No pitiful stories: Looking at the relationship between adult literacy programs and empowerment

Abstract

Many adult literacy programs promise would‐be students significant increases in their abilities and sweeping changes in their lives, which are described in their promotional materials by words such as control and empowerment. Academic discourse about literacy offers no systematic definition or examination of this alleged phenomenon. This study explores theoretical and methodological frameworks for considering the relationship between adult literacy programs and empowerment. The research question is: How can the experiences of adult learners be systematically presented and theoretically understood in relation to empowerment claims? Evidence offered in the study is a sampling of promotional literature from adult literacy programs and selections from the transcripts of five focus group discussions and 25 personal interviews conducted with adult learners in literacy programs, in Philadelphia, PA. The promotional literature is presented as evidence of the empowerment claims made by literacy‐providing agencies;...