“A very interesting and stimulating book......something for everybody, whether you are a practitioner, policy maker or researcher and I wholeheartedly recommend it.” —Research and Practice in Adult Literacies (RaPAL) 2016


“Against the recent emergence of the Foundation Skills Strategy and its work-based focus, the authors in this collection remind us that a one-dimensional approach only addresses part of the problem. Literacy and numeracy issues are not confined to the workplace, but are part of the social fabric that we all, regardless of background and opportunity, must navigate. Yasukawa and Black challenge us to consider that by broadening the scope of our efforts we lift all, not a few. However, changes of magnitude require a brave vision and difficult decisions. This book is a timely reminder for us to continue our efforts to include all on the journey towards better literacy and numeracy outcomes, irrespective of economic objectives.” —Fine Print, Vol 39 #2

"Beyond Economic Interests is an edited volume that I highly recommend to adult education practitioners, graduate students, researchers, and policy makers. It critiques the dominant neoliberal agenda that has hijacked adult education policy globally by reducing literacy and numeracy to decontextualized, individualized “foundation” or “core” skills...this book is a good resource for researchers and scholars interested in comparative and international education." —Adult Education Quarterly 68(3)


“This book should appeal to adult literacy and numeracy researchers and practitioners who are concerned about the ways that agency has been taken from learners and instructors, want to understand how and why this has happened, and what alternatives to compliance that they have. It should also inform policy makers as it provides insight into the consequences of policy decisions intended to, perhaps, accomplish one thing and inadvertently do something else…[T]he chapters…help set the stage for very engaging and rich descriptions of what’s possible.” – Adult Education Quarterly,Book Reviews