This guide describes a model for a community-based literacy program for older adults that uses older adults as tutors. Guidelines are provided to program sponsors for implementing literacy education for older adults. Chapter I provides an overview of the problem of illiterate older adults and literacy education for them. Chapter II addresses the planning of a literacy program for older adults, including special planning concerns, the planning committee, outreach strategies, and program promotion and publicity. Chapter III focuses on direct-service management issues--tutor and peer support recruitment, volunteer training, and older student recruitment. Strategies for success are presented in Chapter IV. They include matching students and tutors, choosing a site, providing support, recognition, and program evaluation. Chapter V provides results of an in-depth study of 27 sites that participated in Project LEEP (Literacy Education for the Elderly). Chapter VI describes LEEP programs in five communities. Chapter VII is an annotated listing of organizations that can be useful to anyone interested in developing literacy programs for older adults. It is divided into sections on training and technical assistance, coordination and support, funding and resource development, and clearinghouse/information and referral. Sample project materials are appended. (YLB)

The second edition of this landmark textbook is distinguished by its pioneering approach to encompassing disability and aging policies under one umbrella, in response to the newly developed Administration on Aging and Disability. It addresses policy changes impacting health and disability services resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other new legislation, and offers a pioneering approach to transforming policy into practice applications. New to the second edition is current census data and new legislative mandates from the ACA and other policy organizations impacting aging adults and/or disabled populations. Also included is new coverage on Social Media, Motivational Interviewing, Health Literacy, Underrepresented Groups, LGBT, and Rural Communities. Podcasts, available as downloads, present the messages of advocates, lobbyists, policy experts, and consumers who address various aspects of relevant policies and policy development. Unlike other texts, the book focuses on triangulating skills, policies, and programs for graduate students in social work, public health, gerontology, and rehabilitation. It aims thus to enhance understanding of policy development through a critical analysis and review of policy framework, and promotes development of skills in shaping programs and implementing policy. The text lays out tools that facilitate policy and program development to include the media, coalition building, the use of an evidence base, and how each mandated policy addresses these programs and services. Chapters include learning objectives, case studies, review/discussion questions, and resources for additional information. An Instructors Manual, Test Bank, and PowerPoint slides facilitate the teaching process. New to the Second Edition: Addresses both disability and aging policies Includes updated census data Presents new legislation and mandates for the ACA, Veterans and the Military, Caregivers/Caregiver Support Act, Alzheimer Support, Health Lifestyles, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Elder Justice Act, and Substance Use and Misuse Provides new coverage on Social Media, Motivational Interviewing, Health Literacy, Minorities, Incarcerated Individuals, Immigrants/Refugees, LGBT, and Rural Communities Offers podcasts of interviews with key consumers and policy experts Key Features: Lays out tools that facilitate policy and program development Examines major service areas for older adults Addresses philosophical, historical, and demographic challenges Enhances understanding of policy development through critical analysis Includes learning objectives, case studies, review questions, and instructor package

A high level of literacy in both print and digital media is required for negotiating most aspects of 21st-century life, including supporting a family, education, health, civic participation, and competitiveness in the global economy. Yet, more than 90 million U.S. adults lack adequate literacy. Furthermore, only 38 percent of U.S. 12th graders are at or above proficient in reading. Improving Adult Literacy Instruction synthesizes the research on literacy and learning to improve literacy instruction in the United States and to recommend a more systemic approach to research, practice, and policy. The book focuses on individuals ages 16 and older who are not in K-12 education. It identifies factors that affect literacy development in adolescence and adulthood in general, and examines their implications for strengthening literacy instruction for this population. It also discusses technologies for learning that can assist with multiple aspects of teaching, assessment,and accommodations for learning. There is inadequate knowledge about effective instructional practices and a need for better assessment and ongoing monitoring of adult students' proficiencies, weaknesses, instructional environments, and progress, which might guide instructional planning. Improving Adult Literacy Instruction recommends a program of research and innovation to validate, identify the boundaries of, and extend current knowledge to improve instruction for adults and adolescents outside school. The book is a valuable resource for curriculum developers, federal agencies such as the Department of Education, administrators, educators, and funding agencies.

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The first graduate text to address health literacy in the aging population Low health literacy is a critical issue among adults, with over one third found to have difficulty understanding such basic information as that found on prescription bottles. This is the first graduate textbook to address key health literacy issues as they affect the health and wellbeing of the aging population. Embracing a topic spanning numerous disciplines, it features a dynamic, multicontextual systems approach and includes contributions from renowned scholars and practitioners in gerontology, public health, social work, nursing, and other related fields. The text emphasizes increasing health literacy among older adults through the use of technological tools and features, the most current research, and evidence-based programs and practices. The book provides expansive coverage of the intersection of technology and health literacy, highlighting innovative approaches and discussing how to use technology with resource-limited groups. The text gives special consideration to rural, impoverished, culturally diverse, and lowliteracy elders and presents gold standard intervention programs and models. Also covered are the policy implications of programs focusing on increasing health literacy and future directions for meeting the Healthy People 2020 initiative. Case studies, review questions, learning objectives, and supplemental PowerPoint presentations will reinforce learning. Key Features: Provides a one-of-a-kind, multidisciplinary survey of the key health literacy issues of older adults Focuses on increasing health literacy across the disciplines Addresses a priority area of Healthy People 2020 Incorporates research and practice from gerontology, psychology, public health, social work, sociology, medicine, and nursing Includes case studies, review questions, learning objectives, and PowerPoint slides for assisting instructors

This book will help those who plan and develop literacy initiatives; using case studies from literacy programmes in many countries including Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mali, Nigeria, the Philippines and Uganda, it demonstrates the importance of literacy, its power to improve lives, and the role literacy plays in social and economic development.

Lifelong Education for Adults: An International Handbook is the first work intended to offer international, encyclopedic coverage of research and studies in the whole field of adult education. With 127 articles written by international specialists, this work will be an invaluable reference source for all those who are engaged in educational activities for adults, either as full-time planners/administrators of educational programmes, or part-time adult educators. There are, for example, articles on education for work and for living, on population education, peace and environmental education, and on learning for personal development and role fulfilment. Conceptual frameworks, practical issues relating to instructional methods, counselling, curriculum and evaluation, and developments in distance learning, group learning, and adult learning are some of the topics discussed. Systems of adult education worldwide, as well as adult education processes and practices, are covered region by region. The problems and initiatives of the developing countries are given attention alongside those of advanced countries. The collection of articles assembled in this Handbook is unique in the range and depth of treatment given to the field of adult education. This volume will thus be of great interest to all engaged in educational activities for adults, in adult schools, community centres, institutions of higher education, as well as educationalists, planners, and decision-makers throughout the world who are involved in adult education at all levels.