Institutionalised forms of adult learning and education (ALE) such as community learning centres (CLCs) and related models are found in most parts of the world. These are spaces offering opportunities for literacy and skills training, health and citizenship, general, liberal and vocational education, in line with fuller recognition of the meaning…

This is a conceptual article arising from, and grounded in, research with a government-funded primary school serving high-poverty communities in Queensland, Australia. It is one response to the last 10 years of participatory research work led by the three authors of this article (the school principal and two academics). In this article, we write…