This case study details the impacts of an Aboriginal-led adult literacy campaign in Brewarrina between 2015 and 2017. Forming part of a wider investigation into literacy as a social determinant of health, the study explores the relationship between involvement in the literacy campaign and the capacity of graduates to take greater control of the…

Notwithstanding their contribution to the development of any society, women are the underclass. Their participation in social, economic, and political spheres could be limited because of illiteracy. To improve their involvement, providing adult education is incontestable. This article examines Ethiopian women's empowerment through Integrated…

This article examines the intersection of race and poverty on the lives of Black women living in urban communities. Historical systemic racism continues to leave many marginalized communities on the periphery and struggling to maneuver in a society that limits access to empowerment to move out of poverty. To transform the lives of those living in…

This paper takes up an existing discussion around critical perspectives on adult education, in particular how empowerment and emancipation have been understood. Previously in this journal, concern has been raised with traditional understandings of critical adult education. The problem is that these tend to assume that learners require assistance…

This paper focuses on the power dimension of social practices. The study sought to understand the literacy-related practices of a retired woman without a high-school diploma in everyday life and community activities. It drew on social practice theories, the New Literacy Studies, and transformative learning. The ethnographic approach chosen to…

This article focuses on the implementation of the Cuban "Yes, I Can" adult literacy campaign in Indigenous Australian communities in north west New South Wales (NSW). It examines the interplay between empowerment, disempowerment and commodification in education in Australia in order to assess what new elements the Cuban "Yes, I…

This article contrasts educational discourses and their associated policy and practice in the field of adult literacy in two sociopolitical eras in Australia: firstly, the social-democratic era that describes the beginnings of adult literacy as a distinct educational field from the late 1970s, and in particular the 1980s; and secondly, the…

The contributions to education of one of the great Latin American thinkers, Paulo Freire, have been enormous. His voice and wisdom have inspired educators globally. Three particular contributions--to emancipation, to literacy, and to dialogue--are explored in this article through a critical lens. From a gender perspective, Freire's path to…

In this article, we locate the "Kha Ri Gude" South African Mass Literacy Campaign within the context of the problem of illiteracy and exclusion in South Africa, while concentrating on various post-apartheid initiatives designed to give visually challenged adults the opportunity to become literate. We shall provide a detailed account of…

This article presents findings of study on women's experiences of Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) as a gateway to their financial progress and welfare in Lango region, Northern Uganda. The qualitative study of 45 participants aimed at examining women's live changes resulting from using their acquired FAL knowledge and skills to participate in…

This study investigates the activities of a village-based literacy centre in Kenya and explores the benefits of community development activities on women's well-being in Africa. Through the analysis of the stories of two Maasai women who had experienced adult literacy learning, the author discovered that: (1) the literacy instructor had inadequate…

The third in UIL's current series of policy briefs, titled "Gender equality matters: Empowering women through literacy programmes," offers research-informed analysis and action-oriented recommendations for local and national governments, providers of literacy programmes and educators on how to reduce the gender gap in adult literacy.…

The fact that women constitute two-thirds of the world's non-literate population has been a cause for concern for several decades. Despite a number of high-profile literacy interventions specifically targeting women--including UNESCO's LIFE initiative--the disparity between male and female literacy rates persists in many countries of the world…

The study examined the political empowerment of women through literacy education programmes in Edo and Delta States in the South-South Geopolitical zone of Nigeria. A sample of 1022 women was randomly drawn from the different levels of literacy classes organised by the Agency of Adult and Nonformal Education and non-governmental and private…

This compilation includes programmes which promote language and culture as resources and see them as an added value rather than a challenge for literacy teaching and learning. It also includes programmes designed to support migrants and refugees by equipping them for integration into mainstream society while strengthening their literacy skills in…