A study explored the nature of adult learners' social networks by interviewing six adult learners at a suburban northeast Ohio adult education site. Five of the subjects were working to pass the General Education Development Test and one was a student of English as a Second Language. The study found that several of the subjects had social networks that encouraged their participation in adult education, but several of the participants' networks were not supportive. All six subjects spoke about the support they felt from their current adult education teachers--especially compared to the elementary and secondary teachers they had had earlier. Friends were usually supportive of the learners' schooling efforts, but occasionally attempted to hinder the learners. One factor consistently emerged from the interviews as entirely supportive of literacy growth--the learners themselves. Without exception, the decision to participate in adult education was made independently. Specific occupational goals were also consistently named as supportive of literacy growth. Three ways that the findings could be used to help tutors, teachers, and program administrators work with adult learners were suggested: (1) since adult learners already function in interdependent social networks, it should be possible to build literacy networks through classes in reading and writing; (2) the social aspect of literacy could be legitimized through meaningful classroom interactions; and (3) the strong sense of ownership that adult learners bring to their literacy experiences suggests the appropriateness of a self-assessment component in literacy programs. (KC)