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

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 perspectiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAdult education quarterly (American Association for Adult and Continuing Education) Vol. 73; no. 2; pp. 113 - 132
Main Authors Cherewka, Alexis, Prins, Esther
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.05.2023
Subjects
Adult Basic Education
Adult Education
Adult Literacy
Criticism
Educational Finance
Federal Legislation
Labor Force Development
Labor Legislation
Literature Reviews
Qualitative Research
Research Methodology
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
literature review
adult basic education
policy
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0741-7136
1552-3047
DOI:10.1177/07417136221105884