Adult Basic Education Under WIOA Title II Implementation: An Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Adult basic education (ABE) scholars, practitioners, and policymakers have long debated the purpose and outcomes of federal ABE policy. Although the current policy, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), became law in 2014, there is no comprehensive analysis of the diverging perspectives on WIOA implementation. This integrative literature review generates a synthesis of WIOA-Title II implementation and suggests implications for future research. Based on a thematic analysis of 35 publications (2014–2021), the paper elaborates on four themes: limited ABE funding and the need to use funds efficiently, WIOA-mandated coordination between ABE providers and workforce development partners, increased accountability requirements that narrowly focus on economic outcomes, and framing adult education for economic purposes. Future research on WIOA-Title II implementation should build on this foundation to inquire for whom WIOA works, where it works, and under what conditions it is or isn’t successful in helping learners to flourish.

Keywords

policy Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)adult basic education literature review

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alexander

P. A.

(2020). Methodological guidance paper: The art and science of quality systematic reviews. Review of Educational Research, 90(1), 6–23. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319854352

Belzer

(2003). Living with it: Federal policy implementation in adult basic education (NCSALL Reports No. 24). National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED508604.pdf

Belzer

(2007). Implementing the workforce investment act from in between: State agency responses to federal accountability policy in adult basic education. Educational Policy, 21(4), 555–588. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904806289263

²* Belzer

(2017). Focusing or narrowing: Trade-offs in the development of adult basic education 1991–2015. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2017(155), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20236

* Belzer

Kim

(2018). We are what we do: Adult basic education should be about more than employability. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(6), 603–608. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.693

* Belzer

Kim

(2020). The cost of a dollars and cents rationale for adult basic education policy. In Rocco

T. S.

Smith

M. C.

Mizzi

R. C.

Merriweather

L. R.

Hawley

J. D.

(Eds.), The handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 189–196). Stylus.

Belzer

St. Clair

(2007). The world touches the classroom: Using “anthropolicy” to understand political, economic, and social effects on adult literacy education. In Guzzetti

B. J.

(Ed.), Literacy for the new millennium (Vol. 4, pp. 17–35). Westport.

* Bergson-Shilcock

(2019). Upskilling adult learners with disabilities: How collaboration among adult education, vocational rehabilitation, and workforce development partners can strengthen systems. National Skills Coalition.

Bergson-Shilcock

(2020, March 3). Congress Should Invest in Adult Basic Education. National Skills Coalition. http://nationalskillscoalition.org/resources /publications/file/Why-Congress-should-invest-in-adult-basic-education.pdf.

10.

* Bird

Foster

Ganzglass

(2014). New opportunities to improve economic and career success for low-income youth and adults: Key provisions of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA Game Plan for Low-Income People). The Center for Law and Social Policy. https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/new-opportunities-improve-economic-and-career-success-low-income-youth-and.

11.

* Bragg

(2016). Is WIOA good for adult learners? A response to Amy Pickard’s forum essay. Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, and Basic Education, 5(2), 56–59.

12.

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

13.

* Britton

E. R.

Austin

T. Y.

(2020). “Keeping words in context”: Language policy and social identification in an immigrant job training program. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1833728

14.

* Clymer

Toso

B. W.

Grinder

Parrish Sauder

(2017). Changing the course of family literacy. Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy.

15.

Condelli

(2007). Accountability and program quality: The third wave. In Belzer

(Ed.), Toward defining and improving quality in adult basic education: Issues and challenges (pp. 11–32). Erlbaum.

16.

* Cushing

English

Therriault

Lavinson

(2019). Developing a college- and career-ready workforce: An analysis of ESSA, Perkins V, IDEA, and WIOA. American Institutes for Research. https://ccrscenter.org/implementation-tools/developing-college-and-career-ready.

17.

* Davidson

J. C.

(2017). National shifts in adult basic education: Workforce innovation and opportunity act, ability to benefit, and high school equivalency tests. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2017(180), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1002/cc.20278

18.

Diem

Young

M. D.

Sampson

(2019). Where critical policy meets the politics of education: An introduction. Educational Policy, 33(1), 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904818807317

19.

Elfert

(2018). UNESCO’s utopia of lifelong learning: An intellectual history. Routledge.

20.

Eurydice (2021). United Kingdom - Scotland. Adult Education and Training. https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/adult-education-and-training-93_en.

21.

Eyre

(2013). Federal adult education: A legislative history 1964-2013 (ED-VAE-11-O-0018; An American Heritage). U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education. https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/Adult_Ed_History_Report.pdf.

22.

* Eyster

Nightingale

D. S.

(2017). Workforce development and low-income adults and youth: The future under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/workforce-development-and-low-income-adults-and-youth.

23.

Gibb

(2015). Literacy and language education: The quantification of learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2015(146), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20131

24.

* Ginsburg

(2017). What’s an adult numeracy teacher to teach? Negotiating the complexity of adult numeracy instruction. Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, and Basic Education, 6(2), 57–61.

25.

* Green

A. M.

(2020). Texas hold’em: Engaging employers to close the skills gap. COABE Journal, 9(1), 48–67.

26.

Hill

L. H.

(2020). Assessment, evaluation, and accountability in adult education (First edition). Stylus Publishing, LLC.

27.

Honig

(2006). Complexity and policy implementation: Challenges and opportunities for the field. In Honig

(Ed.), New directions in education policy implementation (pp. 1–23). State University of New York Press.

28.

*Hughes

Knighton

(2020). Are transitions a sufficient goal for ABE students or programs? Adult Literacy Education, 2(1), 66–72. http://doi.org/10.35847/BHughes.CKnighton.2.1.66

29.

* Jacobson

(2017). The workforce investment and opportunity act: New policy developments and persistent issues. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2017(155), 19–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20237

30.

* Jacobson

(2020). The lessons of the churn: Adult basic education and disciplining the adult learner. Adult Literacy Education, 2(2), 4–15. http://doi.org/10.35847/EJacobson.2.2.4

31.

Kim

Belzer

(2021). Return on investment for adult basic education: Existing evidence and future directions. Adult Education Quarterly, 71(4), 356–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/07417136211002155

32.

* McHugh

Doxsee

(2018). English Plus Integration: An instructional paradigm for immigrant adult learners to support integration. Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/english-plus-integration-instructional-paradigm-immigrant-adult-learners.

33.

Merrifield

(1998). Contested ground: Performance accountability in adult basic education (NCSALL Reports #1). National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.

34.

Milana

McBain

(2014). Adult education in the United States of America: A critical examination of national policy (1998–2014). Encyclopaideia, 18(40), 34–52. http://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1825-8670/4660

35.

* Mortrude

(2017). Integrated education and training: A career pathways policy and practice. The Center for Law and Social Policy. http://www.clasp.org/resources-and-publications/publication-1/Integrated-Education-and-Training-A-Career-Pathways-Policy-Practice.pdf.

36.

* Mortrude

(2020). Examining the role of federal adult education funding in adult literacy education. Adult Literacy Education, 2(1), 54–57. http://doi.org/10.35847/JMortrude.2.1.54

37.

National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS). (n.d.). Table 3: Participants by program type and age. https://nrs.ed.gov/rt/reports/aggregate/2019/all/table-3

38.

National Skills Coalition

Author First-Name

. (2014, October 24). Updated: Side-by-Side comparison of WIA and WIOA. https://nationalskillscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2014-10_WIOA-Side-by-Side.pdf.

39.

Noy

(2008). Power mapping: Enhancing sociological knowledge by developing generalizable analytical public tools. The American Sociologist, 39(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-008-9030-5

40.

Patton

M. Q.

(2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.

41.

* Pickard

(2016). WIOA: Implications for low-scoring adult learners. Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, and Basic Education, 5(2), 50–54.

42.

* Pickard

(2021a). Accountability in adult basic education: The marginalization of adults with difficulty reading. Journal of Literacy Research, 53(1), 53–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X20986910

43.

* Pickard

(2021b). Barriers to access in public adult literacy education. Educational Policy, 35(5), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904819843602

44.

* Prins

Clymer

(2018). Career pathways in Chicago, Houston, and Miami: Key features and support services among education providers. Journal of Research & Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary & Basic Education, Special Edition: Featuring Career Pathways, 28–51.

45.

Prins

Clymer

Foreman

S. S.

Loa

Needle

Raymond

Toso

B. W.

Ziskind

(2018). Career pathways for adult learners in Chicago, Houston, and Miami: Final report. Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy. https://sites.psu.edu/adultpathways/files/2018/05/IES-final-report-May-2018- 1vvftme.pdf

46.

Prins

Gungor

(2011). Family literacy funding reductions and work-first welfare policies: Adaptations and consequences in family literacy programs. Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, 5(1), 15–25.

47.

Rank

M. R.

Eppard

L. M.

Bullock

H. E.

(2021). Poorly understood: What America gets wrong about poverty. Oxford University Press.

48.

* Reder

(2020). A lifelong and life-wide framework for adult literacy education. Adult Literacy Education, 2(1), 48–53.

49.

Rose

A. D.

(1991). Ends of means: An overview of the history of the Adult Education Act (Information Analysis No. 346; pp. 1–43). ERIC Clearinghouse of Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.

50.

Rosen

(2009). Rhetoric and symbolic action in the policy process. In Sykes

Schneider

B. L.

Plank

D. N.

Ford

T. G.

(Eds.), Handbook of education policy research (pp. 267–285). Routledge; American Educational Research Association.

51.

Roumell

(2021). Where do we go now? Adult and workforce education policy post-2020. Adult Literacy Education: The International Journal of Literacy, Language, and Numeracy, 3(1), 75–82. https://doi.org/10.35847/ERoumell.3.1.75

52.

* Roumell

E. A.

Salajan

F. D.

Todoran

(2019). An analysis and illustration of U.S. adult and workforce education policy. Adult Education Quarterly, 69(4), 295–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741713619856097

53.

* Roumell

E. A.

Salajan

F. D.

Todoran

(2020a). A survey of U.S. Education policy regarding the education of adults. Educational Policy, 34(5), 785–815. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904818802416

54.

* Roumell

E. A.

Todoran

Salajan

F. D.

(2020b). A framework for capacity building in adult and workforce education programming. Adult Literacy Education, 2(2), 17–32. http://doi.org/10.35847/ERoumell.CTodoran.FSalajan.2.2.16

55.

* Rutschow

E. Z.

Beal

Johnson

(2019). Beyond the basics: Integrating workforce and college-readiness training into California’s adult basic skills programs. MDRC. https://www.mdrc.org/publication/beyond-basics .

56.

Saldaña

(2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3E [Third edition]). Sage.

57.

* Shin

Ging

(2019). “Producing human capital”: A critical discourse analysis of title II of the workforce innovation and opportunity act (WIOA). Adult Education Quarterly, 69(3), 163–183. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741713619834663

58.

* Smith

(2017). Professional development and professionalization in the field of adult basic education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 155(Fall), 71–81.http://doi.org/10.1002/ace.20242

59.

* Spaulding

(2015). The workforce innovation and opportunity act and child care for low-income parents: Opportunities and challenges under the new law. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/64706/2000309-the-workforce-innovation_1.pdf .

60.

Tett

(2014). Comparative performance measures, globalising strategies and literacy policy in Scotland. Globalisation. Societies and Education, 12(1), 127–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2013.858996

61.

Torraco

R. J.

(2016). Writing integrative literature reviews: Using the past and present to explore the future. Human Resource Development Review, 15(4), 404–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484316671606

62.

* Udouj

Grover

Belcher

Kacirek

(2017). An investigation of perceptions of programme quality support of adult basic education programmes. Evaluation and Program Planning, 61, 106–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2016.11.015

63.

Uvin

J. E.

(2015). Program Memorandum OCTAE/DAEL 15-4. United States Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/octae-aefla-vision.pdf.

64.

* Vanek

(2016). De facto language policy in legislation defining adult basic education in the United States. Language Policy, 15(1), 71–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-015-9356-0

65.

* Vanek

Rosin

Silbert

J. H.

Tashjian

Webber

A. A.

(2020). Technology, innovation, and adult career pathways. COABE Journal, Special Edition: Featuring Career Pathways, 124–130.

66.

Witko

Morgan

Kelly

N. J.

Enns

P. K.

(2021). Hijacking the agenda: Economic power and political influence. Russell Sage Foundation.

67.

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Pub. L. No. 113–128, H.R. 803 U.S.C. (2014).

68.

Yankwitt

(2020). Toward a vision of movement building in adult literacy education. Adult Literacy Education, 2(1), 58–62.

69.

Young

M. D.

(1999). Multifocal educational policy research: Toward a method for enhancing traditional educational policy studies. American Educational Research Journal, 36(4), 677–714. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312036004677