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Adult Literacy, Numeracy and ESOL: General Timeline

1960s

Developments in the 1960s

Date Event
1963 Newsom Report Half Our Future looked at the education of 13-16 year olds of average and less than average ability.
1964 UNESCO Report: Literacy and Education for Adults. British government returns zero numbers for adult literacy.
1966 The issue of poor basic skills in literacy came to public attention when an article by Anthony Hirst was published in a newspaper, "The People". The article was entitled "The man who teaches hope" and described the work being done by the Cambridge House Literacy Scheme. Awareness began to grow over the next 10 years and recognition was given to the fact that despite 100 years of compulsory schooling many people had not got the basic literacy and numeracy skills they needed to face the challenges in the second half of the twentieth century.
1968-73 UNESCO Experimental World Literacy Programme.
1969-70 US Right to Read Campaign.

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