Adult Literacy Learners are (Mostly) Missing from JAAL: Rethinking Adulthood, Adult Literacy, and doing Antiracist Research

Abstract

This commentary urges researchers and readers to rethink definitions of adulthood and its relevance in literacy research by arguing that adult readers are distinct from children and even college students. More specifically, it argues that adult literacy learners (those reading at the 8th‐grade level equivalent or below and those who did not complete high school) have challenges and needs that are distinct yet often ignored. Taking up a focus in this area is antiracist because it seeks to undue the disproportionate impact of inequitable educational opportunities for adult learners of color.