Abstract
Studies have examined the association between adult literacy education and poverty reduction in Cross River State. However, most of the studies focused on adult literacy education and poverty reduction holistically without explaining how the different forms of adult literacy education can contribute to the different dimensions of poverty reduction. To bridge this gap in the literature, the present study used the descriptive approach to describe the relationship between each dimension of adult literacy education and each dimension of poverty reduction in rural communities in Cross River State. The population of the study comprised all adults in rural communities in Cross River State. Purposive sampling was applied in selecting 300 adults from six rural communities in the State as the sample for this study. A self-structured questionnaire titled “Adult Literary Education and Poverty Reduction Questionnaire (ALEPRQ)” was used as the instrument for data collection. The questionnaire had acceptable item-level and scale-level content validity indices (CVIs). Reliability was determined using the Cronbach alpha approach for internal consistency. Descriptive statistics was used to answer the research questions while Multiple Linear Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis at a .05 level of significance. Results indicate that the extent of poverty reduction in rural communities in Cross River State is low. It was also apparent from the result that the extent of adult literacy education delivery in rural communities in the State is also low. The analysis further indicated that formal adult literacy education, non-formal adult literacy education and informal adult literacy education significantly contributed to poverty reduction in rural communities in Cross River State. The study has practical implications for the Government of Cross River State to establish adult education centres in rural communities in the State, strengthen all types of non-formal adult education programmes, and develop models to enhance the use of cultural events and mass media to improve the literacy levels of rural people in the State. These measures will improve the level of poverty reduction and enhance communication. DOI: https://doie.org/10.50390/NCAEJ.2026391758