BOOK REVIEW

Empowering women through literacy: Viewsfrom experience

By Mev Miller and Kathleen P. King (eds). Information Age Publishing,Charlotte, NC, 2009, 344 pp. ISBN 978-1-60752-084-9 (hbk),ISBN 978-1-60752-083-2 (pbk)

Helen Abadzi

Published online: 18 February 2012

� Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Empowerment has been the holy grail of adult literacy for unschooled populations,

but evidence of empowerment has been as easy to locate as the Yeti. So when the

above title appeared in the list of books available for reviews, I absolutely had to

read it. Certainly, the concept has been defined in many ways (www.power2u.org).

But would this volume finally demonstrate a link between performance in literacy

courses and some tangible definition of empowerment? Would beneficiaries get

higher incomes, better access to information, a greater range of options, ability to

make better decisions, assertiveness, increased respect in the community? And

which reading methods would deliver reading fluency fastest and link most closely

to empowerment?

Early on in the book, however (p. xii), the editors disabuse the reader of such

expectations.

In this volume you will not find techniques on the best ways to teach the

content of writing or reading … What you will find, though, are the ways in

which building relationships, creating safer learning spaces and allowing for

holistic possibilities to integrate spirit, body, and emotion creates critical paths

to reaching women’s learning minds and supporting their successes, not only

for students but also as professional educators.

Using similarly lucid language, the book presents the achievements of the WE

LEARN initiative; the Women Expanding Literacy Education Action Resource

Network in the US. Examples of its work can also be found in Brazil and a country

called Cypress.

The book contains 39 chapters written by various authors. Apparently no case

involved complete illiteracy; the learners varied from low-scoring teenage mothers to

failing undergraduates. Many of the stories are compelling; several learners had

H. Abadzi (&)

The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA

e-mail: habadzi@worldbank.org

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Int Rev Educ (2012) 58:133–135

DOI 10.1007/s11159-012-9265-9

complicated lives and serious emotional problems. To deal with them, the tutors

often took on brave assignments and presented learners’ stories and feelings in poetic

detail, sometimes through verse. What is hardly discussed, however, is instruction:

How long the studies lasted, how often tutoring took place, what activities were

carried out, or how much the literacy performance improved. There is similarly no

mention of what learners became able to do after completing the classes or what

skills they acquired which they lacked earlier. How effective were the courses in

helping learners perform sufficiently to get out of poverty or welfare or to get better

jobs? None of this is clear. Some women created art, such as cartoons and ceramic

flower dishes, but these did not seem to be of professional quality or for sale.

Many descriptions seem to suggest that the actual service provided was

counselling, and literacy then was merely a vehicle. Some stories contain references

to emotional issues holding learners back from performance, such as fear of

incompetence (p. 195). And perhaps emotional support was indeed the right means

to empower some women. For example, female prisoners presumably gained self-

efficacy (Chapter 35). But the authors do not seem to offer any specific skills that

would make learners more competent; just nonspecific goal-setting or creating a

‘‘safe space’’ (whatever that means) to deal with educational fears. No information

was offered on whether the participants had greater or fewer fears of ridicule and

incompetence after the treatment. The book offers little reflection on what really

worked and why. No effort is apparent of tracing the long-term counselling effects,

even qualitatively. In short, the book provides no evidence of empowerment in any

of its various dimensions.

The editors emphasise the aspect of giving the learners ‘‘voice’’ to discuss

education, poverty and welfare reform in the US (p. 243). But mere opportunity to

express feelings on these issues may not give women any greater power to act on

them. The editors also want to ‘‘build awareness and support of women’s literacy

issues’’ (p. xi). But how can this be done when the book contains no performance

scores or baseline data? Despite calls to ‘‘reflect with peers about teaching and

learning’’ (p. 173), there was little critical thinking or methodological reflection

about either reading fluency or emotional stability. The book similarly contains few

calls for quantitative research and evidence that may establish a replicable cause and

effect. It does, however, contain several self-congratulatory messages of the WE

LEARN organisation (e.g. p. 185). Given the faith in the tutoring relationships,

perhaps cost-effectiveness considerations are unnecessary.

The authors express the hope that this volume ‘‘creates one step towards

reconsidering the policies about and research strategies for students in ABE,

especially women’’. But in an age when implementers must show results, some

readers may get the opposite message. It’s unclear whether women were expected to

learn reading. The goals seem to be ‘‘reflection, literary exchange, consciousness

raising as foundations of critical inquiries for their lifelong empowerment’’ (p. xiv).

If clients request tutoring in expectation of better skills that will actually empower

them to do something they could not do earlier, they may waste their time along

with public funds, and their expectations may be dashed. Such tutoring could

potentially keep women in their place and actually disempower them. Incidentally,

the editors give little information regarding the state government subsidies that

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financed the organisational salaries. Instead they seem to take a swipe at

accountability requirements and expectations of tangible literacy results (p. xiv).

Policy-makers might indeed do well to reconsider funding for programmes that use

flowery and fuzzy terminology.

Perhaps the book was simply mislabelled; it could have been entitled ‘‘remedial

education for emotional expression’’. But its dashed expectations of empowerment

outcomes may intensify concerns about adult literacy for unschooled populations –

that literacy classes may simply not lead to empowerment. Too many obstacles may

get in the way. The tutors may not be very knowledgeable or the time allotted for

literacy acquisition may be insufficient. Learners may attend infrequently. Class

time may be mainly dedicated to emotional expressions of disempowerment, thus

reducing the opportunity for acquiring actual basic skills. And finally, programmes

may be shaped to fit grant writers’ aspirations of their own empowerment. Thus,

learners may simply not learn enough literacy to undertake empowering activities.

Empowerment through adult literacy may indeed be as real as the Yeti.

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