Dissertation
Perceptions of how literacy and numeracy instructions influence the lives of adult learners: a qualitative multiple case study of learners with low literacy skills
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Dec 2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000102
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and perspectives of six adult learners with low literacy skills about how their involvement in the instructional programs at two local District of Columbia programs influenced their daily lives. The study specifically sought the learners' responses to how literacy and numeracy instructions impacted their lived experiences in the following four areas: (a) their involvement in community activities, (b) their level of self-confidence, (c) their interaction with family members, and (d) their economic well-being. The researcher used structured and unstructured interviews during the data gathering phase of the study, then categorized the data into themes through a process of axial coding. Complementary triangulation, which involved the simultaneous and comparative review of the responses to the interviews, and the use of self-narratives and memos in a reflexive engagement with the data, yielded qualitative data in response to the research questions posed. The study found that all learners perceived that they have derived some benefit from the instructions received at the two sites. Specifically, the benefits include greater involvement in their communities, an increase in their level of self-confidence; involvement of the family in the adults' learning experiences, and, in a few instances, an improved economic well-being. Nonetheless, the study found that most of the adult students received high school diplomas from District high schools, even though they could not read. This phenomenon highlighted flaws in the K-12 sector that point to a likely increase in the population of adult learners in the future who will be nonreaders. The study concluded that addressing the needs of a burgeoning population of functionally illiterate adults would require more innovative methods of instruction that adhere to Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy. Critical pedagogy, the study concluded, would draw on the learners' lived experiences to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. The study also determined that government officials should allocate more funding to support programs that teach adult learners how to read, because existing initiatives are not equipped to serve the growing numbers of adult learners with low literacy skills.
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Details
- Title
- Perceptions of how literacy and numeracy instructions influence the lives of adult learners
- Creators
- Venola Mae Rolle
- Contributors
- Dominic F. Gullo (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- viii, 132 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991014695242104721