Training design for social inclusion: The impact of sociodemographic factors on immigrant learners in Dutch adult education programs

Abstract

This study explores the impact of adult basic education programs aimed at enhancing social inclusion for immigrant learners in the Netherlands. Basic literacy skills are vital for performing everyday tasks and building human capital, which in turn facilitates employment and skill acquisition. Low adult literacy is often associated with social exclusion and poverty, which can have detrimental effects on mental health and further reinforce marginalization. We analyzed two adult education programs (N = 171) conducted in 2019, within the context of lifelong learning policies designed to support adults with low literacy skills. Our findings confirm the positive effects of these educational programs on social inclusion outcomes. Through logistic regression and moderation analyses, we examined how participants’ sociodemographic backgrounds influenced their social inclusion outcomes following the program. Key pre-training conditions, such as prior education and employment status, influenced how participants engaged with a positively perceived learning environment. Assertiveness emerged as a significant outcome, affecting changes across various aspects of social inclusion. These results suggest that acquiring new skills empowers participants to reshape their self-perceived literacy identity. This study adds to the body of literature on adult education by emphasizing the importance of training design and sociodemographic factors in fostering social inclusion for immigrant learners.