Tracking Adult Literacy and Numeracy Skills

Understanding the origins of poor literacy and numeracy skills in adulthood and how to improve them is of major importance when society places a high premium on proficiency in these basic skills. This edited collection brings together the results of recent longitudinal studies that greatly extend our knowledge of what works in raising skill levels, as well as the social and economic returns to improvement. Many fundamental research questions in adult education involve change over time: how adults learn, how program participation influences their acquisition of skills and knowledge, and how their educational development interacts with their social and economic performance. Although a growing number of longitudinal studies in adult basic education have recently been completed, this book is the first systematic compilation of findings and methods.^ Triangulating findings from different methodological perspectives and research designs, and across countries, this text produces convergence on key conclusions about the role of basic skills in the modern life course and the most effective ways of enhancing them. Table of contents: * Introduction: The Need for Longitudinal Studies in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (Stephen Reder and John Bynner) Part I: Literacy and Numeracy Development * Insights into Basic Skills from a UK Longitudinal Study (John Bynner and Samantha Parsons) * The Development of Literacy and Numeracy in Adult Life (Stephen Reder) * Longitudinal Research Related to Adult Literacy and Education (T. Scott Murray) Part II: Student, Teacher and Classroom Studies * Developing Learners’ Reading Skills in Adult Basic Education Programs (Judith Alamprese) * "What Works" for Adult Students of English as a Second Language (Larry Condelli, Heide Spruck Wrigley and Kwang S.^ Yoon) * Student Persistence in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Programs (John Comings) * Teacher Attitudes Towards the "Skills for Life" National Strategy for Improving Adult Literacy and Numeracy Skills (Olga Cara and Jennifer H.^ Litster) * The Impact of the "Skills for Life" Learning Infrastructure on Learners: A Summary of Methods and Findings (John Vorhaus, Ursula Howard, Greg Brooks, Ann Marie Bathmaker and Yvon Appleby) Part III: The Impact of Policy and Programs * Outcomes for Basic Skills Learners: A Four-year Longitudinal Study (Hillary Metcalf & Pamela Meadows) * Enhancing "Skills for Life": Workplace Learning and Adult Basic Skills (Karen Evans, Edmond Waite and Lul Admasachew) * Improving the Literacy and Numeracy of Young Offenders (Jane Hurry,^ Laura Brazier and Anita Wilson) Part IV: Social and Economic Outcomes in Context * Using a Longitudinal Approach with State Administrative Records to Evaluate Adult Education Programs in the United States (Stephen Rose) * The Tennessee Longitudinal Study of Adult Literacy Program Participants (Mary Beth Bingman) * Outcomes of Literacy Improvement: A Longitudinal View (Barbara McDonald and Patricia Scollay) * ‘The more you learn the better you feel': Research into Literacies, Learning and Identity in Scotland (Kathy Maclachlan, Lyn Tett, and Stuart Hall) * Adults’ Lives and Learning in Different Contexts: A View Over Time (Yvon Appleby and David Barton).