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There has been limited research conducted with older people with literacy difficulties in the past. Hence, there is little known about the factors that could affect older people’s decisions about learning in later life, about what and how they choose to learn, and about what role learning plays in their life as they grow older. NALA sought to address this gap in the literature when it undertook a study in 2008 entitled ‘It’s never too late to learn’.1 The primary objective of the research was the systematic investigation of the coping strategies that older literacy learners identify as most effective in disguising literacy and/or numeracy problems. Even less is known both nationally and internationally about older people with literacy difficulties who have never engaged with literacy services. Arising from this, NALA commissioned this research to build on the findings from its 2008 study and to examine the coping strategies adopted by older people who are not literacy learners.
Lalor, T., Doyle, G., McKenna, A & Fitzsimons, A. (2009). Learning Through Life: A Study of Older People with Literacy Difficulties in Ireland. Dublin. Dublin: National Literacy Agency. isbn:9781 907171 05 5.