<p>This article analyses key tensions in the professionalisation of literacy and basic education. Drawing on qualitative interview data, it identifies four interrelated tensions operating across the micro, meso, and macro levels. The findings indicate that while the field possesses considerable innovative and developmental potential, its long-term consolidation remains constrained by limited structural institutionalisation. From a&#xa0;power-critical perspective, the article contributes to debates on professionalisation in adult education by demonstrating that both multiply marginalised learners and predominantly precariously employed teachers work within structurally disadvantaged contexts, in which insufficient institutional support further intensifies existing inequalities.</p>