Worldwide, 880 million adults have been labeled as illiterate, and in the United States it is estimated that almost 90 million adults are functionally illiterate – that is to say that they do not have the minimal skills needed to function in society. As the issue of adult illiteracy comes more and more to the attention of the public, researchers believe the use of the Internet or distance learning-based programs will help to combat this growing concern.
 
In “Adult Illiteracy”, an article from the recent release of the Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Second Edition (edited by Dr. Patricia Rogers, Bemidji State, USA, Dr. Gary Berg, Chapman University, USA, Dr. Judith Boettcher, Designing for Learning, USA, Dr. Carole Howard, Touro University International, USA, Dr. Lorraine Justice, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, and Dr. Karen Schenk, University of  Redlands, USA and North Carolina State University, USA) University of Phoenix Online (USA) professor Dr. Ann-Marie Trammell reveals that through effective literacy programs, which use strategies that work for adult learners, this problem can be solved.

“These illiterate adults are often forced to hide their inabilities and are cheated out of better jobs, proper health care and benefits, and helping their own children with schooling,” writes Trammell. “Because of these issues and the stigma that illiteracy carries, most adults do not ever admit that they have poor to nonexistent literacy skills. This stigma forms a cycle of poor literacy skills, which becomes hard if not impossible to break

Trammell believes that illiteracy in adults can no longer be pushed under the carpet, nor can it be thought of as a problem of only the underprivileged. There is a true need for effective adult education programs in this realm around the world. Through a variety of strategies and methods, adults can overcome their barriers to literacy and become truly literate people. It takes meeting unique instructional needs and using current constructivist methods to reach success.

(Portions of this article are excerpted from the  Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Second Edition edited by Dr. Patricia Rogers, Dr. Judith Boettcher, Dr. Carole Howard, Dr. Lorraine Justice, and Dr. Karen Schenk.)