Literacy in the Lives of Working-Class Adults in Australia - (Adult Learning, Literacy and Social Change) by Stephen Black (Paperback)

About the Book

Explores the politics of literacy and how dominant constructions of literacy can be used to oppress working-class people.

Book Synopsis

Adopting a 'social practice' approach to literacy research based on ethnographic methods, this book provides a strong critique of dominant understandings of the role of literacy in the lives of adults in Australia. It explores how groups of working-class adults can manage the literacy practices of their everyday lives by drawing on social networks of support. It is based on research conducted by the author over a forty-year career in adult literacy education, featuring the voices of varied adult groups, including: prisoners, the long-term unemployed, local council workers, manufacturing workers, adult literacy students, marginalised young people, vocational students, and patients living with a chronic illness (type 2 diabetes).

Each chapter explains how dominant society views these adult groups in relation to literacy, and provides a qualitative examination at the local level of how members of these groups manage the literacy practices of their everyday lives.

Review Quotes

[Stephen] Black is an expert in adult literacy, having spent the whole of his career working and researching in adult literacy education in a variety of settings ... The depth and detail of his knowledge are formidable - this book is engaging, insightful and very challenging.
Journal of Criminology

Black conducted the studies in this book mostly in the 1980s and 1990s, but the findings still are relevant. Neoliberal capitalism has a firm grip on education policies in Australia and in much of the world. The corporate media support this paradigm of human capital, and Black addressed how a widely popular but uncritical television series in Australia, shortly before the time of his writing, had made a dubious claim that nearly half of Australians lacked sufficient literacy skills for their work and their daily lives. Black's book provides a strong counter-narrative to this, and it brings an important contribution to the ongoing work of resistance to the deficit schooling model of neoliberalism.
Adult Education Quarterly

This is a great book! Stephen Black gives voice to under schooled working-class adults on the shop floor and in a variety of educational settings. It provides a window into their individual and collective experiences as they grapple with diverse literacy demands-often in unexpected ways. A must read for scholars, literacy practitioners, and adult education program developers.

About the Author

Stephen Black is a Research Fellow in the School of Education, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.