[EPALE newsletter] At The Edges
Dear EPALE members,
I recently spoke with Professor Sari Sulkunen about how difficult it is, in many ways, to comprehensively define literacy as a basic skill – even though there is no doubt that it is a crucial foundation for lifelong learning. However, as Sulkunen pointed out, literacy is also very much an object of lifelong learning: we continuously need to develop new types of literacies in a world that constantly introduces new opportunities and demands.
For this reason, Sulkunen prefers to use the plural form, literacies. This highlights just how situational a “sufficient” level of reading and writing might be, depending on one’s job, other life demands – and also the kind of person one is.
Not all people with low literacy levels are marginalised or struggling; many manage everyday life just fine. They may receive support from others, benefit from the increasingly visual nature of modern communication, and draw on other valuable skills to function as meaning-makers in their own environments.
It is quite impressive, when you think about it like this, just how adaptable and nimble we humans are as we navigate a constantly changing world with our unique skill sets.
Heini Huhtinen – EPALE Adult Learning Expert
EPALE Podcast: Navigating Literacy in a Complex World
What does it really mean to be literate today? Reading and writing remain essential, but the ways we access, interpret, and produce meaning are multiplying across screens, formats, languages, and contexts. Literacy is no longer a single skill acquired once, but a constellation of competencies that evolves with the world around us. In this episode of the EPALE Podcast, host Heini Huhtinen speaks with Professor Sari Sulkunen about the concept of multiliteracies and what it reveals about how adults continue to develop these skills throughout their lives in work, in citizenship, and in everyday life. The conversation also touches on why AI tools are making critical literacy and writing skills more urgent than ever.
Between Cultures: Adult Educators’ Perspectives on Learning Pathways for Migrants
What do adult educators actually see when they work with newly arrived migrants, and what do their experiences reveal about the systems they operate within? Language acquisition and qualification recognition are the visible priorities, but the picture that emerges from the classroom is often more complex: cultural unfamiliarity, identity under pressure, and the persistent risk of reducing a person to a bundle of transferable competencies. Drawing on interviews with 44 educators across nine European countries as part of the Erasmus+ HEIDI project, this article brings a less-heard perspective to the debate on migrant integration in adult education. It asks whether programmes designed primarily for labour market integration are making the most of the full potential of adult learning, and what it would mean to prioritise empowerment over employability.
► Read the full article by Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha
Submit Your Story!
Some of the most significant learning does not happen in the middle of things, but at the edges, during moments of transition, doubt or unexpected change. This year’s EPALE Community Stories call invites practitioners and learners across Europe to write about these spaces, and the in-between moments that quietly reshape who we are and how we teach. If you have experienced or observed a transformative journey, this is your opportunity to express it in words.
► Submissions are open, and every voice from the adult learning community is welcome!
Discover How to Earn Your EPALE Badge
Getting more out of your EPALE membership just got easier. A new video tutorial walks you through how to earn badges on the platform: a simple but meaningful way to have your contributions and engagement recognised by the community. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to make the most of what EPALE has to offer, this step-by-step guide is worth a few minutes of your time.
