Building sustainable adult literacy provision: A review of international trends in adult literacy policy and programs

This report provides a summary of an extensive study of policies and practices in adult literacy and adult basic education in Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia. The study concluded the following in relation to adult literacy provision and policy in Australia:

• Australia has achieved considerable success in the integration of literacy with vocational education and training (VET) which operates within national qualifications and quality assurance frameworks. It also has a strong base for developing national policy settings and putting in place an effective national reporting system on the outcomes of literacy provision.
   
• Australia has not refreshed its literacy policy since 1996, unlike the other countries studied, to take into account the new dimensions and approaches to literacy that have emerged in recent times. It is also unclear how these literacies relate to other recognised generic skills.
   
• Australia needs to pay closer attention to literacy teaching workforce issues and build the capability of the existing workforce in the light of an expanding range of teaching methods, new technologies, emerging new literacies (such as effective use of technology) and the diverse range of contexts for delivery. In fact, it appears that in Australia opportunities for professional development are decreasing. Improving certification to enhance professionalism might also be needed to aid the replacement of practitioners who are leaving or about to leave due to age.
   
• Efforts are needed to develop a better understanding of current literacy provision-in all its forms-and rates of success compared with apparent levels of literacy need. The best documented programs are those offered through the VET sector as accredited stand-alone courses, while Australia's provision through informal non-accredited courses is not documented. In addition, the effectiveness of literacy teaching that is integrated within VET skills programs is not currently measured.

This document summarises an extensive study of policies and practices in adult literacy and adult basic education in a number of countries undertaken by Rosa McKenna and Lynne Fitzpatrick. The original study contains considerably greater detail and analyses issues on a country-by-country basis and is available on the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) website as a support document to this summary report (http://www.ncver.edu.au).

The countries studied—Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia—are all western democracies, some with federal and others with unitary systems of government. All are primarily English speaking, although Canada is bilingual, and most have significant indigenous and immigrant minorities, often disadvantaged and with special literacy needs.

This summary report is organised around five headings related to the key features of effective adult literacy policy and program practices identified in the main study. These are:

• policy contexts and concepts
• program development and delivery
• regulatory frameworks, product development and quality assurance
• issues for the teaching workforce
• implications for Australia.

Methodology

A desktop audit of the available international literature and online information, including data from international organisations, provided the basic issues structure of the full report. Experts from each country were contacted to secure access to material covering a number of themes related to policy-making and program delivery. Many of these respondents provided access to published and unpublished research and policy documents. Others provided some commentary on developments in their countries. The views and commentary provided informally by these respondents have only been used when referenced in the literature.

Policy context and concepts

The study found that adult literacy issues are widespread in the countries studied and impact on their capacity to build high-skill, knowledge-based economies and inclusive societies. The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), conducted in the 1990s by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Statistics Canada (1995, 2000) in all countries studied, has acted in most cases as a catalyst for a review of literacy policy and practice, although less so in Australia than elsewhere. The survey revealed that all countries studied have significant proportions of their adult populations—between 45% and 55%—with the lowest two levels of literacy proficiency, suggesting that these adults may have trouble with everyday tasks. The survey focused on print-based prose, document and quantitative literacies.

Following the survey, most countries identified national lead agencies for adult literacy. National strategies were developed, often through green and white papers, and involved the task of thinking through conceptualisations of literacy. New literacies, such as effective use of technology, effective communications and problem-solving, have been identified as critical in modern day life, in addition to the above-mentioned traditional basic literacies. Nevertheless, many countries' strategies remain focused on traditional, print-based concepts of literacy.

The recent refocus on literacy has also stimulated much debate as to how literacies are acquired, with trends moving towards what could be described as 'situated' or 'contextualised' provision; that is, approaches which engage adult learners by being highly relevant to their particular interests and needs as consumers, workers, parents and so on.

Program development and delivery

Most countries have appointed national agencies to promote their literacy strategies and programs, although they vary greatly in their powers, with federally governed countries especially, having to work indirectly through state or provincial jurisdictions.

Adult literacy in most countries studied is characterised by diversity and proliferation of providers. Titles of adult literacy programs vary from country to country but often include terms such as: adult literacy; adult basic education; adult basic skills; adult language literacy and numeracy; further education; English as a second language (ESL) and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL); reading, writing and numeracy; and a range of terms indicating basic education for adults.

Additionally, most countries rely heavily on volunteers and community-based organisations. All countries have programs which are community-oriented and aimed at a variety of personal needs alongside those aimed at the workforce, both the employed and job seekers.

Australia's community provision through informal non-accredited courses is not documented. The best documented programs are those offered through the vocational education and training (VET) sector as accredited stand-alone courses. However, Australia seems to put a greater emphasis than most countries on integrating literacy within VET skills programs, the effectiveness of which is not currently measured.

Funding is an issue in all countries but recently many governments have moved towards greater levels of investment.

Regulatory frameworks, product development and quality assurance

Federally governed countries tend to be less directive and centralised than unitary states, but even so, most countries exhibit increasing levels of national intervention, support, strategy and accountability.

Countries in which voluntary and community provision dominates are least prescriptive in matters of curriculum and standards-setting. There is relatively light prescription of curriculum frameworks, standards and quality assurance in Canada, New Zealand and Ireland, although moves are underway to improve reporting and accountability standards in some of these jurisdictions.

Countries with a vocational emphasis more clearly designate required outcomes, modelled on protocols designed for vocational competencies. Australia has made considerable progress with the integration of literacy standards within broader occupational training standards, and with using the country's National Reporting System. This trend is observable in other countries. New Zealand is moving closer towards the United Kingdom and Australian approaches, where adult literacy standards are mapped onto or integrated into educational standards, particularly in national qualifications frameworks.

Australia, through the Australian Quality Training Framework, also has a relatively advanced quality assurance system, at least in relation to literacy programs in the VET sector. Several countries apart from Australia are implementing or experimenting with national quality assurance mechanisms.

Issues for the teaching workforce

The teaching workforce in adult literacy again reflects the relatively marginal standing of literacy in the countries studied.

The volunteer ethos in most countries, despite its strengths, has created a tradition of a teaching workforce with minimal professionalism, with high degrees of casual employment, even in paid workforces, and a lack of clear training and career pathways.

Where the literacy instructors are professionally qualified, they have frequently been recruited from the school sector and may not have experience in teaching adults, specialist English as a second language, or adult literacy and numeracy, in the context of vocational education and training and the workplace.

The teaching workforce in Australia faces particular difficulties. The model of integrating literacy with vocational skills training means that both specialist adult literacy skills and vocational training skills are required by the VET teaching workforce. A growing number of literacies that demand professional development for the teaching workforce appear to be needed by adults in today's world. In some countries and especially Australia, however, opportunities for professional development are decreasing.

Implications for Australia

Compared with the other countries studied, Australia has a strong focus on the integration of literacy with VET standards and national qualifications, and a relatively advanced quality assurance system in relation to the literacy programs delivered through the VET sector. Australia also has a strong conceptual base for an effective national reporting system on the outcomes of literacy provision but it is not applied in all instances.

On the other hand, Australia can learn from a range of developments in international policy and practice. A framework for action would include:

• policy contexts and concepts
  • providing national leadership to create forums for dialogue to refresh Australia's literacy policy and develop action plans, taking into account the multiple dimensions of literacy in today's world, while at the same time being flexible and manageable
  • expanding research and development efforts to enable a better understanding of current literacy provision-in all its forms-and rates of success, and compared with apparent levels of literacy need
• program development and delivery
  • continuing to develop diverse models of delivery that are required to meet the multiple dimensions of literacy and expanding educational resources that support particular forms of provision
  • improving existing information dissemination services
• regulatory frameworks, product development and quality assurance
  • promoting consistent reporting frameworks. At present, stand-alone literacy programs sit to the side of the industry-related programs in which literacy is embedded and hidden in the assessment process, and it is not clear how the stand-alone or embedded literacies relate to other recognised generic skills
  • exploring new funding models that encourage partnership arrangements between different government departments or with business and the community
• issues for the teaching workforce
  • building the capability of the existing workforce to cope with the expanding range of teaching methods, new technologies, emerging new literacies and the diverse range of contexts for delivery, by improving certification to enhance professionalism. This might also aid the replacement of practitioners leaving, or who are about to leave due to age.