Educational initiatives attempt to introduce or promote a culture of quality within education by raising concerns related to student learning, providing services related to assessment, professional development of teachers, curriculum and pedagogy, and influencing educational policy, in the realm of technology. Adapting Information and Communication Technologies for Effective Education addresses ICT assessment in universities, student satisfaction in management information system programs, factors that impact the successful implementation of a laptop program, student learning and electronic portfolios, and strategic planning for e-learning. Providing innovative research on several fundamental technology-based initiatives, this book will make a valuable addition to every reference library.

The Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 5 is the newest volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and learning. Each Review opens with an overview of significant recent developments in the field of adult literacy during the year, followed by a set of chapters presenting in-depth reviews of research and best practices on topics of high interest to the field. Volume 5 includes chapters on: *the increasing emphasis on scientifically based research and evidence-based practice in education, their use in adult literacy, and the perception of their usefulness by those who work in the field; *recent research on the impact of acquiring a General Educational Development (GED) credential; *the adult literacy system in the state of Massachusetts, focusing on the factors that led to investing and restructuring in the system, and the lessons learned that may be helpful to other states interested in building strong systems of educational service delivery for adult learners; *a history and review of volunteerism in adult literacy; *the history and structure of the adult literacy system in New Zealand, including policy recommendations for the current system to more effectively serve all adult learners; and *a review of theories and key resources related to metacognitive skills in reading. The Review of Adult Learning and Literacy serves as the journal of record for the field and is an essential resource for all stakeholders who need to know what research can reveal about how best to serve adult learners.

The book provides a historical overview of adult literacy theory, policy, practice, and research from the mid-1980s to the present. The main focus is a descriptive analysis of three distinctive schools of literacy: the Freirean-based participatory literacy movement grounded in oppositional politics and grass-roots community activism; the British-based New Literacy Studies that focuses on the ways in which diverse students utilize various literacy practices in their daily lives; and the U.S. federal government's focus on functional literacy linked to a 45-year policy emphasis on workforce readiness. These three schools of thought lead to substantially different implications over such critical areas as curriculum, assessment and accountability, and the socio-cultural role of literacy, policy, and political culture, which are discussed throughout the chapters of the book. This discussion includes a chapter on research traditions that closely parallels these perspectives on literacy education. Demetrion argues that unless values grounded ultimately in political culture emerge, it is exceedingly unlikely that the adult literacy field will be able to move from its current marginalized status toward that of achieving the level of public and policy legitimacy many believe it needs for its long-term institutional flourishing. It is argued that any settlement of this issue must be accomplished in the field of practice rather than the ground of theory, even as theoretical insight can help to frame the issues. Conflicting Paradigms in Adult Literacy Education: In Quest of a U.S. Democratic Politics of Literacy speaks to a wide audience, including not only the adult literacy community, but anyone interested in educational theory, practice, policy, research traditions, or political culture, and more fundamentally, in their intersection. Given the breadth of the topics covered, as well as the broad scope of the argument, the book is also meant for those who would like to gain a useful perspective on contemporary U.S. culture, through the window of these conflicting tensions within the field of adult literacy education.

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.