Toward Defining and Improving Quality in Adult Basic Education

This volume revisits, problematizes, and expands the meaning of quality in the context of adult basic education. Organized around three themes-Accountability, Standards, and the Use of Documentation and Research; Program Structures and Instruction; and R

Alisa Belzer

Contents: Preface. Part I:Accountability, Standards, and the Use of Documentation and Research.A. Belzer, Introduction: Why Quality? Why Now? L. Condelli, Accountability and Program Quality: The Third Wave. S.G. Stein, Equipped for the Future and Standards-Based Educational Improvement: Achieving Results That Matter for Adult Learners. D. Greenberg, Tales From the Field: Struggles and Challenges of Conducting Ethical and Quality Research in the Field of Adult Literacy. M.B. Bingman, C. Smith, Professional Development and Evidence-Based Practice in Adult Education. Part II:Program Structures and Instruction.H. Beder, Quality Introduction in Adult Literacy Education. A. Belzer, Volunteer One-to-One Tutoring: Critical Factors in Providing Quality Instruction. J.P. Comings, S. Cuban, Supporting Persistence of Adult Basic Education Students. J.P. Gee, Learning to Read as a Cultural Process. M.K. Gillespie, The Forgotten R: Why Adult Educators Should Care About Writing Instruction. M.J. Schmitt, M. Merson, The EMPower Project: Connecting Curriculum Development and Research. Part III:Rethinking Our Assumptions and Concepts.E. Hayes, Reconceptualizing Adult Basic Education and the Digital Divide. H.S. Wrigley, Beyond the Life Boat: Improving Language, Citizenship, and Training Services for Immigrants and Refugees. E.N. Askov, C. Kassab, E.L. Grinder, L.M. Semali, D. Weirauch, E.L. Saenz, B. Van Horn, Filling in the "Black Box" of Family Literacy: Implications of Research for Practice and Policy. S. Reder, Giving Literacy Away, Again: New Concepts of Promising Practice. V.L. Gadsden, The Adult Learner in Adult and Family Literacy: Gender and Its Intersection With Role and Context. G.A. Hull, M. Jury, J. Zacher, Possible Selves: Literacy, Identity, and Development in Work, School, and Community.