Globally, literacy can be conceived of in different ways. Two perspectives that have influenced adult literacy policy internationally are the economic functionalist and the sociocultural. In Aotearoa New Zealand, Maori educators have repeatedly advanced a matauranga Maori perspective of literacy. This perspective has parallels with the embodied,…

This chapter provides an overview of the history of learning and educational policies and programmes affecting older adults in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past 50 years. It builds on my previous work and draws on a wide body of primary and secondary sources including policy documents and reports from the New Zealand Government's Office for…

Educationalists lament the resilience of the so-called 'boy crisis', despite research that demonstrates only some boys are in crisis, as well as some girls. The boy crisis in New Zealand shows no sign of abating, partly due to popular rhetorical literature in the form of parenting advice books. In particular, authors Celia Lashlie and Nigel Latta…

This article deals with the work of polytechnic tutors on adult foundation programmes and describes how their work has been affected by the current neoliberal climate in the education sector. Inclusive neoliberalism is characterised by heightened regulation, reduced support for the public sector and a greater requirement for individual…

This paper focuses on the rapidly expanding field of largescale international assessment surveys and their impact on the field of adult education and learning. I take the case of OECD's survey assessing adult skills (PIAAC) and situate it within the wider context of the datification of educational policy and practice. The claims made for the…

This article reviews current research about three short focused literacy, language and numeracy programmes designed to assist New Zealand Maori (indigenous) adult students and their whanau. Whanau is a complex Maori concept that includes physical and metaphysical dimensions based on the Maori worldview of whakapapa (genealogy) and is at the heart…

Basic education is essential if societies and economies are to thrive and become sustainable in challenging times. However, many people have never had an opportunity to benefit from education and many others leave the initial phase of education without attaining the level of proficiency in literacy and numeracy needed to participate fully in…

This paper is interested in projecting the likely purposes, pedagogies and practices influencing lifewide adult education in New Zealand ten years from now. It first identifies learning spaces in which lifewide adult education takes place. It explores formal, non-formal and informal spaces which conform to or oppose dominant ideological policies,…

This monograph aims to provide a brief but critical history of adult and community education in Aotearoa over the past fifty years. It draws on primary and secondary sources as well as a substantial body of previous research much of which has yet to be published. The focus of this work is on changing policy environments and their impact on adult…

Changes in tertiary education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand in the last decade have impacted on adult and community education (ACE). Marginalized and understood as non-formal education at the turn of the century, ACE is now part of the "tertiary landscape". It is explicitly steered by education policy, its role severely narrowed, its…

This article addresses the possibilities for adult educators to exercise professional agency in contexts which have become dominated by neoliberalism. It draws on research undertaken in England and New Zealand which investigated the impact of global discourses and policies on experienced adult educators whose philosophy of practice was orientated…

In this paper, we examine the nature of and reasons for employer-funded literacy, language and numeracy (LLN) workplace training in New Zealand, during a period where government funding has been available. To place these programmes in context, we give a historically nuanced account of employer-funded programmes in New Zealand and then look at the…

This paper examines the Incredible Years Parent and Teacher Programmes that have originated from the work of Webster-Stratton. It provides a brief background on the programmes and a critical analysis of the issues as identified in current literature. The issues can be grouped into four main categories, the first being government decision-making…

This paper examines tensions between adult literacy policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and the philosophies and mission of one post-school institution, a Wananga, an institution focused on the education of Maori, Aotearoa New Zealand's indigenous people. It uses policy documents, interview data and complexity thinking to explore the tensions created…

In this paper, we examine interviews with 34 stakeholders including tutors, administrators and adult education policy analysts who were working in the area of adult numeracy and/or literacy education. This provided opportunities for our research team to build up a clearer picture of the current status, plans, benefits and barriers related to…