUFFICIENT FOR EVERYDAY READING TASKS. THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS DEAL WITH THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM OF…

This biliography is intended to help educators locate materials, ideas, and methods which will enable adults to become more functionally literate. Readability levels are provided for many items. The bibliography is divided into six sections. The first section lists materials for the professional educator, including resources, staff development…

THE PERCENTAGE OF DISADVANTAGED FARM LABORERS, LOW INCOME MANUFACTURING WORKERS, AND MIGRANTS IS DISPROPORTIONATELY LARGE IN RURAL AMERICA. MILLIONS OF TECHNOLOGICALLY UNEMPLOYED RURAL YOUTH ARE UNEDUCATED, UNPREPARED, AND HENCE UNEMPLOYABLE IN A NEW OCCUPATION. ALTHOUGH UNDISPUTABLE EVIDENCE EXISTS TESTIFYING TO THE BENEFITS OF VOCATIONAL…

This study, essentially a personal description is the first to deal with one of the pilot projects in functional literacy, part of the UNESCO experimental adult literacy program. The project discussed is a work-oriented literacy undertaking in Tanzania. Following a brief survey of the background of the project, the present situation is described.…

This special demonstration project was designed to develop ways of reaching illiterate women and motivating them toward adult basic education goals through programs that support and strengthen family life. Volume I presents the following: Introduction and Purpose: Project Procedure; Program Accomplishments and Evaluation (Description of the…

Workplace literacy was the focus of attention during the era of the National Workplace Literacy Program (NWLP), funded by the U.S. Department of Education from 1988-1996. Since then, it has not disappeared, in part because recent legislation such as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Welfare Reform Act has increased the work-related focus of…

This final performance report for Project VIA (Volunteers In Action), a collaborative program between the El Paso Public Library and El Paso Community College (EPCC), begins with a section that provides quantitative data. The next section compares actual accomplishments to the following project goals for 1992-93: (1) to recruit and train 140…

"Contested Ground: Performance Accountability in Adult Basic Education" (ABE) is one of the most important books on adult literacy policy at the turn of the century. In it, Juliet Merrifield examines the critical issues of policy, practice, and theory with which the field is currently consumed. She and her colleagues maintain that the concept of…