Adult Literacy and Basic Education Policies in a Comparative Perspective: Selected Findings from four Country Cases

Abstract

Policies on adult literacy and basic education are gaining importance, especially since the results of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) revealed that a sizeable proportion of adults have low literacy levels and reported significant differences in competence-levels between countries. This article investigates the interplay between the polity, politics, and policies of adult literacy and basic education, drawing on qualitative data from an international-comparative project which examined basic education policies across countries, with an emphasis on literacy. The article presents findings from four countries (Austria, Denmark, England, and Turkey) focusing on governance structures and applying an actor-oriented theoretical framework. The analysis provides a systematic cross-country comparison on basic education policies and recognises the importance of governance structures in designing and implementing policies.