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Full-Text Articles in Education

Breaking The Language Barrier: A Report On English Language Service In Greater Boston, John Comings, Lisa Soricone, Navjeet Singh, Katherine Shields, Lynne Sacks, Andres Tull Dec 2010

Breaking The Language Barrier: A Report On English Language Service In Greater Boston, John Comings, Lisa Soricone, Navjeet Singh, Katherine Shields, Lynne Sacks, Andres Tull

John P. Comings

Assesses Massachusetts' English for Speakers of Other Languages system, demand and supply for services, their quantity and quality, and challenges such as lack of coordination. Recommends ways to reduce gaps in services and raise efficiency and quality.


Learner Persistence In Adult Education And Numeracy Programs, John Comings Dec 2008

Learner Persistence In Adult Education And Numeracy Programs, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


Case Study: United States, John Comings, John Benseman Dec 2007

Case Study: United States, John Comings, John Benseman

John P. Comings

As with many other OECD countries, the United States of America (U.S.) estimated the literacy skills of its adult population as part of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). The U.S. published the results of its National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), which employed what became the English version of the IALS test (National Center for Education Statistics 1993), and then published the results of a second estimate in 2006 after the completion of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), which employed a new version of the same test. The NAAL (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006) changed the familiar …


Learner Persistence, John Comings Dec 2006

Learner Persistence, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


Supporting The Persistence Of Adult Basic Education Students, John Comings, Sondra Cuban Dec 2006

Supporting The Persistence Of Adult Basic Education Students, John Comings, Sondra Cuban

John P. Comings

Unlike children, who participate in schooling because of legal mandates and strong social and cultural forces, most adult students choose to participate in educational programs. Adults must make an active decision to participate in each class or tutoring session and often must overcome significant barriers to participate in educational services. Although some adults come to adult education10 programs with specific or short-term goals, most come with goals that require hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of instruction to achieve (Comings, Parrella, & Soricone, 1999; Reder, 2000). Every adult education program, therefore, should provide its students with services that help them …


Adult Literacy Research: Opportunities And Challenges, John Comings, Lisa Soricone Dec 2006

Adult Literacy Research: Opportunities And Challenges, John Comings, Lisa Soricone

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


The Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings Dec 2006

The Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


How Do You Teach Content In Education: An Annotated Bibliography, John Comings, Elizabeth Zachary Dec 2005

How Do You Teach Content In Education: An Annotated Bibliography, John Comings, Elizabeth Zachary

John P. Comings

Adding to the resources for evidence-based practices, this occasional paper provides sources of research and professional wisdom that are useful to the design of evidence-based instruction. This annotated bibliography is divided into seven subsections that focus on reading, writing, math and numeracy, English as a second language, GED, adult learning theory, and technology. Each section presents adult education sources and then additional resources based on K-12 research, instruction, and professional development resources.


The Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings Dec 2005

The Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


An Evidence-Based Model For Adult Education Suitable For Research, John Comings, Maricel Santos, Lisa Soricone Dec 2005

An Evidence-Based Model For Adult Education Suitable For Research, John Comings, Maricel Santos, Lisa Soricone

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


Book Review Of Global Issues And Adult Education: Perspectives From Latin America, South Africa, And The United States, John Comings Dec 2005

Book Review Of Global Issues And Adult Education: Perspectives From Latin America, South Africa, And The United States, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


The Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings Dec 2004

The Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


Massachusetts: A Case Study Of Improvement And Growth Of Adult Education Services, John Comings, Lisa Soricone Dec 2004

Massachusetts: A Case Study Of Improvement And Growth Of Adult Education Services, John Comings, Lisa Soricone

John P. Comings

In this chapter, John Comings and Lisa Soricone present a case study of the adult literacy system in Massachusetts, a system that has undergone significant reform and benefited from considerable increases in state funding over the past 20 years. The authors begin the chapter with a brief history of adult education in the state, beginning in the 19th century and leading up to the current era of the Workforce Investment Act. Comings and Soricone then provide an overview of the adult education system in Massachusetts, briefly describing its administration and funding, programs, practitioners and students, as well as reports on …


Teaching Adults To Read: The Education Approach To Adult Literacy Program Design, John Comings, Lisa Soricone Dec 2004

Teaching Adults To Read: The Education Approach To Adult Literacy Program Design, John Comings, Lisa Soricone

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


The Process And Content Of Adult Education In Family Literacy Programs, John Comings Dec 2004

The Process And Content Of Adult Education In Family Literacy Programs, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


Literary Skills Of U.S. Adults, John Comings, Irwin Kirsch Dec 2003

Literary Skills Of U.S. Adults, John Comings, Irwin Kirsch

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


The Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings Dec 2002

The Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


As Long As It Takes: Responding To The Challenges Of Adult Student Persistence In Library Literacy Programs, John Comings, Sondra Cuban, Johannes Bos, Kristin Porter Dec 2002

As Long As It Takes: Responding To The Challenges Of Adult Student Persistence In Library Literacy Programs, John Comings, Sondra Cuban, Johannes Bos, Kristin Porter

John P. Comings

Research has shown that meaningful improvements in adult literacy require more than the annual average of about 70 hours that adult learners spend in organized literacy instruction. Low student persistence is therefore a critical issue for library literacy programs and other providers of adult education. In response, the Wallace–Reader’s Digest Funds launched the Literacy in Libraries Across America (LILAA) initiative in 1996. Of the fifteen participating libraries, five are the focus of the LILAA persistence study, which is being conducted by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation and the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. This interim …


Establishing An Evidence-Based Adult Education System, John Comings Dec 2002

Establishing An Evidence-Based Adult Education System, John Comings

John P. Comings

The purpose of the seminar is to help practitioners, program directors, state staff, and other policymakers read and discuss NCSALL's proposal for creating an evidence-based system for the field and then to understand and judge the relevance of such a system to their work in adult basic education.


Adult Literacy Programs, John Comings Dec 2001

Adult Literacy Programs, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


The Annual Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings Dec 2001

The Annual Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


Connecting Research And Practice, John Comings, Beth Bingman, Barbara Garner, Karen Rowe, Cristine Smith Mar 2001

Connecting Research And Practice, John Comings, Beth Bingman, Barbara Garner, Karen Rowe, Cristine Smith

John P. Comings

In this article, we provide a brief overview of the research on educational research dissemination and utilization. We then describe the ways in which the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) attempts to foster interaction between research and practice.


Sharing What Nscall Is Learning, John Comings Mar 2001

Sharing What Nscall Is Learning, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


I Did It For Myself: Studying Efforts To Increase Adult Student Persistence In Library Literacy Programs, John Comings, Johannes Bos, Sondra Cuban, Catherine Taylor Dec 2000

I Did It For Myself: Studying Efforts To Increase Adult Student Persistence In Library Literacy Programs, John Comings, Johannes Bos, Sondra Cuban, Catherine Taylor

John P. Comings

This report describes the design of the Literacy in Libraries Across America (LILAA) persistence study, the strategies that participating libraries are using to increase student persistence, and emerging implementation issues. It describes existing patterns in student persistence, identifies factors that support or inhibit persistence, and begins to explore the relationship between program strategies and persistence. Chapter 1, an introduction, is followed by Chapter 2 that discusses the context for the persistence study. It reviews relevant literature and discusses the history of library literacy programs. Chapter 3 presents the research design. Chapter 4 provides early findings from the initial qualitative research …


Building A Level Playing Field, John Comings, Stephen Reder, Andrew Sum Dec 2000

Building A Level Playing Field, John Comings, Stephen Reder, Andrew Sum

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


The Annual Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings Dec 2000

The Annual Review Of Adult Learning And Literacy, John Comings

John P. Comings

No abstract provided.


Helping Adults Persist: Four Supports, John Comings, Andrea Parrella, Lisa Soricone Feb 2000

Helping Adults Persist: Four Supports, John Comings, Andrea Parrella, Lisa Soricone

John P. Comings

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) is conducting a study on learner persistence. The first phase of NCSALL's study used research as a tool to develop advice for practitioners on how to help adults persist in their studies. In addition, the study developed advice for policymakers on how to structure funding and accountability systems in ways that will support persistence. The next phase of the study will test and refine this advice in programs. In the first phase of this research, the study team read previous studies and related literature, and talked with practitioners …


So I Made Up My Mind: Introducing A Study Of Adult Learner Persistence In Library Literacy Programs, John Comings, Sondra Cuban Dec 1999

So I Made Up My Mind: Introducing A Study Of Adult Learner Persistence In Library Literacy Programs, John Comings, Sondra Cuban

John P. Comings

This publication is the first of several planned reports for the Literacy in Libraries across America (LILAA) initiative, a four-year study that will explore the efforts of five leading public library-based literacy programs to improve learner persistence through a variety of programmatic, operational, and support service strategies. The five libraries participating in the study are: New York Public Library; Greensboro Public Library (North Carolina); Redwood City Public Library (California); Queens Borough Public Library (New York); and Oakland Public Library (California). An overview of the current status of library literacy programs is presented, and the following program strategies that the libraries …


New Skills For A New Economy: Adult Education's Key Role In Sustainin Economic Growth And Expanding Opportunity, John Comings, Andrew Sum, Johan Uvin Dec 1999

New Skills For A New Economy: Adult Education's Key Role In Sustainin Economic Growth And Expanding Opportunity, John Comings, Andrew Sum, Johan Uvin

John P. Comings

The role of adult education in sustaining economic growth and expanding opportunity in Massachusetts was explored. The analysis focused on the new basic skills needed for a new economy, groups lacking the new basic skills, the demand for adult basic education (ABE), funding for ABE, building basic skills through adult education, ABE's costs and benefits, and moving toward an integrated job training and ABE system. The following major challenges to building workers' skills were identified: (1) a language challenge; (2) an education credential challenge; and (3) a new literacy challenge. The following were among the recommendations offered for overcoming these …


Persistence Among Adult Basic Education Students In Pre-Ged Classes, John Comings, Andrea Parella, Lisa Soricone Dec 1998

Persistence Among Adult Basic Education Students In Pre-Ged Classes, John Comings, Andrea Parella, Lisa Soricone

John P. Comings

The first phase of a persistence study used research as a tool to develop advice for practitioners on how to help adults persist in their studies. The study team defined persistence as adults who stay in programs for as long as they can, engage in self-directed study when they must drop out of their programs, and return to programs as soon as the demands of their lives allow. The team read previous studies and related literature, talked with practitioners about how they have tried to help adult students persist longer in their studies, and interviewed 150 pre-General Educational Development program …