Addressing the Challenges of Adult Literacy and Basic Education

Many adults struggle to improve their literacy skills, which can result in poor employment opportunities, economic stagnation or unemployment; reduced civic participation; and difficulties raising children.

Successful health literacy projects have demonstrated how adult learning programs can enhance both core literacy skills and health-related behaviors, making their integration into national lifelong learning systems a key challenge.

Basic skills

In the US, approximately 14% of adults possess below-basic levels of literacy and numeracy, not including those who do not speak enough English to take part in standard reading assessments.

Many adults who struggle with basic skills have not completed K-12 education successfully and may have experienced multiple interruptions that make learning new courses and courses challenging. These barriers make taking up new courses and expanding knowledge incredibly challenging.

Innovative programs in both the public and private sectors are investigating ways to help these adults escape poverty through teaching life management skills like goal-setting, financial planning, family stability, and executive function capabilities. Their innovations stem from an understanding that improved basic skills lead to higher incomes which improve life chances overall.

These skills are also key for meeting the challenges presented by society and economic environments, such as decreasing infant mortality rates, controlling population growth rates, attaining gender equality and supporting sustainable development initiatives.

Digital skills

Digital skills are competencies that allow individuals to operate effectively in the digital environment. This includes understanding cyber safety measures and being able to distinguish legitimate information from misinformation; using online tools effectively; as well as being able to collaborate effectively within virtual environments while being aware of all available platforms for content distribution.

These capabilities go beyond basic computer literacy, which involves operating and understanding a word processing program. They are vital for communicating with other individuals for work or personal purposes; carrying out various financial transactions; accessing relevant information that helps in their daily lives.

Adults looking to develop digital skills must have access to training, support and practice opportunities. Some organizations have used two-way interactive broadcast technology for staff development teleconferences; these programs generally depend on state or special federal funding.

Lifelong learning

Lifelong learning refers to the continuous pursuit of knowledge and understanding from formal and informal sources, both formal and informal. It forms an essential component of adult literacy and basic education as it builds resilience, confidence and motivation to continue learning for various reasons such as seeking out new opportunities, personal growth or enhanced quality of life.

Lifelong learners understand that their work does not define them, and appreciate the incredible privilege of ongoing intellectual development. They keep up their skills and knowledge by attending courses related to emerging technologies, cultivating passions of their own while meeting like-minded peers who enjoy what they do.

Although there has been widespread consensus on the need to view literacy as an ongoing process, its practical implementation in most countries remains limited, due to a lack of clarity regarding how a lifelong learning framework could apply specifically to adult literacy and basic education contexts.

Workplace literacy

Poor literacy costs businesses money. Literacy training enables employers to attract and retain skilled employees, increase productivity and foster company culture while simultaneously improving frontline workers' lives who often possess low reading and writing abilities.

Workplace literacy services provided by eligible adult education providers in collaboration with employers are reported on the I6R in order to track employer engagement and employer-driven instruction. Ideally, this instructional approach should incorporate occupationally relevant content or text that aligns with employee outcomes (such as certification).

Marek Brothers Construction was one of HCDE's longstanding educational partners, wherein we designed and delivered Workplace English classes tailored specifically to their business's needs - this resulted in enhanced employee skills, stronger partnerships with Marek Brothers Construction, as well as more opportunities for additional job training.