Return-Path: <root> Received: (from root@localhost) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) id f7VBs2209972 for health-archive@nifl.gov; Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:54:02 -0400 (EDT) Resent-Message-Id: <200108311154.f7VBs2209972@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from f04n01.cac.psu.edu (f04s01.cac.psu.edu [128.118.141.31]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with ESMTP id f3CLQFg14932 for <nifl-health@nifl.gov>; Thu, 12 Apr 2001 17:26:15 -0400 (EDT) Received: from [146.186.96.31] (rack31.ed.psu.edu [146.186.96.31]) by f04n01.cac.psu.edu (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id RAA130660 for <nifl-health@nifl.gov>; Thu, 12 Apr 2001 17:26:15 -0400 X-Sender: blv1@email.psu.edu Message-Id: <p05001918b6fbc93c39ca@[146.186.96.31]> In-Reply-To: <200104071844.f37IiIg11934@literacy.nifl.gov> References: <200104071844.f37IiIg11934@literacy.nifl.gov> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 17:26:14 -0400 To: nifl-health@nifl.gov From: Barb Van Horn <blv1@psu.edu> Subject: Re: Literacy and health collaborations Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" Resent-From: root@literacy.nifl.gov Resent-Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:54:02 -0400 Resent-To: health-archive@nifl.gov Status: O Content-Length: 3058 Lines: 63 >Audrey Riffenburgh wrote: the statistics I've read indicate that >only 8-10% of all eligible adults actually enroll in adult basic >education (ABE) programs. And the statistics on completion are quite >discouraging. I worked in ABE and literacy for many years but have >been focusing mostly on health literacy since 1994. Are there new >stats that show a more encouraging picture? I don't think we can >convince health care providers that their impressions are wrong with >the data I'm thinking of. Audrey, I doubt that the overall statistics about adult basic education have changed. It's important to remember several things about adult basic education. First, the adult basic education system is very small -- the funding for this program makes it almost impossible to serve significantly greater numbers of adults with literacy needs. Secondly, adults who participate in basic education programs are volunteer learners. They come and go as they please. Many attend long enough to gain the skills they need immediately and then leave. Many also return when they have another "literacy" need. The programs have no "hold" -- such as having to learn how to follow a medical protocol to save their lives or improve their general health -- over these learners. Third, adults eligible for basic education services do not necessarily think they have an educational need. If you don't think you have a "need" -- and no one is making you attend an educational program -- why would you participate? Completion is another issue. What do you mean by completion? How did the research define completion? The national reporting system as well as studies regarding participation in adult basic education programs have not necessarily defined completion in ways that correspond to adult learners use of the system. As a result, I question the validity of their conclusions about completion. BUT --- My point was that individuals who teach in adult basic education programs often have expertise in working with the population and in teaching basic skills in various contexts (e.g., health) that many health educators are also trying to reach. Together, health and basic education instructors could make a powerful team in terms of developing high quality health materials for adults with limited literacy. These adults would not have to be enrolled in an adult basic education program to have access to these materials -- although high quality materials could most certainly be used in basic education programs as well as community health centers and other health-focused instructional settings. Barb -- ****************** Barbara Van Horn NIFL-WORKPLACE List Co-Moderator Co-Director, Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy Co-Director, Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy College of Education, The Pennsylvania State University 102 Rackley Building, University Park, PA 16802-3202 Phone: 814-865-5876 Fax: 814-863-6108 E-mail: BLV1@PSU.EDU "Moving adult literacy from the Margins to the Mainstream"
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