Abstract of

Does Basic Skills Education Affect Adults' Literacy Proficiencies and Reading Practices?

Janet K. Sheehan-Holt

M Cecil Smith

A number of studies illustrate that the best predictor of adult reading ability is education. Schooling's contribution to the development of literacy has been termed a literacy development effect. This effect has not, however, been demonstrated for adults at the lower end of the literacy skills continuum who have participated in basic skills education, as the findings of previous studies have been equivocal on literacy gains. The National Adult Literacy Survey served as the data source for this investigation, which focuses on a sample of adults who participated in various basic skills education programs. Using hierarchical linear modeling, and controlling for a number of demographic variables, home environment, and neighborhood factors to account for a priori differences between participants and non-participants, no association was found between participation in such programs and literacy skills, nor between type of basic skills program, or recency of participation and literacy proficiencies. There was, however, a positive association between participation and several types of reading practices. The findings suggest that adult basic skills programs may be ineffective for developing the kinds of literacy proficiencies assessed by the NALS-reading and understanding prose and documents materials and texts containing quantitative information. Such programs appear, however, to motivate adults to use a variety of reading practices, such as using newspapers, books, and work-related documents. We discuss why basic skills education may not lead to improved literacy skills and offer implications for educational policy pertaining to adult education. Further research is needed to more precisely identify the learning outcomes for adults in basic skills education programs.

Abstract from Sheehan-Holt, J.K., & Smith, M. (2000). Does Basic Skills Education Affect Adults' Literacy Proficiencies and Reading Practices?. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(2), 226–243. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.35.2.2