Mapping Cognitive Engagement in Adult Literacy Classrooms

Abstract: Using exploratory factor analysis to examine self-reported survey data from adult learners, this study identified three factors of cognitive engagement in the adult literacy classroom: program involvement, focus, and independent effort. A model that demonstrates the impact of independent effort on gains in reading test scores was developed using multivariate analysis. Few adult educators would argue against the proposition that cognitive engagement is an essential ingredient for literacy learning. However, the precise meaning of cognitive engagement is elusive and there is little consensus in this regard. Moreover, empirical research on the ways in which low-literate adults think about their own learning processes is virtually non-existent. Theoretical Framework The core concept, cognitive engagement, appears in many guises in the scholarly literature. Of interest in this study is cognitive engagement, a learner’s active use of self-regulating strategies in purposeful classroom learning (Corno & Mandinach, 1983). A number of studies have measured the construct among K-12 and college students (e.g., Helme & Clarke