Literacy in the Lives of Working-Class Adults in Australia: Dominant versus Local Voices

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Dr Stephen Black (University of Technology Sydney, Australia) Anna Robinson-Pant (University of East Anglia UK)

Literacy in the Lives of Working-Class Adults in Australia

Dominant versus Local Voices

Dr Stephen Black (University of Technology Sydney, Australia), Anna Robinson-Pant (University of East Anglia UK), Alan Rogers (Late of Universities of East Anglia and Nottingham UK)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
26 June 2025

Literacy; Adult education, continuous learning

Series: Adult Learning, Literacy and Social Change

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.

By: Dr Stephen Black (University of Technology Sydney Australia)
Edited by: Anna Robinson-Pant (University of East Anglia UK), Alan Rogers (Late of Universities of East Anglia and Nottingham UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781350378117
ISBN 10: 1350378119
Series: Adult Learning, Literacy and Social Change
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 26 June 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Series Foreword Abbreviations 1. Literacy, Politics and Working-Class Adults 2. Prisoners and Literacy 3. Long-Term Unemployed People and Literacy 4. Local Council Workers and Literacy 5. Production Workers and Literacy 6. Adult Literacy Students and Literacy 7. Marginalised Young People and Literacy 8. Vocational Education and Training Students and Literacy 9. Diabetes Patients and Literacy 10. Countering Deficit References Index

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

Reviews for Literacy in the Lives of Working-Class Adults in Australia: Dominant versus Local Voices

[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. -- Anne Worrall * Journal of Criminology * 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. -- Judith Kalman, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav), Mexico 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. -- Mark Abendroth, SUNY Empire State University, Saratoga Springs, NY * Adult Education Quarterly * [This] important book provides a critical account of literacy learning in the lives of working-class adults in Australia. Drawing on empirical data from various research projects on working-class adults and literacy. It outlines the prevailing practices of adult learning educators who use Freirean-inspired pedagogies in TAFE (VET) colleges in Australia, focusing on students’ learning needs. -- Trace Ollis, Associate Professor, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia * Australian Journal of Adult Learning *