The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a telephone interview survey that has been conducted in the spring of 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1999. The 1999 NHES was a compilation of survey items from previous years that included three interviews, resulting in three data files. The first is the Parent Interview, in which data were collected on a variety of topics involving parent participation in education, learning, and plans for children's postsecondary education. The second is the Youth Interview, in which children in grades 6 through 12 whose parents had completed an interview were asked about school and family environments, civic involvement and community service, and plans for postsecondary education. The final file is the Adult Education Interview, in which data were collected on participation in six types of adult educational activities. This manual provides documentation and guidance for users of the three public release files of the NHES:99: the Parent Interview File, the Youth Interview File, and the Adult Education file. Volume I contains information about the purpose of the study, the data collection instruments, the sample design, data collection, and data processing procedures, and a brief guide to the data files. A reference guide to NHES:99 variables in previous NCES data files is also provided. The chapters of this volume are: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Description of Data Collection Instruments"; (3) "Sample Design and Implementation"; (4) "Data Collection Methods and Response Rates"; and (5) "Data Preparation." Appendixes contain the screeners for the interviews and a summary of weighting and sample variance estimation variables. (Contains 17 tables, 1 figure, and 26 references.) (SLD)