We document and disseminate various results, trainings, and resources from our research, programs, and projects.
This, the first major study in a quarter century to investigate classroom behavior in adult literacy education, considers questions critical to adult literacy education: How is instruction delivered? What is its content? What processes underlie teaching and learning? And what external forces shape classroom behavior? The findings National Center for the Study of Adult Learning…
Until this study, no one had systematically explored the relationships between literacy instruction type and change in literacy practices among adult learners. Yet there are good reasons to use change in literacy practices as an outcome of adult literacy instruction, given what is known about the benefits of practicing new skills and of having many…
As part of standards-based educational reform efforts, more than 40 states will soon require students to achieve passing scores on standardized exams in order to obtain a high school diploma. Currently, many states struggle with the design of their examination systems, debating such questions as the number of subjects to be tested and the rules…
Between 1979 and 1996 the median earnings of 25-34 year-old males who left school before obtaining a high school diploma fell by 30 percent; the corresponding figure for female dropouts is a 21 percent decline. Over this same period the earnings premium four-year college graduates received over the earnings of male school dropouts increased from…
The Learner Identified Outcomes study brings learners’ perspectives to the ongoing research conversation on outcomes of participation in adult literacy education. The study used a life history methodology to build an understanding of these outcomes on the lives of adult learners. The ten participants were selected from participants of the earlier Tennessee Longitudinal Study of…
A key difference between adult and child learners is that adults choose to participate in educational programs while children participate because of legal mandates and strong social and cultural forces that identify schooling as the proper “work” of childhood. Adults must make active decisions to participate in each class session and often must overcome significant…
What changes occur in the lives of adult learners when they participate in literacy programs? The outcomes of participation in adult literacy programs have typically been measured in terms of gains on standardized tests and/or passing the General Educational Development (GED) exam. The other positive changes occurring in students’ lives, especially those outside the classroom,…
On June 19 and 20, 1998, a NCSALL-sponsored conference entitled “The Impact of Welfare Reform on Adult Literacy Education” was held at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. The program for June 19 featured three commissioned papers followed by small group discussion sessions. The papers were authored and presented by Deborah D’Amico, Alec Levenson et…
A national survey of adult basic educators was designed to explore practitioners’ perceptions about and experiences with health issues and topics in adult basic education classes. Between March and April 1998 a total of 1,621 surveys were mailed to directors of adult education programs in 25 states, distributed among the four regions of the United…
This study investigated the outcomes and impacts of adult literacy education through a qualitative assessment of the outcomes and impacts research conducted since the late 1960s. Outcomes are the changes in learners that occur as a result of their participation in adult literacy education. Impacts are the changes that occur in the family, community, and…
World Education strives to build lasting relationships with partners across diverse geographic regions and technical sectors to produce better education outcomes for all.
