Low levels of health literacy have been linked statistically with decreased health and quality of life, increased mortality, and financial and economic impoverishment at the individual and community levels of analysis. The problem space for this dissertation research was comprised of the problem of low levels of health literacy, problems that are…

The purpose of this research was to develop an understanding of the shared lived experiences of women with ACEs who dropped out of high school, later returning to adult literacy programs to receive remedial education to prepare for and complete GED requirements, and explored the barriers they had to overcome to do so. The following research…

This dissertation focuses on the educational aspirations and expectations of a heterogeneous group of women who were enrolled in, or had graduated from, adult education and literacy programs in Boston, Massachusetts. The research questions guiding the inquiry are: (1) Why do educationally disadvantaged women value education--how are these values…