The imagined learner in adult literacy education policy research: An international comparison

Abstract

This article provides a comparative analysis of the ways in which learners are portrayed in researchers’ descriptions of adult literacy education policy. Although adult learners are rarely referred to directly in policy or in policy research, a range of assumptions about them may be inferred through close analysis of related research literature. This analysis draws on an earlier meta-synthesis (prepared by the first author and Amy Pickard) of adult learner portrayals in qualitative research which identified a typology of “learner characters” that were predictably employed in descriptions across a large variety of texts. They argued that these learner types were likely to “drive the action” in terms of further research, policy and practice just like characters drive the plot in literary narratives. Asking “Who are the (imagined) learners in research that describes policy documents pertaining to adult literacy?”, this article takes this line of thought further by demonstrating that identifying learner types in policy analysis research can inform thinking about who the policy is really for, what is valued, and who benefits. This, in turn, can provide researchers with a distinctive lens for policy analysis and critique. The authors of this article identify five types of imagined learners: the Problem, the Pawn, the Afterthought, the Competitor, and the Competent Citizen.