This winner of the prestigious UNESCO International Award for Literacy Research examines the many routes which a group of Mexican women living in a small town on the edge of Mexico City has taken to full participation in written culture. In this volume, 'literacy' is understood to be the development of knowledge and the use of written language in the social world and in cultural events. Highlighting the success that a self-directed study group can have when given tailor-made support, Judy Kalman draws a number of important conclusions regarding the significance of literacy in its local context for adult education. She also shows persuasively that the "contact between generations, the ways mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters share and spend time together is an important form of social organization that can and should be taken advantage of in educational programs".