The focus of a two-week summer institute for 77 Adult Basic Education (ABE) teachers, administrators, and counselors from the western United States, Hawaii, and Alaska was on the problems of the urban poor, with emphasis on the urban poor white. Major emphasis was placed on nonlearning problems of the urban poor. Problems examined were: (1) the economic, sociological, psychological, and environmental conditions of poor whites; (2) planning and organizing flexible adult education programs; (3) developing successful and innovative adult programs; (4) counseling the urban poor, especially the counseling role of the ABE teacher; (5) curriculum directions emphasizing student needs that go beyond the classroom; and (6) professional growth of adult education teachers. Poor white "grass roots" community workers were a major learning experience for participants; other speakers were recognized experts in particular problems of the urban poor. Lecturers were followed up with small group seminars and self-study groups. The major need of institute participants was to better understand the life style, needs, and aspirations of their students so that ABE training can proceed. Three-fourths of the participants found the institute valuable. Approximately 80 pages consist of speaker bibliographies, annotated curriculum materials, and institute agenda and forms. (Author/EA)