Pandemic Series | Closed offices, but open doors: Ensuring access to literacy education and digital resources during COVID-19 by Alexis Cherewka
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted disparities across nearly every aspect of our society, and access to adult education and digital resources are no exception. A certain level of literacy and access to digital resources are required for the navigation of critical tasks in these times, such as searching for employment or using telehealth services. Without access to literacy or digital resources, navigating these tasks becomes nearly impossible.
Although literacy is important for well-being, effective citizenship, and employment-related outcomes, one in six adults in the United States has low literacy skills (OECD, 2013) and merely 3.4% of all potential adult learners are being served nationally.[1] Additionally, the gap between those who are digitally connected and those who are not connected is widening (Robinson et al., 2015). People of color, rural residents, and those with lower levels of education or incomes are continuously less likely to have access to high-speed internet (Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet, 2019). Completing critical tasks, such as supporting a child’s online education and acquiring housing, while “smartphone-dependent” (Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet, 2019), demonstrates daily inequities experienced by one in five Americans. Thus, as we continue to fight for larger, structural changes within our educational systems, it is also imperative that we question how we can provide access to literacy and digital tools needed to complete these critical tasks. Adult literacy organizations are among the many advocates supporting educational and digital access for adults, especially in light of the growing inequalities exacerbated by this pandemic.
Adult literacy organizations in the U.S. take many shapes; they are often connected to public K-12 schools or community college systems and rely on various types of governmental and private funding. These institutions, often community-based, provide a variety of what is often termed adult basic education, including but not limited to adult literacy, GED preparation, digital literacy, family literacy, workplace literacy, and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) (Adult Education and Literacy, 2020). As a volunteer at these community-based organizations and a doctoral student in adult education, I recognize that although there are many structural, longstanding inequalities that adult literacy organizations do not address, they strive to provide adults with access to literacy education and digital resources.
Adult Literacy Programs and COVID-19: Challenges and Solutions
As with most other educational institutions, these community-based adult literacy organizations closed their doors during this pandemic and shifted to an online presence. Adult educators have discovered innovative solutions to address the challenges of providing adult learners with continued access to ESOL and literacy education and access to digital resources for completing critical tasks during this pandemic. Both literacy councils, Mid-State Literacy Council (MSLC) in central Pennsylvania and Cape Fear Literacy Council (CFLC) in southeastern North Carolina depend on public and private funding. These literacy councils also rely heavily on volunteers to teach small classes or individually tutor adults in their communities, mostly in literacy and ESOL.
Ensuring Access to Adult Literacy and ESOL Education
Adult literacy educators face the challenge of ensuring access to English literacy for adult learners during the pandemic. To ensure that students have continued access to the current classes or individual tutoring sessions, both literacy councils have designed and implemented training to support their volunteer tutors and teachers with the transition to instruction in a distance format, whether that be online or through the phone. The educators at Mid-State Literacy Council have created an online training to assist volunteers with teaching methods for transitioning to distance education. One MSLC staff member remarked that although “the real goal stays the same of people just connecting and being able to achieve their [individual] goal,” they also wanted “to do as much as we can to help tutors deal with an environment that’s very different” (MSLC staff member, personal communication, May 19, 2020). To maintain access to educational services for students that might not have reliable internet access or a high comfort level with technology, MSLC incorporated segments such as “tips for tutoring or teaching through the phone.” MSLC staff has also mailed materials, such as textbooks, to tutors, and students.
In some cases, the transition online has allowed for the expansion of services. At CFLC, students who had recently moved away, who often traveled internationally (typically missing months of class), or those with disabilities which prevented them from attending in-person classes, are now able to engage a new way. One CFLC staff member commented on this potential for expansion of access:
“I definitely think that this opens the door for the type of students that we’re able to serve. I’m so happy that we now have an opportunity to reach students that have multiple barriers they’re trying to overcome (transportation, childcare, living out-of-state, etc.) Even after our building re-opens, we will continue to offer increased online-learning options” (CFLC staff member, personal communication, May 20, 2020).
MSLC staff is also considering how this will impact the future provision of services. They anticipate that those living in more rural areas surrounding the literacy council, or those with extensive work or home responsibilities might also be likely to participate in any future distance education services that they hope to offer.
Supporting Access to Digital Resources
Adult educators aim to provide community members with access to digital resources, and in doing so, address other critical issues during this pandemic. CFLC’s Computer on Wheels (COWs) program, which is a mobile computer lab complete with multiple lightweight laptops, a portable printer, and Wi-Fi. Like many other COWs programs, this initiative was established to support those who wanted to improve digital literacy skills but could not attend class at the literacy council. During the recent pandemic, (COWs) equipment was loaned to another community organization that supported those dealing with homelessness. Many individuals had no access to the internet or equipment needed to check the IRS website, sign up, and obtain their stimulus checks. One CFLC staff member involved with the project explained the positive outcomes of this collaboration: “I was able to get them the equipment, and they were able to help 19 of their clients access stimulus money.” (CFLC staff member, personal communication, May 22, 2020). These partnerships also suggest the potential of providing more comprehensive services and contextualized learning in which adult learners can obtain access to literacy and digital tools needed to complete critical tasks.
CFLC has expanded partnerships with other community partners during a time when many social services have needed to change or cancel their services. For example, CFLC staff collaborated with another education-focused community partner after hearing that “they’ve been having a hard time communicating with their English as a second language (ESL) families in particular about Zoom classes, food resources, etc.” (CFLC staff member, personal communication, May 20, 2020). CFLC staff conducted online workshops, “incorporat[ing] specific examples from their daily work, [and] add[ing] a segment on working with an interpreter” (CFLC staff member, personal communication, June 15, 2020). Though they did not provide physical access to digital resources, this example illustrates how the literacy council was able to support community partners and ESOL families in their acquisition of digital tools and other resources during the pandemic.
Conclusion
To maintain access for all students to literacy and ESOL education, MSLC and CFLC have transitioned classes and individual tutoring to the phone, through teleconferencing, or other appropriate methods. They have also supported the transition for volunteer instructors through training and IT assistance. The literacy council staff have expanded services by reaching students who previously had difficulty accessing brick and mortar institutions. Distance education has the potential to increase access to adult basic education (Askov et al., 2003). In a time when over 96% of all adults who may benefit are not participating in publicly funded adult education programs (McHugh & Doxsee, 2018), access to adult basic education, including adult literacy and ESOL, remains a critical concern.
However, access to literacy education is not all that is needed during this pandemic. By extending partnerships with local community members, these literacy councils have provided opportunities for students to obtain access to digital resources, which has been required for everything from securing stimulus checks to finding the appropriate food assistance. A staff member at the Cape Fear Literacy Council (CFLC) shared what this “pernicious digital divide” (Boeren et al., 2020, p. 3) has felt like for many of their students and their organization:
“Many of our students struggle just to keep minutes on their phone, and they frequently don’t have access to the internet or a computer at home. Only about 40% of our learners report having an email address, and many of them aren’t comfortable using it. For those who are, they often rely on CFLC to provide access, as well as help and instruction, so being closed down is a major barrier (CFLC staff member, personal communication, May 22, 2020).”
This example highlights that although distance methods of ESOL and literacy education may enhance access for some, we cannot forget that “technology will continue to raise old issues in new ways” (Grill, 1999, p. 33), such as the questions of equitable access raised here. As a result, adult literacy organizations must remain integral partners in the fight to support access to literacy education and to digital resources. Until larger, structural change occurs, access to literacy education and digital resources for all adults and their families should remain an urgent concern of all who seek a more equitable society.
[1] This 3.4% is based on the 2016 program year in which 1.5 million individuals were served. This compares to the “43.7 million individuals ages 16 and older who were Limited English Proficient (LEP) and / or lacked a high school diploma or equivalent” (McHugh & Doxsee, 2018, p. 19)
Alexis Cherewka is a PhD student in lifelong learning and adult education and comparative and international education at Penn State University. Prior to starting at Penn State, she completed her M.A. in applied linguistics at the University of Pittsburgh and taught English to speakers of other languages in a variety of settings both in the U.S. and abroad. Her current research interests include adult education policy in nonformal education, sociocultural theories of literacy, and teacher-researcher collaboration efforts.
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