Advocacy

Active advocacy builds and sustains public commitment to ongoing education for adults. Through our work with the National Coalition for Literacy, we promote the provision of sustainable, quality educational options in adult basic education, English as a second/additional language, adult secondary education, and career/technical education.

We bring a strengths-based approach to all of our advocacy work. Our advocacy messaging rests on an asset-focused framework that has four foundation points:

1. Adult education programs and adult learners are integral parts of their communities.
2. Adult learners have strong motivation to improve their situations. They can and do develop new skills in adult education programs.
3. Adult education programs contribute to the overall strength and resilience of the community.
4. A community strengthens itself by supporting and promoting adult education.

By combining data on needs and impacts with illustrations of what works and why within this framework, advocacy statements depict adult education organizations as builders and sustainers of a rich and resilient civil society and create connections that generate support from the broader community and responsiveness from policy makers.

Facts and Figures

Fact sheets and information on adult literacy, numeracy, and English language learning in the United States.

Resources for Advocacy

A list of recent resources that practitioners can use to inform their advocacy for adult education and adult learners.

Advocacy Presentations and Presentation Slides

Frames, Facts, Stories: Advocating for Results in Adult ESOL (TESOL, March 2021)

• Video
• Slide Deck

Adult Educators Make the Best Advocates (VAACE, October 2019)

Adult Educators Make the Best Advocates: Asset-Focused Advocacy for Adult Learners and Programs (COABE, April 2017)

Narratives That Resonate: Powerful Narratives and Effective Advocacy for Adult ESL Programs (TESOL, April 2016)