Over the last two decades, an increasingly economistic discourse has dominated discussions about adult literacy and numeracy. This book provides critiques of, and alternative narratives to the dominant discourse.

Authors provide tools and methodologies of critique, including ways of seeing how policies in the countries of focus come to be captured almost completely by the interests of business and industry, as well as how to critically interpret the data that policy makers use to justify their priorities. But adult literacy and numeracy practitioners and learners find spaces and places to pursue learning that matters for the lived experiences of adults and their communities.

Beyond Economic Interests presents the struggles and achievements of practitioners and learners that lead the readers of the book to critically appreciate that a counter narrative to the purely economistic discourse of adult literacy and numeracy is much needed, and possible.