Illiteracy: An Overview
- 1 July 1970
- journal article
- Published by Harvard Education Publishing Group in Harvard Educational Review
- Vol. 40 (2) , 226-243
- https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.40.2.h62717587734l753
Abstract
Mr. Harman reviews current definitions of illiteracy and functional illiteracy and discusses their relationship both to estimates of the scope of the problem and, by implication, to efforts toward its solution. Applying functional standards according to the requisites of particular societies, it can be seen that even countries with high literacy rates, such as the United States, harbor large functionally illiterate populations. The author argues that adult basic education efforts here and abroad should be planned on a situation-specific basis, with goals, content, and evaluative components derived independently of the usual grade school equivalencies.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Some Social Psychological Effects and Noneffects of Literacy in a New NationEconomic Development and Cultural Change, 1967
- The Functional Reading Word List for AdultsAdult Education, 1966