The Clam Framework: Advancing Critical Literacies to Address Bias in Adult Learning

Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on Teaching, Learning and Education

Year: 2025

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The Clam Framework: Advancing Critical Literacies to Address Bias in Adult Learning

Petra Robinson, Bethany Hager, Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell

ABSTRACT:

This article presents the Critical Literacies Advancement Model (CLAM) as both a practical and theoretical framework for disrupting bias through adult learning. Grounded in critical literacy and critical thinking traditions, CLAM integrates multiple literacies, including racial, human rights, and media literacies, into a unified approach that enables educators and learners to identify and challenge systemic inequities. Positioned within current scholarship on critical pedagogy and adult education, CLAM demonstrates its utility for curriculum analysis and pedagogical innovation, particularly in contexts where hidden curriculum and informal learning environments, such as social media, perpetuate biases. Drawing on the work of Robinson (2020; 2021), the model emphasizes the intersection of critical literacy and critical thinking, encouraging learners to question power structures embedded in texts and media while developing cognitive tools to evaluate information, make informed decisions, and cultivate independent thought. By expanding traditional understandings of literacy beyond reading and writing to include the interrogation of sociocultural narratives, CLAM serves as a tool for promoting social justice and equity within adult education. The article highlights innovative teaching applications, illustrating how CLAM supports practitioners in fostering critical awareness, encouraging reflective dialogue, and designing inclusive learning environments. Ultimately, CLAM is positioned as a transformative model that can help dismantle systemic barriers in adult education by equipping learners with the skills to recognize, resist, and reshape dominant narratives that reinforce inequity.

Keywords: Social Justice Education, Andragogical Innovation, System Inequities, Hidden Curriculum, Inclusive Learning Environments