Social Science and Human Research Bulletin

Adult illiteracy has been one of the most persistent socio educational challenges in South Africa over time. The problem is especially noticeable in rural and peri urban communities that are still suffering from the effects of historical injustices and have been affected structurally and socio economically to hardly access the lifelong learning they need. This research is a qualitative inquiry to the causes of illiteracy among adults in an adult community learning centre located in Nkowankowa Circuit, Mopani West District, Limpopo Province. The study backed by Knowles’ Andragogy, Freire’s Critical Literacy Theory, and Social Practice Theory regards literacy as a practice that is socially and culturally mediated and politically situated rather than just a technical skill. Semi structured interviews with adult learners and educators were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis to uncover the experiences that informed the literacy trajectories of adults. The results reveal that adult illiteracy has its roots in the combination of factors such as early educational disruption, intergenerational poverty, gendered labour expectations, linguistic marginalization, negative schooling experiences, and institutional constraints within the adult education sector. Participants referred to literacy as the core of personal agency, social participation, and identity reconstruction, thus implying the transformative nature of literacy in the everyday life. The research argues that the provision of adult literacy should be community responsive, relational, and dignity restoring and proposes pedagogical, institutional, and policy measures to facilitate adult learning pathways in disadvantaged communities. 

Adult literacy, Andragogy, Critical literacy, Lifelong learning, Adult education

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