Minnesota has long prided itself on providing ample higher education opportunities for its citizens. However, there is a well-documented and growing disparity in Minnesota and nationally between various racial and economic groups' participation in college and technical college. This study's charge was to determine if participation in higher…

Since her Certificates in General Education for Adults class had not achieved the required competencies at writing for self-expression, a teacher felt it would be an appropriate genre for her to model. She drafted, edited, and completed the text on a large-screen computer. When trying to decide whether each text achieved the competencies required…

This theme issue of a newsletter for adult literacy practitioners focuses on community development. Nine articles on this topic include the following: "Adult Literacy and Community Development" (Hal Beder); "Why Community Development?" (Kirk Baker); "Freire's Revolution" (Ruth Pelz); "Impacting Communities through Literacy" (Jane Hugo); "Community…

A literacy teacher discusses how she raised with her class the issues surrounding Pauline Hanson, an Australian Member of Parliament opposed to multiculturalism. She describes how she used the opportunity to discuss differences between fact and opinion, as well as racism. (SK)

Interviews with six Australian adult basic education students confirmed the social nature of literacy, the social networks involved in literacy practices, and the multilingualism of students. Results suggest the need for a curriculum that recognizes and makes explicit linguistic and cultural differences. (SK)

Includes nine articles on the subject of writing and how it's taught: "Aspects of Literacy: A Statistical Viewpoint" (Chester, and Holden); "Writing the Austradon" (Moore); "What Next? Working with Novice Writers" (Kelly); "Text Analysis: A Practical Teaching Tool" (Hazell); "Different Text Types: An Awareness-Raising Activity" (Moore); "Using…

Discusses the use of HyperCard to create programs for teaching English language and literacy. Describes the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) with hospital cleaners and catering staff. Explains CALL's role in facilitating cultural change and peer tutoring. (SK)

Describes how an adult male learner who had been identified as learning disabled many years ago participated in a spelling-based word-study program. Describes the program and its theoretical rationale, discusses his progress, and notes implications for adult-literacy learners' spelling instruction. (SR)

Describes the satirical cartoon television series called "South Park." Discusses who watches this program, noting its immense popularity and the way it has entered the everyday lives of school children the world over. Looks at its cult appeal, and speculates as to reasons why some children might enjoy watching the program. (SR)

Describes an experimental literacy class for socially and economically disadvantaged parents in the United Kingdom. Looks at the many factors affecting these adult students' participation and learning. Notes that the literacy students wanted more than functional literacy--literacy had to fulfill the need to express feelings, the need for…

Finds significant differences in the preferences for literacy tasks of African-American and Mexican-American male adolescent high school students and what their teachers perceived to be students' preferences. Finds considerable resistance from teachers to accepting results regarding students' preferences. Concludes that teacher misconceptions are…

Explores the question of how technology relates to educational reform. Discusses a number of unanticipated effects of new technologies, ways in which they do both more and less than hoped. Describes a Web page that address the social implications of the Internet, offers three quotes regarding how technologies affect people, and presents a glossary…

Describes a university literacy tutorial program in which older adult college students received tutor training and then carried out one-to-one reading tutorials with adult male learners who were rehabilitating addicts. Offers two case studies, and shows that the program had a significant impact on tutors' commitment to community volunteerism and…

Outlines several reasons why teachers who write become better teachers. Discusses 13 steps in the process of becoming a writer. (SR)

Recounts the author's experiences as he developed a love for reading in elementary school, discovered in high school the element of power that reading held, and endured isolation in college. Describes his work with struggling African-American adolescent readers. (SR)