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Practical Recommendations for Accommodating Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in Adult Education Programs in the United States

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Title: Practical Recommendations for Accommodating Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in Adult Education Programs in the United States
Language: English
Authors: David A. Housel (ORCID 0000-0002-8638-5970), Maz Nikoui
Source: Adult Learning. 2026 37(1):24-34.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Adult Education
Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Refugees, Adult Education, Adult Students, Trauma, Trauma Informed Approach, Access to Education, Educational Policy, Student Needs, Best Practices, Preservice Teacher Education
DOI: 10.1177/10451595241297660
ISSN: 1045-1595
2162-4070
Abstract: The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) affirms that millions of people across the globe are displaced annually because of "persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations." Given the abrupt departures from their countries of origin and their time in resettlement camps, these migrants are typically denied access to educational opportunities. They thus arrive in countries like the United States as students with limited or significant interruptions in their formal educations (SLIFE). They then access adult education, often ESOL, programs that are typically ill-equipped to address their unique needs and staffed by instructors who are ill-prepared to provide impactful instruction. The purpose of this inquiry was to explore the extant research literature to formulate policies and practices that could be implemented to address the needs of adult SLIFE, ideally in more culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and decolonized ways. In addition to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the approach most often cited in this literature review was the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) as devised by DeCapua and Marshall (2023). Using this paradigm and its corollaries as a conceptual foundation, the authors offer practical suggestions regarding administrative policies and instructional practices for adult education programs to address the psychosocial and instructional needs of adult SLIFE more effectively. Areas for future investigation and implementation were identified, including incorporating these best practices into preservice preparation and continuous professional development for instructors of adults, especially those of emergent bi/multilingual learners.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1491837
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0190326289;adl01feb.26;2025Dec22.00:36;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0190326289-1">Practical Recommendations for Accommodating Students With Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in Adult Education Programs in the United States </title> <p>The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) affirms that millions of people across the globe are displaced annually because of "persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations." Given the abrupt departures from their countries of origin and their time in resettlement camps, these migrants are typically denied access to educational opportunities. They thus arrive in countries like the United States as students with limited or significant interruptions in their formal educations (SLIFE). They then access adult education, often ESOL, programs that are typically ill-equipped to address their unique needs and staffed by instructors who are ill-prepared to provide impactful instruction. The purpose of this inquiry was to explore the extant research literature to formulate policies and practices that could be implemented to address the needs of adult SLIFE, ideally in more culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and decolonized ways. In addition to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the approach most often cited in this literature review was the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) as devised by DeCapua and Marshall (2023). Using this paradigm and its corollaries as a conceptual foundation, the authors offer practical suggestions regarding administrative policies and instructional practices for adult education programs to address the psychosocial and instructional needs of adult SLIFE more effectively. Areas for future investigation and implementation were identified, including incorporating these best practices into preservice preparation and continuous professional development for instructors of adults, especially those of emergent bi/multilingual learners</p> <p>Keywords: SLIFE; adult education; bi/multilingual learners; teacher education; professional development</p> <p>"Strengths included resilience, motivation to learn rooted in survival in their adopted homelands, and heightened knowledge through lived experience."</p> <hd id="AN0190326289-2">Introduction</hd> <p>According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref1">47</reflink>], there were 108.4 million people worldwide that had been forcibly displaced due to "persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations" by the end of 2022. Most of these displaced people remained within the borders of their home countries, but 35.3 million became migrants who sought asylum elsewhere. Although 76% of refugees are hosted by low-to-middle income countries, the remaining 24% are ultimately resettled in wealthier and often English-dominant countries like the United States (https://<ulink href="http://www.unhcr.org/">www.unhcr.org/</ulink>). Due to the circumstances that precipitated the abrupt departures from their homelands, many survive in refugee camps, often for years, awaiting resettlement. Clearly, educational opportunities in resettlement camps are limited at best, so many refugees arrive to their new homelands with significant limitations and interruptions in their formal education.</p> <p>In the United States, these immigrant and refugee students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE) are generally considered a subset of adult English-language learners (ELLs) or, as [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref2">4</reflink>] preferred, emergent bi/multilingual learners (EBLs). As [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref3">6</reflink>] asserted SLIFE are different because they "may have never had any education, may have missed years of schooling, or may have been forced to drop out [of school] because of war, migration, natural disasters [often sparked by the climate crisis], or cultural, family, or economic reasons" (p. 2). In other words, SLIFE are not monolithic because their lived experiences are diverse ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref4">44</reflink>]). One subset of SLIFE, for example, speak languages different from the dominant language in their home countries, languages that are typically not valued enough to be taught in schools or may not have a written form ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref5">8</reflink>]).</p> <p>In addition to refugee and migrant students, there are other cases of SLIFE. For example, women from more traditional or religiously conservative cultures may be denied access to formal education. Older adults who return to formal schooling after a gap of years or decades may also be considered SLIFE, even though they might have the fundamental literacy skills that many SLIFE do not. Instead, older adults might lack digital literacy skills that were unnecessary in their prior schooling but are ubiquitous now or have lived long enough in their adopted countries to become "fossilized" ([<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref6">28</reflink>]) in their new country's dominant language.</p> <p>Similarly, understanding SLIFE through the lens of intersectionality becomes imperative because interruptions in formal education may also be due to oppressive cultural/societal dynamics related to race, skin color, tribe, national origin, gender, religion, perceived ability, socioeconomic status, etc. For example, [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref7">46</reflink>] argued that those with "queer" identities who fail to conform to established norms regarding sexual orientation or gender expression might be denied access to educational opportunities. Consequently, the principles of culturally sustaining, trauma-responsive, and decolonized pedagogies ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref8">15</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref9">16</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref10">17</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref11">29</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref12">35</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref13">39</reflink>]) should be integrated into any strategies implemented in classroom instruction as well as incorporated in programmatic policies and practices. Aligned with critical pedagogy ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref14">13</reflink>]), [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref15">41</reflink>] proclaimed that "language and literacy continue to be used by the powerful to control, disincentivize, and exploit individuals with emergent print literacy skills" (p. 2). In this sense, fostering literacy can potentially transform the lives of adult SLIFE, their families and communities, and ultimately their adopted homelands.</p> <p>In contrast to informal ways of learning, the more structured and institutionalized education common in Western contexts like the United States might be another adjustment for adult SLIFE. Students are expected to participate in class, interact and become literate with print media, master content-discipline areas, think critically and abstractly, and demonstrate mastery of content via verbal fluency or written literacy. SLIFE from more collectivistic cultures where membership in a family, group, or tribe is primary must therefore adjust to more individualistic cultures, like the United States, where personal goals, efforts, achievements, and independence are prioritized and rewarded ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref16">8</reflink>]). Notions of plagiarism as defined in the United States are incomprehensible to students who value collective work and responsibility and prefer to support others for the benefit of the group versus solely accomplishing individual achievement or self-aggrandizement apart from others.</p> <p>Although SLIFE has been investigated more extensively in PreK-12 teaching/learning contexts, DeCapua's suggestions align closely with andragogy ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref17">27</reflink>]) and sound language teaching (e.g., scaffolding, repetition, and project-based learning). For example, SLIFE need explicit instruction regarding classroom norms and expectations, including more linear ways of thinking and presenting information and using standardized language and prescriptive grammar ([<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref18">37</reflink>]). Since adult SLIFE must take ownership of their own learning, project-based activities with real-life applications often work best ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref19">14</reflink>]). Promoting respectful two-way communication and treating adult SLIFE as peers can do much to foster culturally responsive and sustaining andragogy by leveraging students' lived experiences to enhance classroom instruction and, when needed, additional language acquisition. This degree of rapport can encourage disclosure about trauma, including the trauma that prompted or occurred during their migration experience ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref20">9</reflink>]) as well as the intergenerational and institutionalized nation-state trauma experienced my many adult EBLs ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref21">31</reflink>]). Ideally, such disclosure and subsequent support should be orchestrated by an empathic instructor and a classroom enriched by a "community of learners" ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref22">30</reflink>], p. 163) who help adult SLIFE feel accepted, seen, and heard. This sense of belonging can counteract the cultural dissonance between one's home and adopted cultures that can cause feelings of isolation, disengagement, and inadequacy ([<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref23">2</reflink>]). As [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref24">28</reflink>] asserted, addressing SLIFE's internal realities can "lower their affective filter," which is essential when acquiring an additional language and adjusting to a new society and culture as an adult.</p> <p>[<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref25">6</reflink>] argued that instructors must first challenge their own assumptions about SLIFE, specifically confronting deficit perspectives and other internalized or unconscious biases related to race, gender, religion, country of origin, immigration status, etc. they might harbor. This professional self-reflection and deconstruction of long-held beliefs might be best encapsulated by [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref26">36</reflink>] process of transformative learning. In like fashion, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref27">25</reflink>] professed that confronting these biases, including the negative messages that we internalize about ourselves, is a lifelong commitment because deficit perspectives are pervasive in American society, especially within its educational institutions and adult education programs ([<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref28">20</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref29">21</reflink>]), and must be constantly deconstructed. Clearly, these deficit perspectives can compromise our work with SLIFE and demand that SLIFE's strengths and lived experiences be leveraged to address their learning needs more optimally ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref30">10</reflink>]).</p> <p>Fundamentally, this inquiry was guided by the following research question: What findings and recommendations exist in the extant research literature that can inform the implementation of policies and practices that can address the needs of adult SLIFE more effectively and humanely?</p> <hd id="AN0190326289-3">Instructional Strategies for Addressing Adult SLIFE through MALP</hd> <p>The most cited paradigm in this review was the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) as crafted by [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref31">8</reflink>] and was thus used as the conceptual foundation for the programmatic policies and instructional strategies and practices formulated. Essentially, MALP "operationalizes" the foundations of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies (CRSP) and "adapts" them to address the learning needs of SLIFE in formalized educational settings. MALP balances honoring SLIFE's lived experiences, including trauma, while explicitly challenging the default of privileging white, middle class, mainstream values and "othering" the perspectives of often minoritized students like SLIFE. Instead, MALP focuses on SLIFE's abundant assets and strengths versus what they might lack. Honoring SLIFE in this manner helps them feel appreciated and valued for who they are ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref32">44</reflink>]). This more affirming approach, however, must be counterbalanced by the "tough love" required to help SLIFE meet the demands and expectations of formalized education in the United States. In this way, SLIFE's strengths are maximized through individualized and guided activities to support their mastery of the content knowledge and academic language skills needed to thrive in their new educational environment and society.</p> <p>There are three interrelated components in MALP: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref33">1</reflink>) accepting learner conditions; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref34">2</reflink>) combining learner and more formalized education processes; and (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref35">3</reflink>) targeting formal education activities with familiar language and content. Consistent with andragogy ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref36">27</reflink>]) and accepting learner conditions, adult SLIFE must understand why they are learning what they are learning. Given this more pragmatic worldview, they must apply knowledge gained through classroom instruction immediately to enhance their daily lives, which bolsters their feelings of self-efficacy and agency in their adopted homelands. Leveraging SLIFE's lived experiences ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref37">38</reflink>]) with these pre-conditions for learning epitomize CRSP that, in the end, foster their academic achievement.</p> <p>The next component, combining learner and more formalized education processes, builds on the initial component by accepting adult SLIFE's "learner conditions" (e.g., their need for immediate applicability) while meeting their prescribed educational requirements. If oral transmission and shared responsibility are more culturally syntonic, SLIFE can work in pairs or small groups, with cross-proficiency pairings being particularly effective ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref38">44</reflink>]). "Breaking assignments into tasks" with sufficient scaffolding ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref39">38</reflink>]) is an essential technique. "Write-alouds" and "dialogue journaling," including multimodal entries, that connect SLIFE's cultural backgrounds with academic tasks are excellent strategies to bridge oral transmission to emergent print literacy ([<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref40">32</reflink>]). Consistent with CRSP, tasks must be individualized, which compels the instructor to know their students well and to do constant comprehension checks, formative assessments, and recalibrations ([<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref41">43</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref42">44</reflink>]). Creating a community of learners ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref43">30</reflink>]) where the instructor is an integral part of this community is paramount. Beyond being a skilled educator and technician, effective instructors must bring their hearts into their instruction, which might demand stepping out of well-guarded comfort zones.</p> <p>The final component, targeting formal education activities with familiar language and content, necessitates helping adult SLIFE acquire the academic fundamentals common in primary education. Tasks like sorting, matching, completing graphic organizers, or doing reading and writing cloze activities can prove particularly impactful. MALP thus enables SLIFE to transition gradually from only oral transmission to basic literacy with abundant visual cues to elementary print-based literacy with fewer scaffolds in the new language. Clearly, this progression demands drawing on all SLIFE's linguistic and cognitive strengths. In this way, MALP mirrors translanguaging ([<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref44">48</reflink>]) where a learner's entire linguistic repertoire is activated to demonstrate comprehension of desired academic content in the target language (i.e., English in this context). Instructors are encouraged to "think outside the box" of their typical instructional approaches and incorporate strategies that use the familiarity of SLIFE's lived experiences, including their home languages and environments, to facilitate the acquisition of the additional language.</p> <p>Acronyms used throughout this manuscript are listed in Table 1.</p> <p>Table 1. List of Acronyms Used.</p> <p>Graph</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="top"><tr><th align="left">Acronym</th><th align="left">Meaning</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td align="left">CPD</td><td align="left">Continuous Professional Development</td></tr><tr><td align="left">CRSP</td><td align="left">Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Pedagogies</td></tr><tr><td align="left">EBL</td><td align="left">Emergent Bi/Multilingual Learner</td></tr><tr><td align="left">ELL</td><td align="left">English-Language Learner</td></tr><tr><td align="left">ESOL</td><td align="left">English to Speakers of Other Languages</td></tr><tr><td align="left">MALP</td><td align="left">Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm</td></tr><tr><td align="left">PDVM</td><td align="left">Participatory Digital Visual Methods</td></tr><tr><td align="left">SLIFE</td><td align="left">Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education</td></tr><tr><td align="left">UDL</td><td align="left">Universal Design for Learning</td></tr><tr><td align="left">UNHCR</td><td align="left">United Nations Refugee Agency</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Another example of a MALP strategy is Participatory Digital Visual Methods (PDVM) as described by [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref45">34</reflink>]. Aligned with andragogy ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref46">27</reflink>]), PDVM confronts the norms of "traditional learning" ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref47">40</reflink>]), which can stymie and frustrate SLIFE, by combining student-led inquiry in the community with "multisensory meaning-making" ([<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref48">34</reflink>], p. 302). The use of narratives and interviews from community members is not only personally meaningful to SLIFE but also evidences a direct applicability to their daily lives. This project-based learning technique utilizes multimodal techniques and literacies (print, visual, verbal, and digital) common to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to convey what student/researchers have discovered through their community-based inquiries. For example, these adult learners can insert artifacts, like images or photographs, to accompany the written text (photo-elicitation) or personal reflections (the Photovoice or photo novella technique), which emphasizes both the process of collecting and analyzing data and its presentation ([<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref49">49</reflink>]).</p> <p>Another example of MALP includes the VideoVoice technique ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref50">3</reflink>]) that involves interspersing excerpts from audiotaped interviews or neighborhood sounds into the product or community filmmaking that integrates audio, graphics, and video into a narrative format. All these techniques are flexible enough to "cater to individual vocational needs, skills, interests, and pre-literacy and learning styles" ([<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref51">34</reflink>], p. 317) while allowing adult SLIFE the freedom to work at their own pace, demonstrate their unique understanding and mastery of content, and express this understanding in a manner that is personally relevant and culturally syntonic to them. These techniques not only illustrate the powerful instructional impact of UDL when working with SLIFE but also demonstrate another way to integrate critical consciousness ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref52">13</reflink>]) and social justice into instruction. Through this project-based learning, adult SLIFE are prompted to experience and analyze their communities in a more detached fashion and perhaps identify ways to confront and dismantle the systems of oppression, discrimination, and inequity that exist. Incorporating UDL into classroom instruction ultimately creates a more equitable academic playing field for not only SLIFE and their emerging print literacy but also all students with other learning challenges and dis/abilities ([<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref53">18</reflink>]).</p> <p>The final MALP strategy uncovered in this literature review involves creating a scroll-based curriculum ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref54">14</reflink>]). After doing a preliminary assessment, Frydland engaged students in co-creating the curriculum by selecting content areas that would enhance their cultural knowledge and survival in their adopted homelands. Understanding the competencies required in more formalized instruction in Western contexts, the instructor and their class then identified which competencies would be prioritized. Mutually designed and implemented lessons recycled "contextualized phonics and numeracy exercises" (p. 270), for example, and consistently produced multimedia scrolls that used images and print literacy to promote mastery of the chosen content area. Adult SLIFE students could then produce portfolios of their own or collaborate on a group project, like a class book, that could be used as an alternative form of assessment. Given the importance of cultivating digital literacy in the 21st century, these portfolios and group projects could also be created in a digital format.</p> <hd id="AN0190326289-4">Discussion</hd> <p>The strengths and challenges when working with adult SLIFE identified by [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref55">26</reflink>], could easily be applied to working with adult EBLs. Strengths included resilience, motivation to learn rooted in survival in their adopted homelands, and heightened knowledge through lived experience. The biggest challenge is providing oral-based placement testing that does not require print literacy in either SLIFE's home or additional languages and psychoeducational testing resources that can be conducted verbally in SLIFE's home languages to ferret out L1 literacy issues from undiagnosed learning dis/abilities. As is often said, administrative buy-in is crucial if any changes to programmatic or instructional practices are to be implemented and refined consistently. Without this administrative support and allocation of needed resources, effective instructional practices are difficult to implement uniformly.</p> <hd id="AN0190326289-5">Recommendations for Programmatic Policy and Practices</hd> <p>Administrative support is critical to creating an educational environment and culture that is conducive to impactful learning for adult SLIFE. Inspired and informed by this literature review, particularly MALP and its corollaries, addressing and resolving this partial list of policy issues are strongly recommended:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref56">1</reflink>) Identify past educational and migration experiences in required intake forms ([<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref57">5</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref58">2</reflink>) Aligned with UDL, provide multimedia orientations in students' home languages when possible or via PowerPoint presentations with abundant visual cues and contextual supports.</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref59">3</reflink>) Conduct trauma-informed and responsive professional development and training for <emph>all</emph> staff, not just instructors, about the unique needs and learning challenges of adult SLIFE.</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref60">4</reflink>) Secure institutional or community-based resources for psychoeducational testing to address learning challenges and mental health support to address trauma and other adjustment issues ([<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref61">2</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref62">9</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref63">16</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref64">31</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref65">42</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref66">5</reflink>) Identify other psychosocial and related supports such as legal services, affordable housing, food pantries, job training and placement in occupations that require minimal fluency and print literacy, etc. ([<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref67">43</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref68">6</reflink>) Secure additional funding, in-kind support, or community referrals for the ancillary supports required so more adult SLIFE can attend classes, including childcare, meals and food distribution for food insecure students, and transportation, especially at night ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref69">19</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref70">7</reflink>) Provide consistent professional development, including asynchronous options, related to adult literacy that are appropriate for SLIFE, such as the abundant resources available through [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref71">33</reflink>]: https://www.literacymn.org.</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref72">8</reflink>) Create "teacher shares" and foster direct communication between administrators and instructors so instructional best practices for adult SLIFE can be shared ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref73">44</reflink>]), such as the Learning for Life Curriculum Framework from [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref74">1</reflink>]: https://globalaccess.bowvalleycollege.ca/sites/default/files/Curriculum_Framework.pdf.</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref75">9</reflink>) Secure and allocate the necessary resources to implement instructional "best practices" for SLIFE, including adapted technology when indicated; software programs for video editing, image creation, and publication; and audio and video recording equipment.</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref76">10</reflink>) Foster a community of learners ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref77">30</reflink>]) by ensuring smaller (ideally fewer than 15 students) class sizes ([<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref78">43</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref79">11</reflink>) Create a welcoming programmatic culture and learning environment, either in-person or virtual, where all adult students including SLIFE feel valued and appreciated ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref80">44</reflink>]) by showcasing students' work, home languages, and cultural traditions and customs.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0190326289-6">Recommendations for Instructional Strategies and Practices</hd> <p>After administrative support has created an accessible teaching/learning environment and culture for SLIFE, with adequate supplies and resources, andragogical approaches that are consistent with culturally sustaining, trauma-responsive, and decolonized pedagogies and align closely with UDL are more easily achieved. This preliminary list of instructional strategies and practices was also sourced from MALP and its corollaries, allows for "multiple means of representation, action, expression, and engagement" ([<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref81">45</reflink>], p. 4), and includes:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref82">1</reflink>) Implement multimodal instruction so oral and written modes can be integrated by presenting content or instructions orally with visual/written supports on the board, overhead screen, or print handouts ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref83">38</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref84">2</reflink>) Establish clear classroom routines and expectations and explicitly teach classroom procedures ([<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref85">38</reflink>]). Structure, routine, consistency, and direct instruction are also helpful in supporting SLIFE with trauma ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref86">16</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref87">31</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref88">3</reflink>) Leverage SLIFE's comfort with oral transmission to learn and retain content through rhymes, songs, acrostics, and mnemonic devices ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref89">7</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref90">4</reflink>) Foster literacy in standardized or the additional language by utilizing guided activities that are more typical in primary education (e.g., sorting, matching, completing graphic organizers, etc.).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref91">5</reflink>) Promote self-directed, project-based learning with a "real life" focus by incorporating multimedia techniques like photo-elicitation, Photovoice, and VideoVoice as detailed above.</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref92">6</reflink>) Familiarize SLIFE with print and digital literacy incrementally through digital poetry projects that use an online book creator application accessible through computers, tablets, or smartphones ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref93">24</reflink>]), thus combining emergent print with digital literacy skills.</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref94">7</reflink>) Consistent with other multimodal tasks, implement read/discuss/write activities with the class divided into cross-proficiency pairings where the instructor reads a chunk of text (usually a paragraph) aloud, students have 2 minutes to discuss what happened in the text, and finally they have 2 minutes to write down what they believe to be the most important thing they heard ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref95">44</reflink>]).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref96">8</reflink>) Similar to #7, incorporate other collaborative learning activities like "think-pair-share" where students are asked to think about a topic or an answer to a question, discuss their ideas or answers with a classmate (which enhances their oral, and perhaps written, communication skills), and then share what each pair discussed with the whole class. This strategy allows students additional processing time to formulate and refine their responses, which is helpful for <emph>all</emph> EBLs, but particularly for SLIFE or those with other learning challenges (e.g., neurodiverse students, including those with undiagnosed learning dis/abilities).</item> <p></p> <item> (<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref97">9</reflink>) Sustain SLIFE's motivation and engagement by celebrating any milestones they achieve ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref98">44</reflink>]) and showcasing their produced classwork.</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0190326289-7">Conclusion</hd> <p>"Educators and administrators committed to providing the most effective education to [SLIFE] are well-advised to appreciate the value of culturally responsive pedagogy and to engage culturally competent teachers to deliver it." ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref99">14</reflink>], p. 281)</p> <p>To realize what the above quotation proposes, the first step should be to advocate for more scholarly research and publications on the unique needs and challenges related to educating adult SLIFE. At present, the extant research literature tends to focus on PreK-12 settings. Similarly, the preservice preparation programs and continuous professional development (CPD) options for instructors typically presume that all adult EBLs have print literacy in their home languages as well as consistent and uninterrupted educational backgrounds ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref100">11</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref101">22</reflink>]). From this new research, including action research, data-informed instructional "best practices" for adult SLIFE through a culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and decolonized lens could be identified. Once identified, these "best practices" could then be consistently incorporated into the curricula of preservice preparation programs and CPD for instructors of adult EBLs, including the importance of ongoing transformative learning and self-reflection ([<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref102">36</reflink>]) among educational professionals from their entry and throughout their tenures in the field ([<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref103">22</reflink>]). Furthermore, providing CPD on the generative use of AI could equip instructors with timesaving tools to differentiate multimodal materials to support both literacy and additional language acquisition for SLIFE while reducing their overall preparation time.</p> <p>Administrative support in the form of changes in existing programmatic policies and procedures is crucial so that SLIFE are consistently acknowledged and supported in adult education programs, including those in higher education settings ([<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref104">23</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref105">42</reflink>]). When possible, advisory boards or at least focus groups of adult SLIFE should be created to inform both policy formulation and curriculum development in adult education programs. Given the unique circumstances for adult SLIFE, placement testing and ongoing assessment should ideally be conducted orally and in the EBL's home language as should any psychoeducational testing to identify learning challenges or dis/abilities. Finally, adult SLIFE provide a unique opportunity to promote bi/multilingualism and bi/multiliteracy in the United States. Consistent with translanguaging ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref106">31</reflink>]; [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref107">48</reflink>]), instructional best practices for adult SLIFE could be implemented to enhance their home languages as they develop fluency in their additional language ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref108">12</reflink>]). This dual language acquisition could be enriched through intergenerational classes between adult SLIFE and their children or elders in their community who share their home language ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref109">19</reflink>]). Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that adult SLIFE and their unique instructional needs become an integral part of all adult education programs in the United States so they are taught by well-prepared instructors who can help them reach their fullest personal, academic, and vocational potentials.</p> <hd id="AN0190326289-8">ORCID iD</hd> <p>David A. Housel https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8638-5970</p> <ref id="AN0190326289-9"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref33" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Bow Valley College. (2024). Learning for life: An ESL literacy curriculum framework. https://globalaccess.bowvalleycollege.ca/sites/default/files/Curriculum_Framework.pdf</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref23" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Brewer C. A., McCabe M. (2014). Immigrant and refugee students in Canada. Brush Education.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref35" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Catalini C. 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Health Education & Behavior, 24(3), 325–343. https://doi.org/10.1177.109019819702400309</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0190326289-10"> <title> Footnotes </title> <blist> <bibtext> This manuscript is an outgrowth of a presentation done by the authors at the 71st Annual New York Association of Continuing and Community Education (NYACCE) Conference held in Albany, New York from April 30–May 3, 2024.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By David A. Housel and Maz Nikoui</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author</p> <p></p> <p>David A. Housel is the Director of the CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP) at LaGuardia Community College (CUNY). He has worked in the field of adult literacy, primarily with adult, immigrant emergent bi/multilingual learners (EBLs), for over 24 years and has been a licensed social worker in the State of New York for almost 36 years. Dr. Housel has an Ed.D. in Instructional Leadership from Hunter College (CUNY).</p> <p>Maz Nikoui oversees English Language and Literacy programs at Queensborough Community College (CUNY). He has been working in higher education settings for over 15 years with a primary focus on providing access and building educational pathways for immigrant and non-traditional adult learners. Dr. Nikoui has an Ed.D. in Education, Culture and Society from Rutgers University.</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib47" firstref="ref1"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib44" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib46" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref8"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref9"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib29" firstref="ref11"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib35" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib39" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib41" firstref="ref15"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref17"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib37" firstref="ref18"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref19"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib31" firstref="ref21"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib30" firstref="ref22"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib36" firstref="ref26"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref27"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl20" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref28"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl21" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref29"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl22" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref30"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl23" bibid="bib38" firstref="ref37"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl24" bibid="bib32" firstref="ref40"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl25" bibid="bib43" firstref="ref41"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl26" bibid="bib48" firstref="ref44"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl27" bibid="bib34" firstref="ref45"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl28" bibid="bib40" firstref="ref47"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl29" bibid="bib49" firstref="ref49"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl30" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref53"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl31" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref55"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl32" bibid="bib42" firstref="ref65"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl33" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref69"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl34" bibid="bib33" firstref="ref71"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl35" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref79"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl36" bibid="bib45" firstref="ref81"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl37" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref93"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl38" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref101"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl39" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref104"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl40" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref108"></nolink>
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  Data: Practical Recommendations for Accommodating Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in Adult Education Programs in the United States
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22David+A%2E+Housel%22">David A. Housel</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8638-5970">0000-0002-8638-5970</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maz+Nikoui%22">Maz Nikoui</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) affirms that millions of people across the globe are displaced annually because of "persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations." Given the abrupt departures from their countries of origin and their time in resettlement camps, these migrants are typically denied access to educational opportunities. They thus arrive in countries like the United States as students with limited or significant interruptions in their formal educations (SLIFE). They then access adult education, often ESOL, programs that are typically ill-equipped to address their unique needs and staffed by instructors who are ill-prepared to provide impactful instruction. The purpose of this inquiry was to explore the extant research literature to formulate policies and practices that could be implemented to address the needs of adult SLIFE, ideally in more culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and decolonized ways. In addition to Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the approach most often cited in this literature review was the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP) as devised by DeCapua and Marshall (2023). Using this paradigm and its corollaries as a conceptual foundation, the authors offer practical suggestions regarding administrative policies and instructional practices for adult education programs to address the psychosocial and instructional needs of adult SLIFE more effectively. Areas for future investigation and implementation were identified, including incorporating these best practices into preservice preparation and continuous professional development for instructors of adults, especially those of emergent bi/multilingual learners.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1491837
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1491837
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1177/10451595241297660
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 11
        StartPage: 24
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Refugees
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adult Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adult Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Trauma
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Trauma Informed Approach
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Access to Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Policy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Needs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Best Practices
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Preservice Teacher Education
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Practical Recommendations for Accommodating Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in Adult Education Programs in the United States
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: David A. Housel
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Maz Nikoui
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      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 02
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 1045-1595
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 2162-4070
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            – Type: volume
              Value: 37
            – Type: issue
              Value: 1
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Adult Learning
              Type: main
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