Adult basic education in Australia: in need of a new song sheet?

Abstract

Adult Basic Education (ABE) emerged in Australia as an organic, practitioner-driven field motivated by social justice concerns; however, neoliberal ethos has now overtaken the driver’s seat of the field. The changes in ABE from a practitioner led provision to what remains now is a story covering over four decades. Ironically, however, what has been most impactful in recent years is the absence of an identifiable policy. Tracing the ABE’s trajectory into a policy vacuum, and analysing the difficulty this vacuum presents for activists within the field, the chapter points to possibilities of resistance that may strengthen and restore an ethos of social justice in the field.