No subject

literacy fields reached their highest numbers of reports deposited in
ERIC, though the Workplace literacy reports grew at a much faster rate
than Family literacy reports.  However, after 1994, reports in both
fields declined, with the Workforce reports falling off at a faster rate
than the Family literacy reports. 

During the latter half of the 1990s, both the Family and Workplace
literacy fields were brought into the internet age with lists archived
on the National Institute for Literacy web site (www.nifl.gov). In 1996,
the first year in which both Family and Workplace lists operated for a
full year, the lists included the following number of messages:

1996 Family 879, Workplace 812
1997 Family 623, Workplace 760
1998 Family 440, Workplace 517
1999 Family 725, Workplace 576
2000 Family 710, Workplace 667
2001 Family 901, Workplace 366 (as of Dec. 26)

Looking at both the ERIC reports and the NIFL list archives, it looks as
though the Workplace literacy field may have lost some of its impetus in
the last year or so. This is further suggested by the fact that for
2001, the Family list moderator posted some 23 percent of messages while
on the Workplace list, the list moderator posted over 40 percent of the
messages. So not only did the Workplace list post fewer than half as
many messages as the Family list, many more of the messages were posted
by the list moderator, suggesting a reduced interest in interactive
communication by Workplace list members. 

The apparent decline in Workplace literacy as a field of endeavor in 
adult literacy education as suggested by the number of reports placed in
the ERIC system and messages posted on the Workplace literacy list may
reflect the demise of the National Workplace Literacy Program which
focused funds directly on Workplace literacy. On the other hand, the
decline in Workplace literacy documentation and interactive
communication is puzzling given that the Adult Education and Literacy
System (AELS)  of the United States is now administered as a part of the
Workforce Investment Act. Indeed, the Adult Education and Family
Literacy Act emphasizes the importance of employment and wage increases
as important outcomes of adult education. And we hear repeatedly the
concerns of Department of Labor officials and business and industry
associations about the need for basic skills education in the U. S.
workforce. 

I am not aware of the extent to which the AELS now conducts Workplace
literacy programs. It would be interesting to know if the apparent
decline in the Workplace literacy field as suggested by the foregoing
data is real, or if the field is alive and thriving in the AELS (or
elsewhere) but is simply not as communicative as before. 

I’m also wondering if the decline in both Family and Workplace literacy
reports on the ERIC system signals a decline in the interest of
researchers in these fields as they have moved from the exploratory,
"new thing"  research phase into the arena of accepted practice. 
Perhaps this reflects an aspect of moving from research to practice in a
given area…the amount of documentation of work in the area declines. 

Whatever the case, the ERIC and internet lists offer a fertile field of
documentation for exploring timelines of the interests, activities, and
policy directions  of the field of adult education and literacy
development.