| In 1991 the U.S. Congress enacted legislation intended to ensure that all adults in the United States would acquire the basic skills they need to succeed in their work, and in their lives. The Congress also established the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) to carry out this mandate. The goals of the NIFL were to enhance the literacy and basic skills of adults and to strengthen and coordinate literacy programs nationwide. Within the field of adult literacy little is known about the learning motivations of adults with low literacy skills. The purpose of this study was to understand not only the views of literacy that adults hold, but the extent to which these attitudes affect motivations for literacy. Focus groups and individual interviews were held to determine adult learners' views of literacy. The results of the study showed that the majority of the participants viewed literacy from a fundamental viewpoint as the ability to read and write, but enrolled in literacy classes for functional, or job related reasons. These and other findings were consistent with those from previous studies focusing on adult literacy conducted in the past ten years. |