Literacy and illiteracy from illiterate Turkish women’s perspectives: A phenomenological study

Abstract

The aim of this research was to explore literate and illiterate concepts from illiterate Turkish women’s perspectives. In the light of this aim, we conducted semi-structured interviews with six illiterate Turkish women attending adult literacy course. The findings of the study have been treated in two dimensions: ‘reasons for illiteracy’ and ‘literacy perception’. Inequalities stemming from gender perception were found to be the real reason behind illiteracy. According to illiterate women, illiteracy meant having problems with transportation, health, child education, and family economics and being dependent on others for these; while literacy means experiencing no problems with these or being self-sufficient regarding them.