Project purpose
The aim of this project is to investigate the relationship between learner intentions and outcomes to determine what more can be done to assist foundation skills learners who do intend to complete, achieve their goal.
Research questions
For learners who did not complete a nationally recognised foundation skills training program:
- What were their training intentions? (reasons/motivations for doing the training)
- Were those training intentions met? Why/why not?
- If they intended to complete but did not, what supports could have assisted them to complete their training?
- What were their experiences with doing their training? Here we are interested in the actual learning content as well as the learning context (the provider, the learning environment, aspects of their lives that may have impacted on their learning experience, what supports if any they had available to them to help them participate in the training etc).
Methodology
To address the research questions and overarching aim, the methodology will involve primarily qualitative methodological approaches, in particular, case studies of learners from non-English speaking backgrounds and First Nations learners will be undertaken.
These learner cohorts have been chosen because
- Circelli et al. (2022) found that learners whose first enrolment was in a foundation skills program were more likely to speak a language other than English at home, be born in a country other than Australia, be female, and to be unemployed or not in the labour force.
- Circelli et al. (2022) reported that while the completion rate of learners who only enrolled in foundation skills programs was low at around 32%, it was even lower for the cohort of First Nations learners, at 28%. Further, the Social Equity Works and Reading Writing Hotline study (2022) noted that “First Nations adults from both English speaking and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds facing substantial barriers to [foundation skills] provision. This can include lack of culturally appropriate courses and lack of English as an additional language provision” (p.6). In addition, acknowledging that First Nations people in remote communities need additional assistance, the federal government is funding a series of foundation skills pilot programs specifically tailored for remote communities. These pilot programs will run until 30 June 2023.