Defining Success in Adult Basic Education Settings: Multiple Stakeholders, Multiple Perspectives

Abstract

This study employed quantitative and qualitative research approaches to investigate what constitutes “success” in Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs from the perspectives of multiple educational stakeholders: the state funding agency, the teachers, and the students. Success was defined in multiple ways. In the quantitative section of the study, we computed classroom value-added scores (used as a metric of the state’s definition of success) to identify more and less effective ABE classrooms in two Florida counties. In the qualitative section of the study, we observed and conducted interviews with teachers and students in the selected classrooms to investigate how these stakeholders defined success in ABE. Iterative consideration of the qualitative data revealed three principal markers of success: (a) instructional strategies and teacher-student interactions; (b) views on standardized testing; and (c) student motivational factors. In general, classrooms with higher value-added scores were characterized by multiple instructional approaches, positive and collaborative teacher-student interactions, and students engaging in goal setting and citing motivational factors such as family and personal fulfillment. The implications for ABE programs are discussed.

Modeling the Relations Among Morphological Awareness Dimensions, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension in Adult Basic Education Students

“…Adult basic education programs are designed to provide instruction to adults (ages 16 and older and not concurrently enrolled in K-12 education) in order to complete a General Educational Development certificate (GED; or high school equivalency degree). These programs cater to a heterogeneous group of learners in terms of age, race/ethnicity, learning disability status, English language learner status, educational background, and motivations for pursuing a GED certificate ( Lesgold and Welch-Ross, 2012 ; Tighe et al, 2013 ). Many of these programs suffer from under-funding, over-crowding, high teacher turnover rates, high student attrition rates, and a lack of empirically based, standardized curricular materials and instructional practices ( Lesgold and Welch-Ross, 2012 ).…”

Learners’ experience and perceived impact of a health literacy program in adult basic education: a qualitative study

“…This is particularly important in the context of adult basic education where learners' goals, perspectives and definitions of success may not be related to the accountability goals of other stakeholders. 29 One limitation of this study is that we only interviewed participants from health literacy classes and do not know how much of the observed advantage was a result of the health literacy intervention. We also did not interview participants who dropped out of the program, and our sample differed from the larger randomised controlled trial sample on self-reported employment status and reasons for taking the course.…”

Exploring an intelligent tutoring system as a conversation-based assessment tool for reading comprehension

“…Adults with low literacy skills tend to vary not only in demographic variables (age, gender, and race/ ethnicity), but also in terms of educational backgrounds, learning disabilities, and primary languages (English or other) as well as their motivation for taking part in adult literacy courses (National Research Council 2011). For instance, adults with low literacy may want to improve their reading skills out of a wish to become proficient in English, as a pre-requisite for pursuing a college degree, to get promoted in career or job training, because of encouragement from family, or a desire to improve their quality of life (Malicky and Norman 1994;Tighe et al 2013). Due to the heterogeneity of the population, more research is necessary to better understand how to tailor instruction and materials to meet the various needs of the individuals in this group.…”