Research and the Field of Adult Literacy Education (Part 2 of 3)

Overview & Synopsis

The adult literacy education field draws on research from several disciplines to support the work of educating the 40-44 million U.S. adults who lack the skills to obtain and maintain family sustaining work opportunities (Kirsch et al., 1993). Adult literacy research that documents the prevalence of low literacy in the adult population is useful for increasing awareness, for advocacy, and for educating funders and community partners about the need for, and impact of, adult literacy education. Research from adult and K-12 education are useful for improving professional practice and implementing effective program initiatives and for developing new knowledge about effective instructional strategies, evolving learner needs, and improving learner outcomes. In adult literacy education, efforts are made to use research for each of these purposes at the national, program, and individual levels. This paper documents how Seeds of Literacy, an adult literacy program in Cleveland, Ohio, uses education research to support its work. [For Part 1 of the series, see EJ1353257.]