Preface

In the middle of the 20th century, on December 10, 1948, the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among the rights claimed for all peoples of the world were rights to education expressed in Article 26:

Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental states. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

(3) Parents shall have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States national activities are underway that promise to extend the right to free elementary and fundamental education to adults. Having for many decades provided a variety of programs, many arising from charitable work by religious groups and others, activities are today underway to transform these many local, independently acting programs into systems of state-supported, free education for adults across the life span.

This brief paper summarizes activities in these three nations under five categories:

1. Scale of Need: determining how many adults are in need of adult literacy, including numeracy (i.e., basic skills) education.

2. Access to Provision: determining how many adults are aware of, have access to and enroll in adult education and literacy education programs (provision).

3. Nature of Provision: determining the nature of the delivery system for meeting the needs of adult literacy provision, including the use of information and communication technology (ICT).

4. Quality of Provision: determining the nature of and need for improved instructional quality, including teacher qualifications and establishing content and outcome standards for programs.

5. Accountability of Provision: improving methods for determining achievements of programs in terms of student learning outcomes and broader impacts for the adult, family, workplace and community.

The hope is that by providing this summary, the activities of the three nations to improve their adult literacy education systems may be further encouraged and strengthened through the synergy of international awareness and co-operation.

Tom Sticht
April 2001