The impact of literacy training on literacy in the workplace: a study of city of Atlanta employees, 1987

Slay, Cheryl Lynn

1980-1989

The primary intent of this paper is to examine the impact of literacy training on workplace illiteracy. Specifically, the paper examines the effectiveness of a computer-based literacy training program called the Principle of the Alphabet System (PALS) organized for an identified group of City of Atlanta illiterate employees. This paper focuses on five employees located in the Parks Maintenance Bureau of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. The issues addressed in this study focus on definitions of functional literacy and correlations between workplace literacy and job performance. The study is significant, for, it draws attention to the role literacy programs can play within the workplace. The findings of the study showed that literacy training does have a positive impact on adult illiterates in the workplace by enabling them to meet the basic literacy demands of their jobs. Literacy training also heightens an individual's self-confidence and gives employees the motivation to pursue higher career goals. The study also showed that a computer-based literacy training program is a highly effective means of training adult illiterates and is appealing to most adult literacy students. Both primary and secondary sources of information were utilized for the study. Primary sources included a telephone survey administered to City of Atlanta employees who completed the literacy training program. Other primary sources were interviews with City of Atlanta personnel and others involved in the training program. Secondary sources of data included books, journal articles, public documents, and periodicals.

text

application/pdf

1987-07-01

thesis

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Atlanta University

Department of Public Administration

Danso, Alex

Clark Atlanta University

Georgia--Atlanta

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:1987_slay_cheryl_l