Book Review: Review of Adult Learning and Literacy

Abstract

Review of Adult Learning and Literacy is published annually by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL). Volume 4 (Review Four) follows a format established in earlier reviews, “begin[ning] with an overview of significant developments in the field of adult education and literacy during the year, and conclud[ing] with an essay and bibliography on a broad topic of current interest” (p. ix). At a time when political pressures are refocusing precious research dollars away from adult literacy, Review Four is designed to help “policy makers, scholars, and practitioners” keep adult literacy “at the forefront” and “improve services for learners based on solid information from research” (p. xi). A multiplicity of stances, theories, models, disciplines, and practices that intersect with adult learning and literacy are contained in Review Four. This is described in terms of “diversity” and “complexity” (p. vii), a “colorful mosaic” (p. 199), and a “pluralism” (p. 185). Readers who are not familiar with the breadth of research supported by NCSALL will quickly learn that they are not reading about a single discipline, but rather about such interdisciplinary topics as performance measurement and assessment; power relations among marginalized learners, practitioners, JOURNAL OF LITERACY RESEARCH, 38(2), 235–245 Copyright © 2006, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.