Theory and Practice in Adult Literacy, Learning and Social Change
Theoretical Insights and Case Studies from Around the World
Published on 4. September 2025
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-350-40070-2 (ISBN)
Description
Offering new theoretical, empirical and methodological perspectives on adult literacy, lifelong learning and social change, this book challenges traditional debates on adult literacy and development.
The volume brings together debates and research from the Global South and Global North and is original in moving beyond descriptive accounts of adult literacy programmes, classrooms and a focus on best practice. It provides both a historical perspective on this field as well as looking forward to future research and pedagogical directions.
By broadening from an international development to a social change perspective, this book offers an alternative starting point. Unlike development, social transformation does not set a specific agenda, nor assume a certain endpoint. The authors set out to investigate the 'why' and 'how' of the assumed connections between adult learning, literacy and social change, contributing a deeper understanding into the complex - and often unpredictable - processes involved.
As well as focusing on literacy learning in classrooms and educational programmes, the book explores literacy practices and adult learning in everyday spaces, including social movements, religious poetry and community initiatives. Case studies from different cultural contexts introduce alternative theoretical lenses, like the concept of the enacted body to explore a woman's experience of learning and social change in Nepal; or investigating how religious poetry shared between generations in Iran could be working against social change.
The volume brings together debates and research from the Global South and Global North and is original in moving beyond descriptive accounts of adult literacy programmes, classrooms and a focus on best practice. It provides both a historical perspective on this field as well as looking forward to future research and pedagogical directions.
By broadening from an international development to a social change perspective, this book offers an alternative starting point. Unlike development, social transformation does not set a specific agenda, nor assume a certain endpoint. The authors set out to investigate the 'why' and 'how' of the assumed connections between adult learning, literacy and social change, contributing a deeper understanding into the complex - and often unpredictable - processes involved.
As well as focusing on literacy learning in classrooms and educational programmes, the book explores literacy practices and adult learning in everyday spaces, including social movements, religious poetry and community initiatives. Case studies from different cultural contexts introduce alternative theoretical lenses, like the concept of the enacted body to explore a woman's experience of learning and social change in Nepal; or investigating how religious poetry shared between generations in Iran could be working against social change.
Reviews / Votes
'This inspiring book offers insightful theoretical and methodological approaches for exploring ways in which processes and practices in adult literacy and lifelong learning can be perceived as intertwined with social change, lived experiences and embodied spaces of minoritised groups of people.' * Priti Chopra, University of Greenwich, UK *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
10 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
614 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-40070-2 (9781350400702)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Catherine Kell is Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and was Director of the School of Education from 2017 to 2020. She has taught in the field of language and literacy studies for over three decades in South Africa and New Zealand, with a brief spell in Tanzania.
Anna Robinson-Pant is Professor of Education at the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia, UK. She holds the UNESCO Chair in Adult Literacy and Learning for Social Transformation.
Anna Robinson-Pant is Professor of Education at the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia, UK. She holds the UNESCO Chair in Adult Literacy and Learning for Social Transformation.
Content
List of photographs and maps
List of contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction, Catherine Kell and Anna Robinson-Pant
Section 1: Theoretical perspectives on literacy, learning and social change
1. Why literacy and social change?, Anna Robinson-Pant
2. Unpacking the linguistic in changing conceptualisations of literacy: language/s, script/s and ontologies, Catherine Kell
3. "Widow" as a bodily assemblage: Reconceptualising the body in learning and change, Amina Singh
4. The coloniality of literacy: Latinisation and Arabicisation of the script in Sudan, Ashraf Abdelhay, Mohammad Alkhair and Abdelrahim Hamid Mugaddam
5. Adult literacy as a catalyst for empowerment, Vicky Duckworth and Amanda Fulford
Section 2: Literacy practices and social change: trajectories, identities and resources
6. "We learn in struggle": the contributions of Literacy Studies for Adult Education in Brazil, Claudia Lemos Vovio and Luanda Rejane Soares Sito
7. A telling tale: Life history, Dalit women and literacy for social change, Malini Ghose
8. Protest literacies in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro: Social change or social transformation?, Jamie D. I. Duncan
9. The Role of Literature in Resisting Social Change: A Small-Scale Case Study, Mostafa Hasrati and Pedram Lalbhaksh
Section 3: Taking hold of adult literacy and learning in policy and practice
10. A changing adult literacy and learning landscape: case studies from Indigenous Australia, Ros Bauer and Inge Kral
11. Adults' eloquence literacy as a means of adapting to social transformation: A case study on adult literacy in Xi'an, China, Dengke Liu, Rong Wen, Chenbing Wu and Jiacheng Li
12. A Haven and a Vehicle: Generating transformational learning experiences in a formal university graduate school using adult nonformal education methods, Michael Gibbons, Tom Lent and Beck Waghorne
13. Learning for global social justice: the contribution of global citizenship and education for sustainable development, Douglas Bourn
List of contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction, Catherine Kell and Anna Robinson-Pant
Section 1: Theoretical perspectives on literacy, learning and social change
1. Why literacy and social change?, Anna Robinson-Pant
2. Unpacking the linguistic in changing conceptualisations of literacy: language/s, script/s and ontologies, Catherine Kell
3. "Widow" as a bodily assemblage: Reconceptualising the body in learning and change, Amina Singh
4. The coloniality of literacy: Latinisation and Arabicisation of the script in Sudan, Ashraf Abdelhay, Mohammad Alkhair and Abdelrahim Hamid Mugaddam
5. Adult literacy as a catalyst for empowerment, Vicky Duckworth and Amanda Fulford
Section 2: Literacy practices and social change: trajectories, identities and resources
6. "We learn in struggle": the contributions of Literacy Studies for Adult Education in Brazil, Claudia Lemos Vovio and Luanda Rejane Soares Sito
7. A telling tale: Life history, Dalit women and literacy for social change, Malini Ghose
8. Protest literacies in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro: Social change or social transformation?, Jamie D. I. Duncan
9. The Role of Literature in Resisting Social Change: A Small-Scale Case Study, Mostafa Hasrati and Pedram Lalbhaksh
Section 3: Taking hold of adult literacy and learning in policy and practice
10. A changing adult literacy and learning landscape: case studies from Indigenous Australia, Ros Bauer and Inge Kral
11. Adults' eloquence literacy as a means of adapting to social transformation: A case study on adult literacy in Xi'an, China, Dengke Liu, Rong Wen, Chenbing Wu and Jiacheng Li
12. A Haven and a Vehicle: Generating transformational learning experiences in a formal university graduate school using adult nonformal education methods, Michael Gibbons, Tom Lent and Beck Waghorne
13. Learning for global social justice: the contribution of global citizenship and education for sustainable development, Douglas Bourn