At an age marked by the emergence of new literacies, vast technological developments, and social networking practices, language is currently approached from a pragmatic perspective that recognises its functional use to meet realistic communicative goals. Taking this into account, the present study sought to identify the functional writing skills…

Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are typically Spanish-speaking, Latino immigrants with limited formal education and low literacy skills and, as such, are a vulnerable population. We describe the development of the "Pesticides and Farmworker Health Toolkit", a pesticide safety and health curriculum designed to communicate to farmworkers…

Landscape work is dangerous. In the Southeast, Hispanic workers predominate in landscape industries. The incidence of functional illiteracy in this group of workers is high. A pictorial knowledge-based evaluation instrument was developed to measure the effectiveness of the trainings. No reading skills were required to take the evaluation. The…

Community based learning and outreach is a strategy through which academic institutions worldwide including University of Ghana have successfully stayed relevant to less privileged communities; they exist in bringing benefits of education to their (less privileged communities) doorstep. Learner's participation has been an objective that any…

The promotion of adult functional literacy programs per se, neither creates the necessary motivation for learning, nor enhances the participation of adult learners in work-oriented or socio-cultural functional literacy programs. The task in learning-teaching transaction is to create the enabling environment for harnessing and enhancing…

The meaning of citizenship has usually been associated with the power of individuals in the process of social decision-making. Throughout the history, effective citizenship has required functional literacy skills as the fundamental factor for attending societal life. In the past, the 3Rs (writing, reading, and arithmetic) were considered to be…

Philanthropists and policymakers sometimes opt to fund childhood education to "stop illiteracy at the source" at the expense of funding for adult literacy education. In 2000, "The New York Times" published an article about a gift of $100 million being given to schools in Mississippi to promote the teaching of reading to children. The article says…

Most microcredit institutions focus on giving out credit to their clients with the assumption that these clients have the capacity and ability to manage the credit efficiently and the human capital to operate efficiently. There is evidence to show that most women in the Savelugu/Nanton district of Ghana have access to credit but lack the…

This versatile handbook is for middle school and high school educators who need to differentiate literacy instruction for adolescent ELL students at various stages of literacy competency. Adapted from the highly successful "Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth & Achievement in Grades 7-12", the authors use brain-based strategies…

As you tailor your teaching to engage the increasing number of English language learners, the key to success is focusing on literacy. Adapted from the highly successful "Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth and Achievement in Grades K-6", this book provides a wealth of grade-specific literacy strategies that not only increase…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the learning of basic reading literacy skills in a contextualized, educational career technical training program, specifically the School to Work Program. The study explores whether adult literacy rates can change through students' participation in a contextualized, educational…

Adult English language learners who lack print literacy or experience with formal education encounter a unique set of challenges in their lives and their efforts to learn English. Educators and policymakers are similarly challenged by how best to help these adults acquire English literacy. This paper reviews a variety of research, including that…

Even the youngest readers and writers in today's classrooms can benefit enormously from engagement with a wide range of traditional and nontraditional texts. This teacher-friendly handbook is packed with creative strategies for introducing K-3 students to fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling;…

Upper-elementary students encounter a sometimes dizzying array of traditional and nontraditional texts both in and outside of the classroom. This practical handbook helps teachers in grades 4-6 harness the instructional potential of fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling; Web-based and multimodal…

The two studies included in this volume, both dealing with the subject of literacy and sustainable development, are joint winners of the 2004-2005 International Award for Literacy Research, sponsored jointly by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, Hamburg, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Canadian…