Forum: Broadening the Lens on Adult Literacy Education Outcomes - Part 1 of 3 - A Lifelong and Life-Wide Framework for Adult Literacy Education

Oct 15, 2026

Adult literacy education outcomes require a repositioning within a lifelong and life-wide learning framework. The forum critiques how neoliberalism reshaped adult education by privileging “free markets,” treating learners mainly as economic actors, and narrowing goals to human capital measured through standardized attainment and literacy/numeracy tests. It reviews how U.S. legislation such as WIA and WIOA steered funding toward employer-oriented compliance and testing, limiting access for those most in need. It argues for funding basic skills programs aligned with broader adult and community goals, illustrated through time-lagged research examples.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

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Forum: Broadening the Lens on Adult Literacy Education Outcomes

Part 1 of 3 - A Lifelong and Life-Wide Framework for Adult Literacy Education

Repositioning adult literacy within lifelong and life-wide learning

Neoliberal influence on policy, funding, and assessment

Limits of WIA and WIOA compliance regimes

Need for broader goals and funding beyond narrow outcomes

ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION Spring 2020 Forum: Broadening the Lens on Adult Literacy Education Outcomes (Part 1 of 3) A Lifelong and Life-Wide Framework for Adult Literacy Education Stephen Reder, Portland State University In this forum, I argue that adult literacy education needs to be repositioned within a new framework of lifelong and life-wide learning, a framework in which new policies are formulated, programs are designed and evaluated, and research is funded and carried out. To appreciate how much this suggested framework differs from the neoliberal framework in which adult education is currently embedded, it is worth considering briefly how neoliberalism has gained its foothold in (some would say its stranglehold on) adult education. Many who started their careers in adult education in the 1970s or before were initially drawn into the field by the strong connections among adult literacy, social justice, community development and human empowerment. Influenced by visionaries and activists such as Paulo Freire, adult educators once aimed for broad programmatic outcomes in social, economic and political arenas, both in the United States and around the world. The heady optimism and activism of adult education started to evaporate in the 1980s as the hegemony of neoliberalism developed, prioritizing“free markets” as the mechanism for solving a wide range of social, economic and educational problems. Neoliberalism made inroads into all levels of education, emphasizing the “knowledge economy” that valued individuals only as economic actors, essentially disregarding the importance of education for a wide range of individual and societal outcomes (Tett & Hamilton, 2019). Neoliberalism narrowed the purpose of adult education to increasing human capital as measured by increases in educational attainment and standardized literacy and numeracy test scores. National and cross-national assessment surveys of adult skills, education, employment and earnings (e.g., NALS, IALS, ALL, PIAAC) and a large body of research seemed to confirm the importance of both education and literacy and numeracy skills for economic success in countries around the world (e.g., Commission on Skills of the American Workforce 1990; Hanushek 2015; Kirsch et al 2007). In opposition to this juggernaut, strong critiques have been written about this burgeoning neoliberal framework (e.g., Street 1985, 1999; Hamilton 2012; Tett & Hamilton 2019). The neoliberal framework heavily influenced public funding of adult education in the United States and other countries. In the United States, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and later the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) legislation funded programs tailored to help adult students increase their standardized test scores, obtain high school equivalency, find Correspondence: Stephen Reder, [reders@pdx.edu](reders@pdx.edu) 48 employment or enter vocational training or postsecondary education. Practitioners often report that these programs are designed primarily to meet the needs of employers and workforce development stakeholders rather than the needs of the adult students. To be sure, many students have goals that are consistent with the workforce development agenda, but many other adults needing stronger basic skills have other learning goals and motivations. From what I’ve observed, many practitioners initially resisted the rigid testing and accountability regimes that WIA/ WIOA imposed on their programs, but over time these regimes became more familiar and more widely accepted presumably because there were few alternative sources of program funding. Practitioners and program administrators often report difficulties working within the WIOA framework to meet the needs of all potential adult education students they could serve. WIOA’s funding and compliance regimes often effectively prevent programs from serving those most in need. In responding to these persistent limitations over many ye

FAQs

Why does the forum argue adult literacy education needs a new framework?

It argues adult literacy outcomes should be repositioned within lifelong and life-wide learning, so policies, programs, evaluation, and research funding better reflect adult learners’ broader goals beyond narrow economic measures.

How did neoliberalism change the purpose of adult education?

Neoliberalism prioritized free markets and reframed education around the knowledge economy, valuing individuals mainly as economic actors and narrowing adult education goals to human capital measured by standardized tests.

What practical funding limitations does WIA/WIOA create for adult education programs?

WIA and WIOA funding and compliance regimes steer programs toward standardized score improvements and similar workforce-oriented targets, often preventing services for those most in need and making it harder to pursue research or instruction not directly tied to mandated outcomes.

Oct 15, 2026

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