Section 2 B: An Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography is intended to offer synopses of articles and discussions relevant to the issue of classroom management in adult literacy classes. Little has been written on the issue of classroom management itself. However, there is a wealth of material on issues of student retention, motivation and success, all of which impinge on classroom management. Empowerment, motivation, persistence and participation, the benefits of group work, content and project-based instruction all affect the nature of the learning environment. It is this learning environment in total which must be examined if one is to understand why some classes of adult literacy learners function successfully while others expend most of their energy on student retention.

The research for this bibliography has been done mainly on the Internet and all the sites are indicated in order to facilitate access and encourage consultation of these pertinent articles. Only two of the articles were written more than ten years ago and these two are Canadian based and are still relevant to Ontario adult literacy classes today. Many are from Focus on Basics, an American publication that offers many articles relevant to the special issues that relate to adult literacy education.

While it would have been possible to list the articles and discussions according to their primary interest, to do so may have encouraged readers to concentrate on only a couple of the articles. Since many of them go far beyond the description offered and all say a great deal about many of the issues that face adult literacy practitioners, it was determined to simply list them alphabetically and let the reader discover some of the hidden wealth that goes beyond the given description.

Beder, Hal & Medina, Patsy. (2001). Classroom Dynamics in Adult Literacy http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report18.pdf

The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed and comprehensive analytical description of classroom behaviours in adult literacy education. This is a must read for practitioners and policy makers interested in adult literacy, and is the only study since 1975 to address the issues of classroom behaviours. The study examines three basic questions that are critical to understanding the field: how is instruction delivered and in what is its content? what processes underlie teaching and learning?