Functional education and human development are not mutually exclusive. To achieve an all-round development, the fourth Sustainable Development Goal partly emphasizes the need to '… promote lifelong learning opportunities for all' by year 2030. This article, therefore, uses a case study approach to analyse the impact of a government funded adult…

Education is a major tool for development and equalizer. This somewhat accounts for the quest for education, at various levels, including adults who were unable to attain an education degree earlier in life. Thus, Adult Education and Training (AET) programmes are established in different community centres to promote adult literacy in different…

This study assessed the functional impacts of adult literacy programme among rural women participants in Ishielu Local Government Area (LGA) of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population of the study was made up of 115 adult instructors and 2,408 adult learners giving a total of 2,623. The sample…

In the current context of extensive national and cross-cultural migration, the education of migrant and refugee children is an important and critical consideration. In the U.S., the education of migrant children--who move with their farm worker parents within states, across state borders and sometimes across national borders--brings challenges…

This handbook presents a wide range of research on adults who have low literacy skills. It looks at the cognitive, affective, and motivational factors underlying adult literacy; adult literacy in different countries; and the educational approaches being taken to help improve adults' literacy skills. It includes not only adults enrolled in adult…

Research in a rural area of northern Cameroon where most adults describe themselves as illiterate reveals a complex picture in which three languages are used in different ways and in different domains of life. The profile of the literacy practices associated with these languages is correspondingly complex. This paper argues that it is important…

This paper challenges constructions of the "gendered illiterate Indian villager" as a homogenous group of people who are empowered through acquiring literacy. I strive to displace homogeneous representations of gendered "illiterate" subjects through ethnographic accounts of diverse people's realities in different villages in…

This article describes experiences of an adult educator (Kofi Quan-Baffour) at the University of South Africa, 1995 to 2009, teaching tutorial classes to train teachers who, in turn, would offer adult literacy classes/sessions (in relation to adult basic education and training [ABET] policies initiated post-1994). The article aims to make a…

This study reports the results of a needs analysis of literacy programs for a library system serving three rural and suburban counties. It examines the computing skills and needs of literacy tutors as well as native-speaking and English language learner (ELL) literacy tutees enrolled in the programs. Paper surveys were mailed to tutors, who were…

Legislation over the past two decades has shaped the dominant view of adult literacy as addressing gaps in well-defined, measurable skills. As rural communities face unprecedented challenges, this one-size-fits-all view of adult literacy does not consider the unique local context of rural communities or involve those communities in defining their…

Background/Context: In contrast to cultural constructs that equate education with cognitive development and formal schooling, the Latin American cultural model of educacion encompasses academic knowledge and social competence. Prior scholarship has mainly investigated parental notions of educacion vis-a-vis childrearing and schooling, primarily…

Background/Context: Educational researchers have long sought to understand the factors that enable or constrain persistence in non-formal family literacy and adult education programs. Scholars typically posit three sets of factors influencing persistence: situational (learners' life circumstances), institutional (programmatic factors), and…

Historically, letter reading and writing have been pervasive across human societies, cultures, and communities (Barton & Hall, 2000). Like all literate activities, it derives its meaning and significance from how it is situated within cultural beliefs, values, and practices. Despite its prevalence, however, little is known about the meanings…