Literacy and men - NEW!
The proportion of men participating in adult literacy in Ireland has declined since the 1980’s when 71% of participants were male. In 2008 male participation in adult literacy services stood at 40%. The reasons for relatively low participation rates by men are complex and as yet no single theory can explain the low participation of men in adult literacy services.
The primary aim of the research was to study men’s experiences of literacy difficulties and their needs in this area, what men learn informally and what benefits the men, their families and communities from that participation. It sought to explore the attitude of men to their literacy difficulties and examine what shapes these attitudes, and to look at what can be done to positively engage men in adult literacy interventions. In total 32 men aged 20 – 60 years took part in the research.
The main findings from the research show a variety of reasons which motivated these men to tackle their literacy difficulties in adulthood. These reasons can be grouped as follows:
• Motives relating to the individual: for some of the men, they chose to return to education because they believed the opportunity to learn had been missed or lost the first time around.
• Motives relating to the community: the majority of the men believed that returning to learning would enable them to better serve their communities. A number of the men acknowledged that their literacy difficulties were the main cause, if not the sole reason, for their withdrawal from, or lack of engagement in, community affairs.
• Motives relating to the family: a number of the men wanted to improve their mathematical and computer skills, as well as their literacy skills in order to keep up with the demands of their children for help with homework. Others recognised that their own experiences of education shaped their desire to strive for a better quality education for their children.
