Why K-12 Educators Should Worry About Adult Literacy

8/14/2019 Why K-12 Educators Should Worry About Adult Literacy

1/24


2/24


3/24

Worry about adult literacy 3

Despite these salient characteristics of low-literate adults, adult literacy is (at least

in some quarters) perceived to be a problem in the United States. This perception is

based largely on periodic claims by business and industry leaders, and the occasional

social commentator, that the literacy skills of a sizeable portion of adults in the labor

force are not sufficient to meets the demands of a rapidly-changing, highly-technological,

and information-saturated workplace (Fiske, 1988). The results of the 1993 National

Adult Literacy Survey (Kirsch et al., 1993) also found that nearly half of adults ages 16

and older demonstrated significant problems with some literacy tasks, such as

interpreting a bus schedule or finding information in a brief news magazine article. Giventhe collective power of both anecdotal and empirical evidence of an adult literacy

problem, there are efforts to locate the sources of this problem. For some, particularly

those who are critical of public education, one source is the lack of correct and

effective literacy instruction in school.

Over the past decade or more, educators, literacy researchers, politicians, and the

public have been embroiled in the most recent round of the reading wars, that have

pitted at least two groups of literacy advocates against one another (Coles, 2000; Fletcher

& Lyon, 1998; Foorman, Francis, Fletcher, Schatschneider, & Mehta, 1998; Goodman,

1998). On one side are those who advocate a return to basics in reading, with a focus

on phonics instruction, skill development in word decoding, and phonemic awareness

(Grossen, 1997). On the other side are those who promote the kind of reading instruction

where students are immersed in all aspects of languagereading, speaking, writing, and

listening (Goodman, 1998). This is the whole language method, whereby literacy skills

are said to develop naturally whenever the right environmental conditions exist. More


4/24


5/24


Adults who struggle with literacy are likely to have children who will struggle with

literacy.

In 1985, the national report Becoming A Nation of Readers called upon parents to

monitor their childrens progress in school, become involved in school programs,

support homework, buy their children books or take them to libraries, [and] encourage

reading as a free time activity (p. 117). This statement explicitly recognizes the

importance that home and parenting factors have in influencing childrens reading

achievement (Baker, Sher, & Mackler, 1997). Parents serve as literacy role models for

their children long before the children enter school by reading to them, readingthemselves (and thereby demonstrating the importance of reading), and making literacy

materials available to their children (Hiebert, 1981; Teale, 1986). We know, for example,

that young children whose parents read to them tend to become better readers and do

better in school (Anglum, Bell, & Roubinek, 1990; Feitelson & Goldstein, 1986;

Goldfield & Snow, 1984). Once children enter school, then parents need to be involved

and to communicate with them (and their teachers) about their schoolwork and activities.

Evidence suggests, however, that whenever parents are unable to model literacy

and reinforce the literacy practices of their children, these children often struggle to

acquire school literacy. Fortunately, even adults whose reading, writing, and math skills

are very poor are usually able to engage in some literacy-related interactions. Several

ethnographic studies have shown these interactions to be adaptive for particular aspects

of literacy development (Heath, 1984; Taylor, 1985; Taylor & Dorsey-Gaines, 1988).

These interactions include behaviors such as asking questions to get specific information,

storytelling, and family discussions of daily events. Thus, we shouldnt assume that


6/24


children whose caregivers cant read, cant read well, or dont like to read, are lacking in

opportunities for literacy (Taylor & Dorsey-Gains, 1988). Some parents may not,

however, recognize the value of these behaviors for promoting their childrens literacy.

Also, the learning opportunities that some children have may not be of sufficient quality

or in line with the literacy experiences they need, or will be exposed to, in school.

Not every child of low-literate parents or caregivers will have literacy problems,

of course. Those parents who value education and learning will do the things necessary to

help their children acquire literacy despite their own lack of literacy and related academic

skills. To the extent possible, teachers need to be aware of, and sensitive to, parentsliteracy difficulties, and offer assistance and support to them whenever possible. For

example, teachers can send home materials that can be understood and used by low

literate adults, such as audiotapes and videos. Teachers can emphasize to parents how

important it is to demonstrate and explain to children how to do things. Schools can also

provide information to parents about local literacy education programs for adults. Family

literacy educators, and school reading specialists, can be a good source of information for

teachers and can help them develop strategies to assist low-literate parents.

These strategies can include not just recommendations to read to their children,

but also brief instruction in how to read to them. That, is, parents may need to learn that

they should direct their childs attention to the story, to ask their child questions about the

story, and to label or describe pictures. Some parents will need help in knowing what

kinds of questions to ask. As Patricia Edwards (1995) and other family literacy educators

have pointed out, teachers should not assume that parents possess this knowledge. It is

interesting to note that there is very little literature advocating that family literacy, early


7/24


childhood, and primary grades educators should collaborate in regards to these literacy

learning strategies (but see Project FLAME; Shanahan, Mulhern, & Rodriguez-Brown,

1995). Despite this, there is some evidence that literacy gains are most robust in those

programs where comprehensive services are offered to parents and children (Rodriguez-

Brown, 1998).

Some recent federal legislation may have the effect of mandating these

comprehensive services for students and parents in the near future. Last week, the U.S.

House of Representatives approved the Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Act.

The intent of this legislation is to improve and expand family literacy services by, in part,allowing Even Start Family Literacy programs to serve children older than age 8 if

schools use Title I funds to pay a portion of the costs. Thus, public schools may come to

have a greater direct service role in family literacy. The Senate must, however, approve

the LIFT Act before it can be enacted into law.

Parents with low literacy are less able to help with their childrens school work, get

involved in school activities, and communicate with their childrens teachers.

I remember being astounded, when my oldest child first began school, at the sheer

amount of print information that was sent home from school in his backpack. There were

school newsletters, notes from the teacher, homework assignment books, PTA

announcements, Market Day order forms, notices of upcoming events and cancellations,

head lice alerts from the school nurse, school policies and student rules of conduct, and

quite frequently, homework to be completed. I often think about how distressing and

discouraging it must be for limited-English-proficient parents and other parents who


8/24


9/24


It is easy to view uninvolved parents as unconcerned and uncaring. But, aside

from lacking the time to visit their childrens schools, some parents may simply believe

that they lack the skills and knowledge to be of any help. Other parents see teachers as

the experts and are unlikely to get involved in what they see as the teachers roles (Flores,

Taft, & Diaz, 1991). It is critical for teachers to reach out to these parents and to bring

them into the school and classroom in a variety of ways. For example, several years ago,

Luis Moll (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992), an educational anthropologist,

conducted a project in which low-literate Spanish-speaking parents were utilized as

cultural resources, sharing funds of knowledge that they possessed about a variety of topics such as auto repair.

A helpful strategy might be to develop closer connections between schools and

neighborhoods through community educators. These persons would be knowledgeable

about both the schools and the communities in which they live and work and could

facilitate activities between parents, schools, teachers, and social services groups. Some

schools, of course, now have family-school liaisons. Their role is to function as a

resource go-between for schools and students who are identified as at risk for

academic failure and whose families are described as in need of school support.

Although there has been little evaluation of the effectiveness of these liaisons, perhaps

their numbers and functions could be increased so that more students and families are

served. The goals of such programs should be to bring parents, students, and teachers

together in mutually-supportive ways that benefit everyone. Teachers can then become

cognizant of parents literacy difficulties, as well as the skills and knowledge that they


10/24


have, and parents can learn how to better support and reinforce teachers instructional

activities.

Adults with low literacy skills are more likely to have difficulty navigating the health

care system, to read and understand medical instructions and, as a consequence, their

childrens health is likely to be affected.

The connection between childrens health and their learning and academic

achievement should be obvious. To maintain their childrens health (as well as their

own), parents need access to health-related information and services. Only recently,however, have health care professionals recognized the problem of low health literacy

among adults. Health literacy is defined as the ability to read and comprehend basic

concepts and tasks necessary to function in the healthcare system . A landmark study of

health literacy conducted in Atlanta and Los Angeles in the mid-1990s found that nearly

half of emergency care patients could not read instructions on prescription medicines and

were unable to explain how to take these medicines. More than one in four adults could

not determine when their follow-up appointment was scheduled by looking at their

appointment slip (Williams, Parker, Baker, Parikh, Pitkin, Coates, & Nurss, 1995).

What these data suggest, of course, is that children of low-literate parents may not

be getting the full benefits of the health care system and, in fact, may often not receive

appropriate care if their parents cant read medical instructions. Therefore, children of

parents with low literacy are more likely to have untreated and/or chronic health

problems, to come to school with illnesses, and to miss more days of school due to illness

or staying at home caring for a sick relative. The problem for teachers is obvious:


11/24


children who come to school ill disrupt instructional time and students who miss school

when they are sick miss valuable time for learning.

The physical and psychological challenges to the health of students in the general

population are numerous, and include chronic illnesses, physical and emotional

disabilities, infectious diseases, teen pregnancy, depression and suicide, child abuse,

substance abuse, and behavioral disorders. Some of these health threats have increased in

recent years among school-aged children and youth (New York State Nurses

Association, 2000). Compounded by parents low literacy, student health is clearly an

issue where parents and schools (and the larger community) need to work together.Fortunately, there are numerous efforts in this regard. More than 75% of schools

have a required course in health education to provide students with the knowledge and

skills they need to adopt healthy lifestyles (National Center for Chronic Disease

Prevention and Health Promotion, 1998). But, what about the parents of these students?

Do these health education courses have any benefits to them? Data from the National

Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (1998) show that parents

are involved in required health education courses in several ways. Half of all schools

send home to parents health-related educational materials, such newsletters on health

topics. More than four out of 10 schools invite parents to attend health education classes

or health fairs. Fully 25% of schools offer health programs for parents. These are

encouraging data, but they beg the following questions: Are low-literate parents

benefiting from these outreach efforts? What is the readability level of the print materials

that are sent home to parents? How many parents attend health fairs and health education

classes offered in their childrens schools? Teachers and health educators need to develop


12/24


strategies to ensure that parents not only receive these materials and programs, but can

actually use and benefit from them.

Adults who cant read and write well are much less likely than good readers and writers

to vote and participate in other civic activities.

Thomas Jefferson wrote that [t]he only sure reliance for the preservation of our

liberty is to educate and inform the whole mass of the people (1787). Clearly, we have a

long ways to go before we can be assured that all members of our society are

satisfactorily educated and informed about issues of concern to the greater community.Political scientist Benjamin Barber notes that where democracy and education

intersect is the point we call community (1992, p. 225). Low-literate adults appear to be

not full members of this community as they are somewhat less likely to participate in our

democracy. Data from the National Adult Literacy Survey show that only 55% of adults

who scored at the lowest skill level reported having voted in a recent state or national

election. On the other hand, nearly nine out of 10 adults who scored at the highest skill

level reported having done so. Low-literate adults are less likely, therefore, to vote for

school referenda, school board members, and political leaders who are supportive of

public education. (Although, in fairness, it must be pointed out that trends in civic

participation are declining across the board, regardless of literacy ability; Putnam, 2000).

Slightly more than one-third of adults who are in the lowest skill level read the

newspaper every day. One in five report, however, that they never read the paper. Thus,

low literate adults may be less likely to keep up on political events and the social issues


13/24


relevant to education (although other information-gathering avenues may be available to

them, such as TV, radio, and family and social networks).

Marginalized adults dont write letters to the editor of the local newspaper to

express their views, and they arent likely to write their state and congressional

representatives about public education issues. But, of those low-literate adults who do

read the paper, more than 90% read the main news and editorial pages, suggesting that

they are attuned to local and national events that may impact their lives and their

childrens well-being. These events include, of course, discussion and debate on

educational topics, such as teacher pay, high stakes testing, and technology integration.

Adults who have not acquired the literacy skills to function successfully in work, in their

personal lives and families, and in the community, reflect upon the quality of public

education.

It may be an unfair judgment of our public educational system, but this fact

remains: to the extent that students reach adulthood and still lack adequate literacy,

teachers and schools will bear the blame (Kaul, 1993; Kilpatrick, 1983). Many low

literate adults are products (or castoffs) of the public education system. Given the

widespread and deeply entrenched belief that literacy is a set of discrete skills that can be

taught to students, it will remain an expectation that teachers should be able to teach these

skills. It is simply a matter of finding the right mix of instruction, teacher skill, and

student motivation and aptitude, isnt it (Foorman, Fletcher, & Francis, 1998)? Heres a

lengthy quote from a web site advocating phonics instruction:


14/24


Students in a truephonics program do not start out by "reading" but rather by

learning individual letters. Students learn how to recognize and discriminate

among a small, manageable number of symbols. This implicitly teaches the

logical concept of identitystudents learn that there is a symbol "a" and that "a"

can be easily distinguished from "b" or "m" or "x"In well-designed phonics

programs, children are first taught to associate only one sound with a particular

letter. This implicitly teaches the concept of analogyAs students progress

through the letters, they discover that some letters are mirror-images of each other

("b" and "d", for example). Thus they learn the concept of graphic symmetry, andto distinguish symmetrical objects from one another (Ziffer, 2000, n.p.).

Leaving aside the questionable claim implied in the above quote that phonics

instruction helps to impart the skills of logical reasoning, we know that literacy is more

than simply mastering a set of individual skills that can be readily transported from one

situation to another. Other perspectives on literacy have emerged in recent years to

challenge the skills perspective. Some view literacy as tasks, that is, literacy is used to

accomplish specific tasks in everyday life and for work. This approach concentrates on

how literacy is applied to get things done, and suggests that the cognitive processes of

literacy and the knowledge one has about literacy are inseparable components of being

literate. Another view is that literacy consists of practices, which vary across different

settings. So, the literacy tasks (and associated skills) that are essential in one situation

may be irrelevant in another situation.


15/24


It is the practice perspective that can be most useful to teachers who work with

low-literate parents. One especially perceptive view of literacy practices suggests that

adults often spontaneously acquire literacy in response to perceived needs that they have

for literacy in their lives (Reder, 1994). According to Stephen Reder (1994), individuals

often participate in collaborative literacy practices in diverse ways. Some people may be

technologically engaged in that they have proficient reading and writing skills. Others

may be functionally engaged in literacy in that they have specialized knowledge or

expertise within some domain that they can use or share with others, but they lack the

technical skills of reading and writing. A stereotypical example is the shade treemechanic who is functionally illiterate, but can repair any kind of automobile.

Yet other adults may be socially engaged in literacy by participating with those

who are technologically and functionally engaged and by approving and supporting their

practices and activities. Heres a simple example of social engagement in a somewhat

different domain. A small business owner wants to have a web site so that customers can

order products on-line. The business owner lacks the technological knowledge about

writing and reading HTML code. Further, s/he lacks the functional knowledge needed to

create such a web site. S/he can, however, support and encourage the literacy of those

who have the requisite technical and functional knowledge to develop the web site.

When teachers understand the different ways that people engage in literacy, they

are then better equipped to help those parents who lack the technical skills of reading and

writing recognize and appreciate their functional and social literacy engagements.

Parents, in turn, learn how these forms of literacy are beneficial to their children. Two

things are thereby accomplished. First, powerful lines of communication between parents


16/24


and teachers and parents and children are opened in regards to learning, schooling and

achievement. Second, teachers, parents, and students learn to value and to take advantage

of the range of literacy practices that are present in their homes and communities.

What Can Public School Teachers Do to Promote Adult Literacy?

As educators, we cannot ignore the fact that there are millions of adults whose

literacy prevents them from full participation in society. We need to be very careful,

however, in assuming that low literacy causes unemployment, poverty and dependence

on welfare, crime and delinquency, poor health, and lack of interest and involvement incivic affairs. Remember: low literacy often doesnt even cause school failure , as there are

many anecdotes (and empirical data) showing that many high school graduates have

literacy problems. Certainly, there are myriad factors that, in complex patterns of

interaction with one another, contribute to the social problems Ive listed above. On the

other hand, we can assume that literacy can go a long ways toward helping to alleviate

(but probably not eliminate) some of these social and educational ills. Public school

educators must be attuned to and concerned about the conditions of adult literacy because

these largely determine the conditions of youth literacy.

It is not a stunning observation to note that public school teachers are burdened

with many responsibilities and roles, from instructor and caretaker to counselor and to

resource expert. Why should we then expect teachers to address some of the problems

and issues pertinent to adult literacy? Because it is in the best interests of their students

and of themselves to do so. Expecting teachers to tutor or instruct low-literate adults to

improve their literacy skills, however, is neither appropriate or realistic. This is a personal


17/24


decision on the individual teachers part, rather than a professional obligation.

Nonetheless, there are some actions that should be initiated to help teachers deal with

some of the problems they encounter when working with parents who are low-literate.

First, changes are needed in pre-professional teacher training. Undergraduate

teacher education candidates must become more cognizant of social problems, such as

low literacy, chronic unemployment, and poverty, that tend to become invisible during

good economic times, such as those we are currently experiencing. Preservice teachers

should spend a semester in an adult or family literacy internship. Practicing teachers

might also do this as part of their re-certification activity, or as a requirement in a mastersdegree program. The purpose is not, of course, to push these teachers into careers in adult

literacy education. Rather, the goal is to directly acquaint future and current public school

teachers with parents who struggle with literacy, and to give them a first-hand look at

how adults learn literacy and how parents and children negotiate literacy learning. Rarely

do teachers directly witness this from their classrooms. Such internships will also provide

opportunities for public school and adult literacy educators to work together.

Second, we need closer alliances among public schools, adult education agencies,

and social services providers. This might be as simple as having practitioners in each

field talk to one another about what they do. A much greater level of complexity involves

interagency cooperation. For example, in Missouri, Project LIFT is a collaboration of

statewide agencies, public schools and universities, and organizations in adult education,

early childhood education, social services, and volunteer literacy groups that have come

together to strengthen and expand family literacy in our neighboring state.


18/24


Third, classroom teachers and their schools must increase their efforts to bring

parents into schools and classrooms so that these parents can share what they know and

do. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that public elementary

schools do not include parents in school decision-making to a great extent. Only 28

percent of schools with a high poverty concentration, for example, report high parent

attendance at activities such as open houses. Nearly half of all schools indicate that lack

of staff training in working with parents is a significant barrier to parent participation.

Parent involvement can be increased, however. This can be accomplished, at least

in part, through minor modifications in existing programs and activities. For example,when my youngest son was in elementary school, the school sponsored a community

reading night in which parents and other adults came to the school and read stories to

students. By why not also have some parents talking about and demonstrating their skills

and knowledge in different activities and domains? Describing and showing how are

also skills that are essential to literacy. Efforts should be made to include parents and

others who can demonstrate a range of skills and interests, from needlework to dog

grooming to computer repair.

Fourth, secondary education teachers also have an important role to play in adult

literacy. High school teachers, in particular, can create activities and assignments where

they and their students work with and tutor adults in high school equivalency degree

programs. Rather than being an extracurricular service project, such activities could be a

part of the curriculum in, for example, language arts, social studies, or health education.

Political scientist Benjamin Barber (1992) has described a model of democratic education

that is based on community service. Here, community is brought into the school and the


19/24


school is brought into the community. When students become engaged in community

service activities such as literacy tutoring, they learn about the nature of differences

between themselves and others (e.g., literate, versus not literate), and how these

differences impact life and lives in their communities. Abstract problems such as

illiteracy and poverty become concrete, real, and immediate to students.

Until we begin to recognize and acknowledge the very real connections that exist

between public education and adult literacy, none of these suggestions will ever be

considered and adopted, however. Public school educators should worry about adult

literacy, for the reasons Ive described. They cannot, however, solve the problems of adult literacy nor should teachers bear the responsibility for doing so. Educators must

understand what they can do and, working with others in the community and in the

schools, take action to affect changes that benefit parents and their children.

THANK YOU.

For copy of paper : http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~smith/alphadelta.html


20/24


References

Anglum, B.S., Bell, M.L., & Roubinek, D.L. (1990). Prediction of elementary

student reading achievement from specific home environment variables. Reading

Improvement, 27, 173-184.

Baker, L., Sher, D., & Mackler, K. (1997). Home and family influences on

motivations for reading. Educational Psychologist, 32, 69-82.

Barber, B.R. (1992). An aristocracy of everyone: The politics of education and the

future of America. New York: Oxford University Press.

Coles, G. (2000). Misreading reading: The bad science that hurts children.Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Coulson, A. (1999, April 7). Are public schools hazardous to public education?

Education Week, 18(30), 36, 40.

Edwards, P.A. (1995). Combining parents and teachers thoughts about

storybook reading at home and school. In L.M. Morrow (Ed.), Family literacy:

connections in schools and communities (pp. 54-69). Newark, DE: International Reading

Association.

Feitelson, D., & Goldstein, Z. (1986). Patterns of book ownership and reading to

young children in Israeli school-oriented and non-school-oriented families. Reading

Teacher, 39, 924-930.

Fiske, E.B. (1988, September 9). Policy to fight adult illiteracy urged. The New

York Times, 12.


21/24


Fletcher, J.M., & Lyon, G.R.(1998). Reading: A research-based approach. In

W.M. Evers (Ed.), Whats gone wrong in Americas classrooms (pp. 49-90). Stanford,

CA: Hoover Institution Press.

Flores, B., Taft, R., & Diaz, C. (1991) Transforming deficit myths about learning,

language and culture. Language Arts, 68, 369-379..

Foorman, B.R. Fletcher, J.M., & Francis, D.J. (1998). Preventing reading failure

by ensuring effective reading instruction. In S. Patton & M. Holmes (Eds.), The keys to

literacy (pp. 29-39). Washington, DC: Council for Basic Education.

Foorman, B.R., Francis, D.J., Fletcher, J.M., Schatschneider, C., & Mehta, P.(1998). The role of instruction in learning to read: Preventing reading failure in at-risk

childrne. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 37-55.

Goldfield, B.A., & Snow, C. (1984). Reading books with children: The mechanics

of parental influence on childrens reading achievement. In J. Flood (Ed.), Promoting

reading comprehension (pp. 204-215). Newark, DE: International Reading Assocation.

Goodman, K. (1998). In defense of good teaching. York, ME: Stenhouse.

Grossen, B. (1997). Thirty years of research: What we know about how children

learn to read. A synthesis of research on reading from the National Institute of Child

Health and Human Development. Santa Cruz, CA: The Center for the Future of Teaching

and Learning. [On-line: http://www.cftl.org.]

Heath, S.B. (1984). Ways with words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hiebert, E.H. (1981). Developmental patterns and interrelationships of preschool

childrens print awareness. Reading Research Quarterly, 16, 236-259.

Jefferson, T. (1787). Notes on Virginia.


22/24


Kaul, D. (1993, November). Even our best students come up woefully short. Des

Moines Register.

Kilpatrick, J.J. (1983, July). The crisis in our schools. The Nations Business, 5.

Kirsch, I.S., Jungeblut, A., Kolstad, A., & Jenkins, L. (1993). Adult literacy in

America: A first look at the National Adult Literacy Survey. Washington, DC: National

Center for Education Statistics.

McIntyre, M.E., & Pressley, M. (Eds.). (1996). Balanced instruction: Strategies

and skills in whole language. Norwood, CA: Christopher-Gordon.

Moll, L., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into

Practice, 31, 132-141.

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Education (1998,

September 11). Characteristics of health education among secondary schools: School

health education profiles, 1996.

[On line: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/mmwrfile/ss4704.htm] .

National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983). Becoming a nation of

readers. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Education.

New York State Nurses Association (2000, July 5). Position statement on school

health nursing. [On-line: http://www.nysna.org/pga/nps/position/position20.htm ].

Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American

community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/mmwrfile/ss4704.htm%5Dhttp://www.nysna.org/pga/nps/position/position20.htmhttp://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/mmwrfile/ss4704.htm%5Dhttp://www.nysna.org/pga/nps/position/position20.htm


23/24


Reder, S. (1994). Practice-engagement theory: A sociocultural approach to

literacy across languages and cultures. In B.M. Ferdman, R.M. Weber, & A.G. Ramirez

(Eds.), Literacy across languages and cultures (pp. 33-74). Albany: SUNY Press.

Rodriguez-Brown, F.V., & Meehan, M.A. (1998). Family literacy and adult

education: Project FLAME. In M C. Smith (Ed.). Literacy for the 21 st century:Research,

policy, practices and the National Adult Literacy Survey (pp. 175-193). Westport, CT:

Praeger.

Shanahan, T., Mulhern, M., & Rodriguez-Brown, F.V. (1995). Project FLAME:

Lessons learned from a family literacy program for the Latino community. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association,

Atlanta.

Taylor, D. (1985). Family literacy: Children learning to read and write. Exeter,

NH: Heinemann.

Taylor, D., & Dorsey-Gaines, C. (1988). Growing up literate. Portsmouth, NH:

Heinemann.

Teale, W.H. (1986). Home background and young childrens literacy

development. In W.H. Teale & E. Sulzby (Ed.), Emergent literacy: Writing and reading

(pp. 173-206). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Vogel, S. (1998). Adults with learning disabilities: What learning disabilities

specialists, adult literacy educators, and other service providers want and need to know.

In S. Vogel & S. Reder (Eds.), Learning disabilities, literacy, and adult education (pp. 5-

28). Baltimore: P.H. Brooks.


24/24

Date post:	30-May-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	mcsm1th
View:	217 times
Download:	0 times

Why K-12 Educators Should Worry About Adult Literacy

Documents