What’s Going on With Adult Learners? A Survey of Adult Education Programs in Colorado

• In Event: A Bird's Eye View of Adult Learning: Understandings at Scale

Abstract

Thousands of Americans lack the literacy skills necessary to read street signs, navigate medical forms, or hold jobs earning living wages. Some did not finish K-12 schooling. Others have unaddressed learning disabilities, and still others emigrated with limited English proficiency. Publicly funded adult education programs support learners across the country to address these needs. However, little research exists about the scope and quality of such programs. Most work questions program access and appropriate alignment to learner goals but often lacks supporting empirical data. In this study, I describe the characteristics of learners who seek to broaden opportunities through adult education, provide information about learner outcomes, and identify the extent to which concerns from prior research manifest in one state context. 

Author

• Jessica Alzen, University of Colorado - Boulder