Welcome to Volume 112, our Winter edition. This is a significant year for RaPAL as we celebrate 40 years since the setting up of the RaPAL network in 1984 and the publication of the first RaPAL Bulletin (later the RaPAL Journal) the following year.   At our recent Editorial meeting in Birmingham, we made plans for the next three editions to look back at RaPAL’s past achievements, celebrate our present and look forwards to future possibilities.

So, in this edition we have reproduced a selection of articles going back to 1996, the earliest we have in our printed archive, focussing on how the concept of adult literacy / literacies has developed over the decades. You will find articles by (and photographs of) some of our founder members and, where possible, we have included the original editorial comments.

Yvonne Spare, Journal Coordinator

RaPAL have been publishing topical works in this multidisciplinary field since 1985 and we encourage our members to contribute. Please review past editions and guidance on contributing to the journal.

Plans for our next two editions:

Volume 113 (Spring/Summer 2026) : Literacy in different contexts, including imaginative projects from past and present.  We may not know about present initiatives unless we hear from our members, so please let us know about exciting developments in your area.  Even if you are not sure about writing something yourself, please get in touch at journal@rapal.org.uk and we can have a discussion about it.

Volume 114 (Autumn/Winter 2026) :  A look to the future, including digital literacies and artificial intelligence.  How do you see future ways of teaching and learning changing?  What are your and your teams' plans?

Any comments about this or other editions or ideas for future content can be sent to journal@rapal.org.uk. Don’t worry if your ideas for an article do not fit one of our themes – there is space in all our Journals for items of interest to our readers.  Most Journal editions contain articles by new writers, including adult literacies learners.  There are guidelines on our website on the Write with Us page and we offer as much support as you feel you need. 

We have created another short Taster Journal for publicity and distribution and as the previous version proved very popular. All three can be found here in pdf format:

RaPAL Taster Journal 2017

RaPAL Taster Journal 2013

RaPAL Taster Journal 2006

“This edition of the journal commemorates RaPAL’s thirty years, and the revolutionary social practices approaches to adult literacies education brewing in the eighties. We are delighted to carry commemorative pieces by Mary Hamilton and Brian Street, and some new ‘columns’ and features in the journal, such as contributing online commentary. The articles explore different aspects of the critical nature of people, their lives and contexts in literacies education. The topics range from provision for the Roma community in Spain, excluded young people on London’s troubled estates and community empowerment approaches through the global award-winning Reflect method, to theoretical analyses of motivation and frameworks of context in learning. We share our experimental part-virtual multi-hub Regional Colloquia held across three of the four nations last summer; and encourage you to participate in our Stories of Resilience co-publication with ACAL. Please do give us some feedback via the link on page 4. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Tara Furlong and Julie Furnivall, edition 87 editors

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