Research in adult literacy

Instruction for the adult illiterate has taken many forms within the past half century. Within a few remarkable exceptions, increasing awareness of the characteristics and needs of this population has only begun to gain momentum within the past eight or ten years. Although considerable effort has been expended by UNESCO-since its inception to coordinate and inspire worldwide literacy efforts, this article will outline only domestic American efforts in this emerging field. It will extract findings from six major pieces of research judged most significant to instruction in adult basic education. In addition, it will describe other instructional programs for adult literacy in such a way that the reader may be led.to further study depending upon the needs and facilities of his local community. It may be noted that most of the populations examined in the cited research are native-born. Although it is recognized that this certainly does not comprise the whole population needing literacy training, it does seem at this time to represent the segment in most critical need of attention. Pockets of Puerto Rican and Spanish-speaking Americans also greatly need such training, as do those immigrants from foreign countries who desire such help. But the most pressing necessity is for material and methodology that ca