Transforming lives through a literacy program: An exploration of adult learners’ experiences

Nearly one-quarter of American adults have low-level literacy skills. Existing research provides a great deal of quantitative information about skill levels and attainment, but little information exists that highlights the contextualized experiences of adult learners. In this phenomenological study, we explored individual adult learners’ experiences in a community-based literacy program. A purposive sample of eight adult learners participated in semi-structured interviews. The study shows that the tutors’ caring and understanding attitude towards the learners, friendship relationships between the tutors and learners, and the tutors’ use of individualized interventions for their learners were vital in shaping their positive learning experience. The study also highlights how the learners’ motivation and support system played in helping them persist in the program. The literacy program transformed their lives and meant “a chance” for making a change.