ACE outcomes

The aim of the research was to provide:

• a useful and valid description of the full range of adult and community education (ACE) services and clients nationwide
• an analysis of ACE outcomes and contributions to lifelong learning for its range of clients
• recommendations which would contribute to valid and reliable national data on ACE outcomes, taking account of the full range of outcomes and the barriers that exist to the collection of relevant information.

National, state and territory policy and funding representatives responsible for adult and community education were initially interviewed. This was followed by interviews with representatives from 40 agencies across Australia delivering adult and community education.

The label 'ACE' is not universally used or understood. The report takes it to mean 'organised adult learning in community settings'.

In terms of services and clients, the research finds that:

• ACE agencies cater for a very wide range of adult groups in the community, including those from extremely diverse income, educational, social and cultural backgrounds.
• Women predominate, but agencies report more men are becoming involved.
• Courses range from basic literacy and foundation education through to post-degree professional development.

The report presents a framework for classifying ACE outcomes according to individual development outcomes (personal domain, public domain and work domain), community development outcomes and economic development outcomes. A set of 20 outcomes as a way of accounting for the full range of ACE's outcomes is proposed.

Identified barriers to measuring outcomes include disparate funding policy and administrative arrangements across states/territories, the cost of collection of these data in a sector with very limited resources, and the difficulties associated with collecting meaningful data to measure particular kinds of outcomes, such as building social capacity.

Agencies are ambivalent about data collection since there is a general dislike of paperwork and there is a suspicion of a statistical standard that appears to pigeonhole activities. However, many desire data which can be used for planning.

The report argues that, if there is a national will to overcome the barriers or step around them, over time, a national system to comprehensively account for ACE outcomes is possible.

The report proposes an approach to a national data collection, noting the many difficulties that would need to be overcome. It suggests two principles and a further two 'considerations'.

Principles

ACE is economical of time and money at every level.

ACE is useful for local, regional and national stakeholders.

Important considerations

• There is need to gain national agreement about the scope of ACE.
• There is need for a democratic, representative national structure to broker the collection of data.

The report canvasses a number of ways that performance of the sector could be measured:

• the use of the Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard (AVETMISS) which is relevant for parts of the sector
• a student/participant survey, possibly based on the current National Centre for Vocational Education Research's (NCVER) student outcomes survey
• a national quantitative data collection based on annual activity statements which could be done as either a census or a survey
• a study (qualitative in nature) over a lengthy period of time undertaken as a research project to identify the major features of the sector, and how they change
• a long-term research agenda, building on this study examining, for example, the connections between participation in ACE and self-esteem.

To sum up, this report provides a foundation on which a national ACE performance measurement system could be built. However, a prerequisite for such a collection would be agreement between state, territory and national authorities and the providers, on a national framework (scope and coverage) and the indicators required by the various players. After all, there is no point collecting data for the sake of it. Consultation with the ACE agencies is critical if this agenda is to be pursued.