This article argues for the beneficial interconnectedness of adult basic education as an educational practice, community-based participatory research as a methodological approach, and the framework of transformative learning, for exploring and theorizing about adult learning and education. It is elaborated that these three approaches are connected…

This article is written by two researchers and a teacher involved with the development and implementation of a web-based intelligent tutoring system for adults reading at elementary levels. A description of the tool is provided, followed by some of the challenges faced in designing, developing, and using the tool in adult literacy classrooms.

This article discusses student leadership developed through an instructional approach to teach basic skills instruction within the context of climate hope, regeneration, and transformational resilience. The purposes of this approach are threefold: to develop student leadership, enhance basic skills instruction, and better prepare students for the…

This essay describes the decline in the number of participants enrolled in federally-funded adult basic education (ABE), adult secondary education (ASE), and adult English Language (EL) programs. Enrollment data since 1965 indicate a steep and consistent downward trend in the number of adults enrolling in these programs since the 1990s.…

The focus of the Technology Solutions for Adult Basic Skills Challenges column begins with common challenges facing adult basic skills practitioners, expressed, for example, in the LINCS Integrating Technology group for which I am the moderator, in other LINCS groups, in my national and state conference or webinar presentations, or privately in…

Collaboration is a practice that many providers say they are doing but rarely do we see it translated into the actual work that staff connected with our learners--our customers--do. Our customers face multiple barriers in their desire to succeed and move forward. Leadership with a focus on creating partnerships to address the multiple barriers of…

For nearly one year, the EdTech Center at World Education led a field test of the unique mobile app, Learning Upgrade. In this report, we share use scenarios and observations gleaned from this research in adult English speakers of other languages (ESOL) and basic education programs across the U.S. The field test helps us better understand how and…

The United States needs strong collaboration among adult educators and all social service agencies that support the linguistic, economic and civic integration of refugees and immigrants. Such collaboration can make possible holistic support required to create linkages between English language education and other non-educational support services.…

More than 5 million adults lack both functional literacy (below level 1) and numeracy (below entry level 3); an estimated 11.5 million adults do not have basic digital skills; and one in five adults do not have basic financial capabilities. Around 850,000 people have English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) needs. At the same time,…

The focus of each Technology Solutions for Adult Basic Skills Challenges column begins with a common challenge facing adult basic skills practitioners. This article examines a technology solution to two large and related challenges: student engagement and student persistence, which, from a program or school perspective, is often described as…

This article centres on the narrative of Thuli, a 62-year-old black South African domestic worker taking English language literacy classes outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. For Thuli, English literacy is of vital importance because, as she claims, "if you don't have English, you're just as good as a dead person". Drawing primarily…

We are witnessing a mounting campaign in this country to blame immigrants and refugees for our economic insecurity, rampant violent crime, and a diminished social safety net. Under this banner, our government is using immigration policy to turn away asylum seekers and refugees, separate children from parents, and threaten the Temporary Protected…

Types of non-formal adult education in the USA and Canada are singled out. Non-formal adult education in the United States and Canada is subdivided into basic adult education, education for professional development, education for personal development, specialized adult education, education for the development of civil society (constituents of…

This article reviews teacher professional development norms as they are shifting toward collaborative practice. It is posed that passive and individual practices are inadequate to prepare teachers to integrate the academic skills that learners need for both workforce and college readiness. Promising practices in professional development are…

Literacy and numeracy are central to lifelong learning and sustainable development. In today's fast-changing world, both skills are essential to achieving independence and wellbeing, and provide the basis for sustainable societies with constant socio-economic progress. "Literacy and Numeracy from a Lifelong Learning Perspective," a new…