Existing cross-national research on educational attainment does not fully address whether the same level of educational attainment generates the same level of literacy skills in different countries. We analyze literacy skills data for young adults from 19 countries in the 1994-1998 International Adult Literacy Survey and find that in all…

This study addresses the age-old problem of integrating personal and disciplinary purposes for learning. Two groups of educators participated in online professional development in which each participant assessed an adult literacy learner. The assignment required participants to synthesize assessment data representing social-humanist and cognitive…

The rate of student departure from adult literacy programs is as high as 80% within the first 12 months (Porter, Cuban, & Comings, 2005). An examination of the literature reveals two perspectives concerning learner persistence: a "control perspective" and an "acknowledgement and accommodation perspective." The control…

This paper provides Appendix D, Standard Error tables, for the full report, entitled. "Literacy, Numeracy, and Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments among U.S. Adults: Results from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies 2012. First Look. NCES 2014-008." The full report presents results of the Program…

With an eye toward contemporary skill building to meet community centered economic needs, organizations such as Literacy Volunteers of America are increasingly pressured to examine new avenues in promoting employment readiness skills for the newly literate. These organizations and countless others have come to the realization that being prepared…

More than an estimated 90 million adults in the United States lack the literacy skills needed for fully productive and secure lives. The effects of this shortfall are many: Adults with low literacy have lower rates of participation in the labor force and lower earnings when they do have jobs, for example. They are less able to understand and use…

Sokolowski (2000) summarized the phenomenological attitude by saying, "We look at what we normally look through" (p. 50). Through interviews and document analysis, this study looked at the lives of six students and their decision to return to their education to earn a high school diploma. The purpose of this study was to illuminate how…

In this qualitative case study, we explore local adult educators' preparation to teach refugees, along with their professional development needs. This analysis focuses on 10 tutors and instructors in a midsize Southeastern city. Data collection involved an open-ended questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and observations; analysis involved…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (Division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…

The purpose of this study was to examine how a family literacy text linked to a large-scale, U.S.-based family literacy program either privileged or disprivileged dominant, Eurocentric literacy practices. More specifically, this study investigated the ways in which the family literacy text: (1) conceptualized literacy; and (2) constructed the role…

Scotland provides an interesting context for studying adult literacy in that it is one of the few countries that explicitly acknowledge the idea of literacy as a social practice. By drawing on two initiatives we illustrate literacy learning derived from a mixture of social practice and critical literacy perspectives. Together they provide insights…

This article describes the author's reflections on a service-learning course at Penn State Lehigh Valley, a campus of The Pennsylvania State University. The author provides background about the university, the community need, and the service-learning course. Reflections from assessing two semesters of the service-learning course are provided.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (2006-2015)--LIFE--to tackle the literacy challenge. This is a collaborative effort to accelerate literacy efforts in thirty five of the world's most challenged countries and thereby to unlock progress to reach all of the…

The concept of learning outcomes is at the heart of many research programmes and policy responses. International surveys (from the International Adult Literacy Survey, back in the mid-nineties, to the forthcoming Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes two OECD surveys), National Qualifications Frameworks or the European Qualifications…

Adult literacy is a crucial element of community and economic development in South Africa and many developing countries striving to meet Millennium Development Goals. However, few governments invest the recommended 6% of education budgets on programmes for adults. Without resources, volunteer educators and international supporters rely on their…