Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of an expanded, workable conception of rural youth and adult education that will move Brazil closer to a fair, egalitarian society focused on human development. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses a qualitative bibliographic perspective, analyzing historical data extracted from…

Understanding the origins of poor literacy and numeracy skills in adulthood and how to improve them is of major importance when society places a high premium on proficiency in these basic skills. This edited collection brings together the results of recent longitudinal studies that greatly extend our knowledge of what works in raising skill…

Two decades ago an adult who was innumerate and illiterate was considered to be at a great disadvantage in terms of navigating the challenges of individual personal growth and in terms of being able to participate actively in public life. However, today adults who are computer illiterate are considered to be at a similar disadvantage. The sad…

This paper argues that many internationally financed literacy programs do not sufficiently take into consideration important daily life issues of the learners, including nutritional deficiencies that may hinder learning, or of children-parent-society interactions that may improve learning. As a result, many programs have become synonymous with…

This study uses data from the Canadian panel of the International Adult Literacy Survey to examine the relations between schooling, literacy and occupational assignment and to determine the extent to which returns to over- and under-education are in fact returns to literacy skills. Two measures of required training time for the job are used, both…

There is a strong and growing argument for higher educational attainment in the United States. The jobs that are expected to support the economy in the coming years will depend on a skilled workforce that is able to learn and adapt quickly to new challenges. However, demographic patterns demonstrate that relying on the traditional K-16 pipeline to…