Adult literacy policy: where are the voices of those with disabilities?

An investigation by a Waikato University student has revealed no one with a learning disability has ever been asked about, or involved in making any adult literacy policy in New Zealand. Dr Nicolina Newcombe - who recently earned a PhD for her work - also discovered that as a result many adult learner are being excluded from literacy education, and therefore the ability to gain other higher education opportunities. Her study sought to explore the problem, and investigate how policies could be more inclusive - but had the unintended upshot of developing a blueprint for inclusive research more generally. Her thesis explores the methods of gaining consent, researching and informing those who participated. Dr Newcombe, who is autistic and left school at 15 returned to education through a second-chance program. She says the life she has is because of her chance study at a tertiary level and she wanted to explore what changes would promote better access to literacy and literacy education for people with intellectual disabilitie, so that others have this opportunity too.