Literacy Acquisition and Economic Empowerment. A Comparative Study of Literacy Education in United States and Europe: Do Different Strategies Yield Different Results?

      Аннотация: The Acquisition of literacy skills such as reading, writing, and numeracy are critical. The increased amounts of information generated by the process of globalization have produced greater requirements for the need of new forms of knowledge and major emphasis is placed on the development of the individual competencies to meet these needs. Individuals who participate in literacy programs are positioned to achieve better results. I used the hierarchical linear regression model to investigate the differences between the stand-alone literacy programs and family learning programs. The result of this study affirmed the major research questions and the theoretical frame that family learning programs with high bonding and bridging social capital also have higher achievement test scores than stand-alone programs. This research supported both human capital and social capital theories, because the theory of human capital alone lacks most of the variables needed to assess literacy skills under the basic education program. This study will benefit government agencies, education professionals or future researchers who may explore further the issue of participation in literacy education programs.

Ключевые слова: Adult Basic Education (ABE), Authentic or Learner Contextualized, Barriers to Participation, Duration of Participation, empowerment, Literacy Acquisition, Persistence in Participation, Social Capital