"A Big and Excellent Opportunity for My Future": Adult Learner Leadership in Education Services

• In Event: Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: Intersections of Literacy, Leadership, and Identities of Adult Women

Abstract

VALUEUSA, a national non-profit run by and for adult learners, defines adult learner leadership as adult learner involvement in all components of adult literacy programs. VALUEUSA and its evaluator designed a two-year study, Adult Learner Leadership in Education Services (ALLIES). The purpose of ALLIES is to evaluate how adult learners can benefit a program as they pursue learning and leadership goals. In 2014-15, 21 programs in multiple states were randomly selected and baseline data were collected. Preliminary results from surveys on educational experiences and perceptions of leadership and from critical thinking assessments are summarized for 15 initial AE programs; data collection continues in 2015-16. The final paper will include results from all 21 programs in the study’s first year.

Author

• Margaret B. Patterson, Research Allies for Lifelong Learning