In this paper, dialogue among a group of adult women with basic adult education is examined. Women read books of mathematics in the context of a "dialogic mathematics gathering" (DMG). There is limited evidence in research on how adults develop their 'numerical understanding'. The objective of this study is to analyze how adults engage…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and through what mechanisms vulnerable adults are empowered through a second-chance education programme. At the same time, the paper aims at unveiling the obstacles hindering learners' empowerment process and making suggestions for the improvement of the educational programme fostering further…

This article describes how public, nonprofit, and private partners in Detroit are working to improve and expand adult foundational skills development opportunities and connect them to workforce training as the city begins to make an economic comeback. It outlines the adult foundational skills challenge in Detroit, chronicles the work of a strategy…

In this article, the author describes the opportunities she had for putting her cultural and language skills to use. She shares her experiences at the Asian Voices of Organized Youth for Community Empowerment (A-VOYCE) program and at the Participatory Chinatown project. The author never thought that learning about her identity and using what she…

The adult basic education field in the United States has experienced an ebb and flow of interest and investment in "worker education" over the past three decades. Although the rhetoric around workplace basic skills tends to focus on such outcomes as productivity and competitiveness, some proponents of worker basic education see it as a…

Palestinian youth face developmental, cultural, and political barriers that impede them from fully engaging in civic life. Non-traditional, youth-centered pedagogies of engagement, like community-based service-learning (CBSL), have shown promise to motivate marginalized populations and provide space and roles for them to form individual identities…

This paper analyses Botswana's commitment to lifelong learning policy and discusses how it can help the state achieve its vision for sustainable development. First, it argues that while Botswana is renowned for its economic success, it still fails to address positively such traditional challenges as poverty, unemployment and income inequality,…

There are things in the skills White Paper that those who care passionately about lifelong learning and the empowerment of adult learners will welcome. But as well as admiring the angels in the architecture, the author contends, they need to look for the devils in the detail. The White Paper cannot be considered apart from the spending review…

In Paraguay conditions for rural children living in poverty are often difficult. At least 14% of children age 5 years and younger show moderate to severe physical stunting (UNICEF 2009). More than half of the children in primary school have repeated at least one grade by the time they complete the sixth grade. Rural families living in poverty, who…

Adult and community educators have always seen themselves as agents of change, building people's confidence, sense of community and ability to take part in society as well as their knowledge and skills. All the main political parties in the UK have put issues of social justice, social mobility and citizens' empowerment near the top of the policy…

This article introduces a waka tino whakarawea model for evaluating programmes and services for Maori learners. It is based on a set of underlying principles identified in the author's PhD study (Bevan-Brown, 2002). Explanations are provided for eight principles: kaupapa Maori; importance, relevance and beneficence; participation; empowerment,…

The Millennium Development Goals launched in 2001 provide a worldwide agenda to reduce poverty by 2015. Though the eight goals provide synergies for the rapid reduction of poverty, the MDGs have come under criticism for being too narrow and sometimes leaving out critical aspects of human development and well-being. Although the MDGs address some…

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…

Within Ethiopia's overall development strategy, the Integrated Women's Empowerment Programme (IWEP) aims to develop, test and implement a comprehensive nationwide approach to empower women and their households in selected areas of all regions/national states of Ethiopia. The programme provides functional literacy education and livelihood skills…

Participatory literacy programmes in developing countries are often seen as an important tool for women's empowerment and equality. This article problematises the way in which evaluation of progress towards these goals is couched in a linear trajectory, and often fails to uncover the messy reality of women's negotiations to achieve their own aims.…