Functional Adult Literacy and Empowerment of Women: Impact of a Functional Literacy Program in Turkey

Abstract

This study addresses the impact of functional adult literacy on the empowerment of women in the absence of formal schooling. It examines whether the effects of functional literacy are exclusively content specific or whether there are gains going beyond the obvious benefits and extending to other spheres of everyday functioning, such as self‐concept, family relations, and social participation. The participants of a development intervention program implemented in Turkey, the Functional Adult Literacy Program, were studied for changes beyond specific gains in literacy. Study 1 took the form of a pretest/posttest design that examined women's self‐concept, family dynamics, social participation, and self‐efficacy before and after the intervention program. It involved a survey measuring the effects of a literacy program on women's self‐concept, social participation, and family dynamics and an experimental module assessing the impact of literacy on comprehension of television news. Study 2, conducted a year after participants had concluded the program, examined the stability of the gains and possible employment outcomes. Results indicate that the program contributed to women's social integration, positive self‐concept, and family cohesion. There were also cognitive gains. Sustained benefits were observed over time, though no change was found in possible employment outcomes.