6.3.5. Criteria for Program Content and Control of Program Content

Providers reported that the major criteria used to decide what should be taught in ABE programs are the type and level of students' skills, as well as their personal needs when they enter the program (see Table 6-13).

This approach is not congruent with the use of a pre-set curriculum, one more reason why ABE providers and instructors need to attend to the development of special curricula for under-educated women. Many pre-set curricula or pre-packaged teaching modules are not designed to permit instructors to deviate extensively from the materials provided so as to take into consideration the personal needs of students. Further, a curriculum approach which focuses first on student skills and needs implies that instructors and students should have the major control in decision-making about program content. Thirty-four percent of the respondents described instructors as having the most control over program content, and 27 percent identified both instructors and students as having this responsibility (see Table 6-14).