The mechanics' institute movement of the British Isles has been underrated by some historians, who have argued that many of the institutes were attended by the middle and upper classes. In any case, they state that by the 1850s, they were declining in both popularity and usefulness. This paper questions these assumptions, concentrating on the…

Adult education ESOL teachers usually know a lot about learners' lives inside the classroom, but they are less aware of learners' lives outside that space. This article focuses on learner talk about "Ingles Sin Barreras," a heavily advertised English-language program for Spanish-speakers who want to learn English. I analyzed learner talk…

Assumptions about learner identity are often based on a deficit view of the working classes. This chapter illustrates an alternative discourse that shows how one family literacy program in Scotland generated useful knowledge.

This research anthology is the third volume in a series sponsored by the Special Interest Group-Research on the Education of Asian and Pacific Americans (SIG-REAPA) of the American Educational Research Association and National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education. This series explores and explains the lived experiences of Asian and…