The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the learning of basic reading literacy skills in a contextualized, educational career technical training program, specifically the School to Work Program. The study explores whether adult literacy rates can change through students' participation in a contextualized, educational and career technical training program and investigates what factors are related to any change in adult literacy rates. This is a mixed method study that uses 1) a quantitative analysis to determine if there is a significant difference between pre- and post-test reading scores and what factors influence those literacy changes, and 2) a qualitative analysis to explore the specific characteristics in a contextualized, educational and career technical training program. The findings indicate that participants in the study were able to raise their reading test scores on the Test of Basic Education (TABE) by participating in this program. Only a single demographic characteristic, age, served as a significant predictor of participants' post-test TABE reading scores. Three themes emerged as key issues in the qualitative portion of this study: motivation for learning, contextualized literacy practices, and the disconnect between the two. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are also discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]