From Grassroots to Grasstops: Leveraging Social Media to Advocate for Adult Education

Date: January 30, 2011

By Jackie Taylor

Today’s economic climate demands bold, innovative strategies to advance effective policies for adult education and literacy. Adult education advocates have historically relied on email as a mainstay communication vehicle for sending and receiving advocacy alerts and galvanizing action. However, research shows nationally that email open rates have declined 63% from 2004–2008. With the rise of social media, cell phones and Internet access, some would even argue that there is not a digital divide.

We must also look at the sheer volume of messages going in to Congress each day as a direct result of Internet communications and ask ourselves, is what we’re doing for adult education enough? Practitioners and adult learners bring their unique experiences to Congress. However, the adult education field itself is small (significantly underfunded), so there are not nearly enough members of the field to carry the torch compared to other education fields. We need help.

NCL’s Social Media Research and Campaign Initiative

In 2010, the National Coalition for Literacy contracted with Fission Strategy to conduct research on using social media for grassroots advocacy. The purpose was to investigate how we can increase grassroots advocacy for adult education and literacy by tapping activists both within and outside of the adult literacy field through new media. Fission began by contracting with Morningside Analytics to scour the blogosphere—200 million blogs—to determine:

where the conversations about adult education and literacy were happening;
where there were related conversations and conversation centers;
who are the conversation leaders; and
advise on content and outreach strategy to introduce adult education to a world of potential advocates for it.

Since then, the Coalition has been working with Fission to implement social media recommendations both for improving our existing presence, streamlining and expanding it, and creating a content and outreach plan to involve more potential advocates.

In February 2011, the Coalition will launch a redesign of its website that will fold in all of its web presence under one umbrella. We will have resources for the general public to quickly access in understanding why adult education is important and how to take action. We now have Capwiz on our website and on NCL’s Facebook Page. This enables advocates to act quickly on alerts that advance positions developed through Coalition consensus (yes, we still urge advocates to keep advocacy messages unique!). We also plan to conduct a pilot advocacy campaign using new media this spring. More updates will be posted here and on our newly launched redesign in February 2011.

This work is accomplished with tremendous thanks to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and the Coalition Social Media Team. The team is comprised of NCL Members’ social media, communications, and advocacy experts: Cassandra Brown, GED Testing Service; Dahlia Shaewitz, American Institutes for Research; Jenna Miller, National Center for Family Literacy; Kristin K. Murphy, American Library Association; Marcie Foster, Center for Law and Social Policy; Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, American Institutes for Research; Marsha L. Tait and Jackie Taylor, National Coalition for Literacy.

Learn More

For more on why we should focus on using social media to advocate for adult education, check out Fission Strategy’s presentation and the video below from the Partnership for a More Perfect Union.

Social Media For Grassroots Engagement

View more presentations from Rosalyn Lemieux.

Congress and New Media: The World Has Changed

Get Involved

The Coalition is reaching out to more practitioners, adult learners, and activists than ever before in order to increase the field’s grassroots advocacy base. We must bring more advocates for adult education into the fold, educate them about our issues, and empower them to act quickly on behalf of this important cause.

You can become part of this grassroots effort by following us and acting on our alerts posted in these venues:

You can be a grasstops supporter by sharing advocacy information and alerts with others and ensuring a response to those alerts in your home and community.

We hope you will be a part of the joy and success adult education and literacy brings to people, families, communities, and our great nation. Join us in advocating for adult education, and together we can and will make a difference every day.