TRAVELLING THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY AND BYWAYS
2.1 Orientation
In Chapter One I explained briefly my theoretical position and why I undertook this study and what I hoped to achieve. In Chapter Two I travel through the realms of the literature highways and byways in search of insights to illuminate the issues that affect the researcher and that which has been researched in relation to my critical question. In section A, I review literature on theoretical conceptions, which provide insights into the ideological, political and economic underpinnings that shape adult literacy. These theoretical frameworks guide my thinking and provide a lens through which my research will be analyzed. Drawn from the critical pedagogical, feminist and anthropological/socio-linguistic perspectives, they provide tools that assist me in investigating the impact of adult literacy on the lives of adult learners. The way these frameworks assist in my investigation into the impact of the adult literacy curriculum will be discussed below. In section B, I travel through literature that will offer greater insight into the impact of English literacy on the lives of female adult learners.
SECTION A
Searching for the Road Maps: Theories to the Rescue 2.2 Introduction
While attempting to unravel the theoretical conundrum I found that no single theory was able to provide the tools to make sense of the field in ABET. Each theory that I used illuminated only part of the picture. When I used the theories together I began to get a clearer and fuller picture. Therefore I opted to use an eclectic approach in this study. A postmodern lens allowed me the space to use a
compendium of theories. I also found a blurring of the boundaries of the theoretical frameworks, which are all part of the postmodern perspective (Kanpol
& McLaren, 1995). The following are some of the theoretical conceptions that undergird my thinking and experiences in adult educational basic literacy practices:
• Critical and Critical Pedagogical theory
• Freirean theory
• Feminist theory
• Anthropological / socio-linguistic theoretical conceptions
There are no watertight compartments in understanding adult literacy (Street, 1993); hence, my theoretical conceptions can also be viewed as literacy approaches. However, in this section I have chosen to use these conceptions as frameworks to understand the theories that guided this research. Gibson (1986: 3) asserts that theory and practice are indivisible, that there is always theory underlying and embedded in any practice. Ainscow (1999: 39) concurs with Gibson (1986) explaining that the relationship between theory and practice as dialectical rather than prescriptive. This means that practice is not always treated as dependent on theory to tell it what to do. However, both theory and practice confront and question one another in an ongoing dialogue. I support the claims that theory and practice have an ongoing dialogue and that practice is embedded in some underlying "theoretical presumptions". Practice should not be viewed as a separate entity but in an interdependent and interrelated, dialectical relationship into theory. In this study, I take Ainscow's (1999) position in that theory and practice are not dependent on each other but that both confront and question one another in an ongoing dialogue. The theoretical frameworks offer me insight into educational practices especially of oppressed disadvantaged females, which this study examines. There are subtle nuances to the principles underlying these theoretical conceptions that I will explain in the discussion that follows.
The reason for arranging the theoretical conceptions in the sequence used is that each one exposes a different dimension to the conception of adult literacy. I use the metaphor of the traveller on a journey seeking new frontiers to explain how each of the theoretical conceptions illuminates its unique dimension, which adds to the richness of the traveller's journey in her quest for understanding. The traveller visits small towns and quaint villages, which cannot represent the whole country, yet it is part of the country. When the English poet, John Donne, said,
"No man is an island entire in itself he used the metaphor to explain the interconnectedness of life and the universe. But this interconnectedness does not mean that the whole is the sum of its parts. That is the old dictum; the new dictum according to postmodernism is that the whole is more than the sum of its parts (Doll, 1993). In the same way each approach offers a unique dimension, yet lacks some elements which when combined give a greater understanding of literacy practice. This helps elucidate my reasons for adopting an eclectic theoretical approach.
Kanpol & McLaren (1995: 151) differentiate between a postmodern lens as one that focuses on the relationship of the self to society whilst a critical postmodern lens deconstructs race, class, sex, gender differences and other power relations. I have used theories to highlight the diverse voices and concerns of people. Among the missing voices in adult education literature are women, people of colour, people from different classes and the poor. Critical postmodernists view the theories as open systems, transformative, with change and instability a buzzword in their essence. The open systems need challenges, mistakes, disruptions, chaos, which are a sine qua non of the transformative process, unlike closed systems, which are mechanistic, have cause and effect and find disruptive qualities too decentring (Doll, 1993). In an empowering and emancipatory open system, disruptions and the "chaotic mess" are looked upon as challenges to be transformed.
2.3 "The Postmodern Paradigm is like the American Freeway or British Motor Ways always under Construction"14
The critical postmodern paradigm posits that individuals are more than the product of historical and social forces that are controlled by the dominant classes and are further reproduced through the socializing forces such as family, state, politics and school. Peoples' voices are shaped through their culture and their relationship to power. I trail the plains with full knowledge of the paradoxes of postmodernism. I do not claim that researching through such a lens is Utopian.
Just as the true search for personal authenticity, which is part of postmodernism can enhance self-development, it can easily become self-indulgence (Hargreaves, 1995: 72). In this case the self can become narcissistic with the emphasis on teacher's stories, teacher's narratives and the teacher's lives. Hargreaves (1995) warns that such preoccupation with the personal, which is a chronic condition with postmodernism, can lead to the neglect of the social and political aspects.