Youth in Adult Literacy Education Programs

The growing number of youth enrolling in adult literacy education is a little-documented trend across the nation that is having a major impact on programs in some areas but appears to be unnoticed by educational policymakers and researchers. A central question is whether youth enrollments provide an opportunity for adult literacy education to serve dropouts as soon as possible after they leave school (thereby improving their ability to obtain better jobs, pursue further education, and contribute to their communities), or whether problems associated with serving these youth outweigh any benefits. The information the author gathered for this chapter does not suggest a definitive answer to this question, but it does lay the groundwork for a more informed response. There is clearly a need for more research to determine, for example, whether adult literacy education is successful in helping these youth earn high school credentials. In addition, there are important policy issues, such as whether adult literacy programs should receive additional funding to serve such youth. (Contains 2 notes.) [Chapter 3 in: Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy. Volume 1; copublished with Jossey-Bass, Inc.; see ED436673.]