ERIC Number: ED273823
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1986-Jun
Pages: 60
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Essential Characteristics of Effective Adult Literacy Programs: A Review and Analysis of the Research.
Balmuth, Miriam
Interviews were conducted with 4 members of the Task Force of the Adult Beginning Reader Project, 6 program officials, and 13 heads of adult basic education (ABE) programs; site visits were made to two ongoing ABE programs; and the literature pertaining to adult literacy programs in this country was reviewed in order to identify factors associated with the success of literacy programs. Making personal contact with potential students and using verbal and nonverbal communication techniques to convince potential students that they could succeed in the given literacy program were found to be the keys to successful student recruitment campaigns. In the area of program intake, conducting (1) an intake conference in which student expectations, student schedules, and the amount of progress to be expected were addressed and (2) a comprehensive reading diagnosis were found to be crucial factors. Instructional methods found to be successful were either carefully structured and sequenced with a strong phonics component or, on the other hand, were less structured and more informal, with incidental phonics. Affective factors found to be important included teacher morale, sensitivity, compassion, and the ability to explain things well. Strong staff development programs, policies to encourage student attendance and program completion, provision of counseling services, and provision of long- rather than short-term courses were found to characterize successful programs. (A 14-page bibliography is included.) (MN)
Descriptors: Adult Basic Education, Adult Literacy, Adult Reading Programs, Counseling Services, Educational Needs, Literacy Education, Program Administration, Program Content, Program Effectiveness, Remedial Instruction, Remedial Programs, School Holding Power, Staff Development, Student Recruitment, Success, Teaching Methods
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Adult and Continuing Education Program Development.
Authoring Institution: Kingsborough Community Coll., Brooklyn, NY.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A