The purpose of this study was to explore and describe what factors contributed to interrupted persistence among international students, in a General Education Development (GED) preparation course, in an adult continuing education department, in a community college setting, located in an urban area in New York City. The study utilized a qualitative…

Describes five African American women learners who were participating in a community-based General Education Development program. Argues that a lack of engagement is in part due to the "scripts" of school reading, which they have carried with them into adulthood and which alienate them from the act of reading. (SG)