Statement of the Problem

It is clear that adult basic educators and others committed to preserving and extending educational opportunities for illiterate adults in Canada are confronted by serious challenges. The immediate task is a formidable one--that of rallying public concern about the problem and exerting pressure for the development of new educational policies, and doing this at a climate of economic crisis and growing conservatism among political elites. However, as difficult and problematic as this challenge is, it is further complicated by a growing dilemma within the field of adult basic education itself. For two decades, the professional roles. of adult basic educators and literacy instructors have rested on what appeared to be a firm theoretical and practical foundation. However, that foundation of outlooks and approaches, as informed by the liberal perspective, is being widely questioned and rejected, particularly by those adhering to conservative and critical perspectives. Those in the profession are increasingly confronted by difficult theoretical questions regarding the place of illiteracy in the dynamics of class inequality, and hard choices concerning their own political stance.

To a large degree, the efforts undertaken by adult basic educators to meet this challenge within their profession will determine the prospects for the success of their actions to meet the larger, external, challenge, i.e. the task of building an effective movement to preserve and develop educational opportunities for illiterate adults in Canada. That is, in view of the increasingly. hostile political and economic climate, such a movement can ultimately succeed only if it presents a sound and credible basis for theory and practice in the field, one that embodies an accurate and dynamic analysis of the meaning and significance of illiteracy.

The present study will address this central problem: the political and economic assumptions which underly the theory and practice of adult literacy and basic education in Canada. The aim is to do so in a way that has immediate relevance for those involved in the movement to develop new opportunities for illiterate adults. The study is not impartial in the conflict among the three perspectives on illiteracy--the case is argued that the critical perspective offers a superior theoretical and practical guide for the reconstitution of adult literacy and basic education in Canada.

Objectives of the Study

1. A principal objective of the study is to clarify the political and economic dimensions of the current period of contention concerning the future direction of adult literacy and basic education in Canada. To do so, the study will: (a) describe the course of events which has led up to the current conflictive situation and outline the main features of it, (b) present the political economic assumptions and arguments of the three perspectives on illiteracy--liberal, conservative and critical--influencing the present situation, and (c) analyze the role of members of the adult education profession, particularly, adult basic educators, in the present context, and determine the relative influence of each of the three perspectives on their efforts to respond to it.