Literacy Links

Special Populations

Welcome to Our Library ...

Each issue of Literacy Links features some of the materials available for loan from the Adult Literacy Clearinghouse. Borrowers must be affiliated with a program providing adult education services. Availability of these resources depends on Clearinghouse supplies. Annotated bibliographies of the literacy resources are available upon request. Call the Clearinghouse at (800) 441-7323 or (979) 845-6615 or use our e-mail: tcall@tamu.edu to request materials or bibliographies.

Program Development

Enhancing Organizational Effectiveness in Adult and Community Education. Dean, Gary J., Murk, Peter J. and Del Prete, Tony (2000). Addresses crucial issues including planning strategically, developing leadership, planning programs, writing grant proposals, and developing interagency cooperation. Includes research and literature on each topic; suggestions on how to use the activities; and actual role plays, simulations, and individual and group learning activities. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Power in Practice: Adult Education and the Struggle for Knowledge and Power in Society. Cervero, Ronald M., Wilson, Arthur L., and Associates (2001). Fifteen authors describe real-world efforts to promote social or economic change through the mechanisms of adult education. According to B. Allan Quigley, "[t]he authors have managed to shift the focus of adult education back to the social concerns that were taken for granted when the field was founded. . .[this book] will tilt our field back towards its moral center." Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Fundraising for the Long Haul.
Klein, Kim  (2000). Speaking to the difficulties of organizations that are understaffed and under-resourced, the author provides tips and techniques for developing a healthy fundraising program. Some chapter titles include: The Importance of Prospect Research; The Truth About Boards (and Fundraising); When Fundraising Strategies Wear Out; Collaborative Fundraising; and Nonprofit Does Not Equal Anti-Profit: Getting Comfortable With Making Money.

How Are We Doing? An Inquiry Guide for Adult Education Programs. Bingman, Beth and Ebert, Olga (2001). From the Introduction: "What difference are we making? How do we know? How can we show it? This guide is designed to be used by local adult education programs to facilitate a systematic inquiry process answering these kinds of questions. In this process, program staff take part in activities that involve them in identifying and clarifying program goals, examining current documentation processes, addressing the challenges of performance accountability and outcomes documentation at the program level."

Correctional Populations

The Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 2. Comings, John, Garner, Barbara, and Smith, Cristine, Editors (2001). This is a yearly book of commissioned articles on major issues, latest research and best practices in the field of adult basic education. One of the articles in Volume 1 is: Time to Reframe Politics and Practices in Correctional Education. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Jail to Job Phase II: Final Report. Tempestini, Daniel and Salvia, Charlene (1998). The Erie (Pennsylvania) Adult Learning Center has been the main provider of ABE/GED instruction for inmates of the Erie County Prison for over nine years. The Jail to Job project was launched to address the main cause of recidivism, unemployment after release. In Phase II, the inmates learned job search techniques and worked through issues of self-esteem, financial losses, and family concerns.

Literacy Changes Lives. Laubach Literacy (May 16, 2000). Video of an hour-long teleconference hosted by former first lady Barbara Bush features stories of several adult learners whose lives were dramatically changed by literacy. The context for one learner was a correctional literacy program in which educated inmates are trained to tutor other inmates, with beneficial effects on the tutors' self-esteem. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Literacy Matters: Writing and Reading the Social Self. Yagelski, Robert P. (2000). Literacy can empower students, but it may also limit their understanding if taught without regard for the context of their lives. Using his encounters with students - in high school, college, and state prison classrooms - Yagelski looks at the sometimes ambiguous role of literacy in our lives and examines the mismatch between conventional approaches to teaching literacy and the literacy needs of students in a rapidly changing, increasingly technological world. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Young Men as Fathers: A Video for Educators and Caregivers. KidSafety of America (2001). Educators, social workers, and correctional facilities realize more than ever that a child needs both mother and father. 30-minute video defines fatherhood, discusses myths and false assumptions, and discusses how to implement and maintain a fatherhood program or support system for teens and other young males. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Youth in Adult Literacy Programs

The Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 1. Comings, John, Garner, Barbara, and Smith, Cristine, Editors (1999). This is a yearly book of commissioned articles on major issues, latest research and best practices in the field of adult basic education. One of the articles in Volume 1 is: Youth in Adult Literacy Education Programs. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Dealing with Difficult Participants.
Pike, Bob and Arch Dave (1997). Difficult participants have a destructive effect on their own learning, as well as on a group's learning process. The authors identified 15 types of difficult participants and they offer 127 techniques for dealing with these people. For each type of participant, the authors suggest several subtle preventive measures - and some not-so-subtle corrective ones. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Making the Most of Today: Daily Readings for Young People on Self-Awareness, Creativity, and Self- Esteem. Espeland, Pamela and Wallner, Rosemary (1991). Book guides young people through a year of positive thinking, problem solving, and practical life skills. Each daily reading addresses an issue important to young people - making choices and making friends, laughter and learning, feelings and families.

What the HEALTH! A Literacy and Health Resource for Youth. Canadian Public Health Association (2000). Stories and exercises can give all young people, regardless of literacy level, an opportunity to learn about, reflect upon, and build skills for making decisions about important choices affecting their health. Contains stories, discussion questions, activities and information on: Feelings, Safer Sex, Self-Esteem, Drug Abuse, Drinking, Smoking, Prejudice, Safe Environments, Homelessness and Healthy Eating. Loose-leaf format with reproducible masters.

When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens. Cobain, Bev (1998). Book is a guide for teenagers in dealing with sadness, discouragement, or depression. Part I describes causes and types of depression and the connections between depression, suicide, and drug and alcohol abuse. Part 2 discusses different kinds of professional treatment, how they help, and how to stay healthy.

Young Men as Fathers: A Video for Teens and Young Men. KidSafety of America (2001). In music video style, young men learn about fatherhood through a cross section of young fathers, from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles. Although this 17-minute video targets young fathers (and fathers-to-be) in their teens and twenties, young women can also gain a new perspective on the meaning of fatherhood. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Women and Literacy

Breaking Free from Partner Abuse: Voices of Battered Women Caught in the Cycle of Domestic Violence. Marecek, Mary (1999). Poetry and illustrations in this book enhance the messages of support for abused women. The vocabulary makes the book well suited for adult new readers (Fry Reading Level 6). Firsthand accounts are included, as well as realistic guidelines for action and help.

Career Development with Latina Women. Hendon, Sarah Ed. (1996). Provides instructors with supplementary background information, handouts, and activities to better address the needs of Latina women participating in career development programs. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Learning Environments for Women's Adult Development: Bridges Toward Change. Taylor, Kathleen and Marienau, Catherine, Editors (1995). Authors discuss ways to work effectively with women in learning environments. Chapters include: Journal Writing: A Tool for Women Developing as Knowers; In Their Own Voices: Women Learning About Their Own Development; and A Developmental Core Curriculum for Adult Women Learners. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

The New Update on Adult Learning Theory. Merriam, Sharan B., Editor (2001). Traditional theories of andragogy and self-directed learning are revisited, and new scholarship on transformational learning and informal and incidental learning is reviewed. One chapter is devoted to new developments in women's learning. Three very recent approaches to adult learning theory are presented as well: emotion and imagination in adult learning, the brain and consciousness, and somatic and narrative knowing. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Too Scared to Learn: Women, Violence and Education. Horsman, Jenny (1999). The author re-examines learning through a lens focused on the prevalence and impacts of violence in women's lives. Elsa Auerbach of University of Massachusetts calls the book "a ground-breaking study that brings a critical issue for adult educators out of the closet. Trauma and violence have been invisible elephants in adult education classes." Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Writing Yourself Home: A Woman's Guided Journey of Self. Snow, PhD., Kimberly (1992). Walking women through the steps of keeping a journal, the book has three sections: Writing About Writing; Writing About Women; and Utilizing Your Writing. Author provides exercises and suggested topics, including single parenting, marriage, and dreams.

Poverty/Welfare Reform

Developing Literacy Programs for Homeless Adults. Norris, Joye A. and Kennington, Paddy (1992). Resources enable literacy educators to provide a wide range of basic skills training to homeless adults. Authors stress the need for maintaining flexibility in thinking and in practices and provide information on how to make literacy programs for homeless adults more effective.

A Framework for Understanding Poverty: 1998 Edition With Workbook. Payne, Ruby K., Ph.D. (1998). Payne defines poverty as related to eight areas of resources (financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships/role models, and knowledge of "hidden rules") rather than being solely defined by lack of money. Book offers concrete strategies for working with students from poverty, including cognitive strategies and creating relationships. Loan set also includes workbook with nine modules for a staff development workshop.

A Framework for Understanding Poverty: Learning Structures: Workbook for Day 2 Workshop. Payne, Ruby K., Ph.D. (1998). Provides Modules 10 through 16 of a staff development workshop on Dr. Payne's framework for understanding poverty. Modules include: Building Learning Structures; New Learning/Payoff for Learning; Planning to Control Impulsivity; and more.

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Ehrenreich, Barbara (2001).Welfare reform promises that a job - any job - could be the ticket to a better life. But how does anyone survive, let alone prosper, on six or seven dollars an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich left her home, took the cheapest lodgings she could find, and accepted whatever jobs she was offered as a woefully inexperienced homemaker returning to the workforce.

Out On a Limb.Gladden, Karen, et al (2000). Women adult learners from Western Massachusetts write about the effects of welfare reform on their lives. The intended audience is adult learners, teachers, program administrators, politicians, and policy makers.

Reading Poverty. Shannon, Patrick (1998). Shannon looks at how competing representations of poverty underlie our assumptions about IQ testing, textbook content, national standards, standardized achievement tests, volunteerism, school/business partnerships, and many other contemporary issues in education. He argues that we have perpetuated a system geared toward the protection of property over the well-being of people.

Welfare-to-Work: A Comprehensive Manual for Adult Literacy Providers: Final Report. Cort, Maureen, Krouse, Nancy, and Gonzalez, Manuel (June 1998). Pennsylvania project created this manual to help adult literacy providers understand how they fit into welfare reform. Sections include: Understanding the welfare system; Inventory for assessing how a programs can participate in the welfare reform arena; Suggestions on collaboration with other providers; and Suggestions for developing new curriculum models that integrate basic skills with the requirements of welfare reform. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

The Welfare-to-Work Challenge for Adult Literacy Educators. Martin, Larry G. and Fisher, James C., Editors (1999). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Number 83 in the New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education series. Recently enacted welfare reform and workforce development legislation has created a turbulent financial and educational environment for adult literacy programs. Adult literacy practitioners have been challenged to adjust their programs to fit within a new paradigm or risk the grim prospect of program failure. Combining theory and research with practical advice on adult literacy practice, this issue of New Directions provides a framework for literacy practitioners to rethink their field to better align it with the demands of the new Work First environment and to meet the pragmatic expectations of an extended list of stakeholders. Each chapter is written by a different author. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Racial Diversity

Confronting Racism and Sexism. Hayes, Elisabeth and Colin III, Scipio A.J., Editors (1994). Authors discuss many aspects of racism and sexism in the adult education classroom and profession. Some chapters are: Giving Voice: An Inclusive Model of Instruction - A Womanist Perspective; Addressing Issues of Race and Gender; and Developing a Personal and Professional Agenda for Change. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Freedom Road: Adult Education of African Americans. Peterson, Elizabeth A., Editor (1996). Provides a history of African Americans' contributions to and participation in adult education. Some subjects include: W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, well-known protagonists of philosophy of education; Marcus Garvey, who understood the politics of adult education; and Fanny Jackson Coppin, who organized the experimental Institute for Colored Youth.

Making the Connection: Language and Academic Achievement Among African American Students. Adger, Carolyn Temple, Christian, Donna, and Taylor, Orlando, Editors (1999). The public debate on Ebonics exposed continuing, widespread fundamental misunderstandings about language diversity in U.S. schools and society. Authors in this collection respond to that debate with discussions about language variation among African American students, intended to help educators enhance their students' academic achievement. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Race and Culture in the Classroom: Teaching and Learning Through Multicultural Education. Dilg, Mary (1999). High school teacher Dilg observes what happens when one teacher attempts to work with issues of race and culture in a diverse classroom. Drawing on actual dynamics in an urban high school, Dilg describes and analyzes the significant challenges and joys at the heart of multicultural education, and shows how educators can treat questions of race and culture in the courses they teach.

Radical Equations: Math Literacy and Civil Rights. Moses, Robert P. and Cobb, Charles E., Jr. (2001). A civil rights activist in 1960s Mississippi and later the founder of a national math literacy program called The Algebra Project, Moses brings his civil rights experience to bear on education today. In a technological era when the most pressing civil rights issue is economic access, Moses sees a crisis in math literacy in poor communities as urgent as the crisis of political access in Mississippi in 1961.

Older Adult Learners

Life is So Good. Dawson, George and Glaubman, Richard (2000). Memoir of a Dallas centenarian who is a fulltime GED student. Born in 1898 the grandson of slaves, George went to work at an early age to support his family, then learned to read in a literacy program at 98. George gives eyewitness impressions of segregation, wars, presidents, and inventions of his long life. Audio book on four cassette tapes is read by LeVar Burton. Large Print Book and Audio Book (4 Cassettes) are separate loan items.

Literacy and Older Adults in the United States. Weinstein-Shr, Gail (1995). Report examines literacy among older adults and discusses the need to include older adults in literacy programs. The report concludes that literacy among older adults will become more important in the future as the general working population continues to age.

Literacy of Older Adults in America: Results from the National Adult Literacy Survey. Brown, Helen, et al (1996). The last National Adult Literacy Survey (in 1992) found that many older Americans demonstrated limited prose, document, and quantitative literacy skills. Authors of this report are concerned that education and job training programs that have, in the past, been targeted to younger persons may need to be refocused to address the needs of older persons. Also available online at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=97576.

To Grandma's House, We...Stay: When You Have To Stop Spoiling Your Grandchildren and Start Raising Them. Houtman, Sally, M.S. (1999). Whether the situation was brought about by the parents' death, disappearance, incapacitation, disinterest, or poverty, nearly 4 million U.S. children currently live in households headed by grandparents. Some of these grandparents are served in family literacy programs. This book is a resource for grandparents who are parenting a second generation of children.

Using Learning to Meet the Challenges of Older Adulthood. Fisher, James C. and Wolf, Mary Alice, Editors (1998).Combining theory and research in educational gerontology with the practice of older adult learning and education, the authors explore issues and policies related to older adult education in academic and community settings. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Cultural & Multifaceted Diversity

Adult Learning and Development: Multicultural Stories. Baumgartner, Lisa and Merriam, Sharan B. (2000). Anthology of stories and poems highlights six themes of adult development: identity; the importance of work; the family life cycle; physical development, health and aging; and learning in adulthood. Selections were chosen to reflect the diversity of adult learners in America. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Cooperative Learning: A Response to Linguistic and Cultural Diversity. Holt, Daniel D. (1993). Part One covers the foundation of cooperative learning. Part Two looks at how to use cooperative learning, along with model units. Each unit covers a different subject and grade level and can be adapted to different settings.

Cultural Awareness. Tomalin, Barry and Stempleski, Susan (1993).Resource book for teachers is designed to promote cross-cultural interaction in the classroom. Contains over 70 ready-to-use activities that give teachers practical and specific guidance on helping learners improve their cross-cultural communication skills.

Developing Cross-Cultural Competence: A Guide for Working With Children and Their Families, Second Edition. Lynch, Eleanor W. and Hanson, Marci J. (1998). Authors representing various cultures offer advice for working with children and adults of diverse heritage. May be used in preservice and in-service settings to help educators and social workers learn to appreciate and accommodate diversity through respectful and effective interaction. Some of the cultures addressed include Native American, African American, Latino, Asian, and Middle Eastern. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

A Different Kind of Smart: Video and How-To Manual. Levene, Helene (2001). Working with Adult Basic Education (ABE) students, Levene used a program of "interactive activities to motivate returning adult readers and build their confidence through non-threatening experiences that do not use print and [would] prepare them to approach learning to read with a positive attitude. ... for adults who have had limited success learning to read in the past." The program included storytelling, pantomime, poetry reading, group creative writing, and theater games. Video shows playlets developed and performed by Levene's students. Accompanying "how-to" manual describes the process and how to utilize the video with an ABE class. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Educating Citizens in a Multicultural Society. Banks, James A. (1997). Eleven essays on citizenship address issues related to race, ethnicity, and social- class stratification. Banks describes how schools can educate students to participate effectively in a society that reflects ethnic and cultural diversity. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Explorations in American Culture: Readings for Critical Thinking, Writing, and Discussion. Jason, Katherine and Posner, Holly (1995). Content-based reader for advanced ESL links reading, oral/listening skills and writing through a variety of group tasks. Unit titles are: American Dreaming: The Pursuit of Happiness; The Cult of the Individual: Self-Reliance and Self-Determination; Melting Pot or Patchwork Quilt: The Challenge of Multiculturalism; Defining Gender: Different but Equal; Right and Wrong in America: Examining Moral Values; and Popular Culture: The Image Shapers. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults. Vella, Jane (1994). Vella believes that a key challenge in adult education is bridging the perceived distance between teacher and student; therefore, an adult educator's first task is to develop dialogue across cultures, genders, classes, and ages - then to discover what mature students want and need to learn. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

The Multicultural Treasury. Mallecka, Janina (1993). Over 250 quotations, teachings, folk wisdom, personal experiences, literary excerpts, and facts illustrate the diversity of North American culture. Cultures/localities included are Native Americans; Latin America and the Caribbean; African, and African Americans; Eastern Europe; the Balkans and Russia; India; the Middle East and North Africa; and Asia and Asian Americans.

Providing Culturally Relevant Adult Education: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century. Guy, Talmadge C., Editor (1999).Examines theoretical and practical issues in providing adult education services to socially, politically, and culturally marginalized groups in the U.S., with a focus on learner culture from the perspective of authors who share that background. Authors present various issues, models, and practices that marginalized learners can use to take control of their learning and their lives. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.

Success in the U.S.: Immigrants' True Stories. Turner, Connie, Shane, Judy and Podnecky, Janet (2001). Written for adult and young adult students of English at a beginning level, this text teaches basic reading and workplace skills using stories told by immigrants about different kinds of success. Pre- and post-reading activities develop reading comprehension skills. Workplace skill development is correlated to SCANS guidelines for competencies such as problem solving, reasoning, communicating information, and managing time. Real-life writing tasks require students to complete basic forms, write memos, and create schedules. Teacher's Notes offer tips for using the text.

An Update on Adult Development Theory: New Ways of Thinking About Life's Course. Clark, M. Carolyn and Caffarella, Rosemary S., Editors (2000).The editors review recent work in adult development theory in biological, psychological, sociocultural, and integrated domains and explore the implications of this work for adult education. Sociocultural section looks at gender, race and ethnicity, and sexual identity. Loan Item for Texas Educators ONLY.