Literacy and numeracy in vocational education and training: Review of research

The aim of this report is to bring together the major insights from research since 1990 on literacy and numeracy as they relate to vocational education and training. The report reviews the literature and identifies issues and themes in the areas of policy, practice and research on the topic.

Background and definitions

Literacy and numeracy are vital underpinning skills for effective and efficient vocational education and training.

The field of adult literacy and numeracy has developed from the broader field of adult education. Literacy and numeracy are vital underpinning skills for effective and efficient vocational education and training. The literature on this topic comes from a variety of multi-disciplinary sources reflecting concepts of education and training, and issues of human and social capital and empowerment.

Concepts of literacy and numeracy include:

• Functional literacy: literacy and numeracy skills are taught as basic skills, on the assumption that they can then be applied in those functional tasks that rely on them.
• Integrated literacy and numeracy: literacy and numeracy are seen as integrated, or embedded, in the social context.
• Workplace literacy and numeracy: a variety of basic skills instructional programs are offered at the workplace.
• Whole language: this approach focusses on the processes by which literacy acquisition occurs, as well as the 'whole' social context in which it takes place.
• Critical literacy and numeracy: basic literacy and numeracy skills are seen as being connected to all aspects of an individual's and a community's sense of social identity and capacity to command social resources. The concept envisages a multiplicity of literacies ('multiliteracies') for different purposes in different contexts.
• Literacy, numeracy and social capital for lifelong learning and vocational education and training: this covers the literature on links between literacy and numeracy, human capital, social capital, and lifelong learning identifies a number of themes and issues of importance in the domain of practical applications of literacy and numeracy in VET.

Approaches to literacy and numeracy in VET

The literature associated with adult literacy and numeracy in VET draws upon, and can be understood through, three main pre-existing groups of literature about approaches to literacy and numeracy: the basic skills approaches, the growth and heritage approaches, and the critical-cultural approaches.

• Basic skills approaches view reading and writing as perceptual and/or cognitive skills. There is an emphasis on how sight word recognition and phonics affect the acquisition of literacy. A body of literature has emerged which links these 'basic skills' of human capital theory with the supposed benefits of education in basic skills to industry and the economy, and thus also with vocational education and training.
• Growth and heritage approaches, 'whole language', focusses on the processes by which literacy acquisition occurs as part of the social context in which it occurs. The emphasis is not so much on the text or the product but on the relationship between comprehension, sight words, grapho-phonic cues and the context in which these are used. The primary principles of whole language are that learners are actively constructing meaning the whole time.
• Critical-cultural approaches view sees literacy as social practice and in cross-cultural perspective. Modern theories and methods in the field of linguistics have had a major impact on critical-cultural approaches to literacy education, especially in Australia. Critical-cultural theory is represented in adult education and workplace literacy and numeracy, although the practical manifestations are apparently not as prevalent as other approaches.

Policy in relation to literacy and numeracy in VET

The present trend of the Federal government and State governments is to place a high priority on vocational education and training programs in post-compulsory schooling. Each State and Territory has its own policy response and structure to manage literacy and numeracy learning. The relationship between poor literacy skills and economic and social characteristics is well-documented and has had strong policy support through the 1990s, beginning with research during the International Literacy Year (1990), which found that one in ten of all adult Australians had some form of literacy difficulty. The Australian language and literacy policy (ALLP) (DEET1991) addressed this need. The Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) and the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs' (DEETYA) Workplace English Language and Literacy Program became important sources of funding for adult literacy and numeracy.

In collaboration with the adult literacy and numeracy profession, the National Framework for Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Competence (Australian Committee for Training Curriculum 1993) was developed. It represents a common point of reference for the identification, recognition and development of language, literacy and numeracy competence, based on the principle that literacy, language and numeracy are central elements of competence for work and social activity, and that they are best taught, learned and assessed through activities in social contexts. The National Reporting System: A mechanism for reporting adult English language, literacy and numeracy indicators of performance (Coates et al. 1995) was a further significant development.

Incorporating language and literacy competencies into industry and enterprise standards was seen to be essential in making literacy training more likely to be delivered, and in making that training more likely to be tailored specifically for the needs of the workplace. The subsequent inclusion of literacy and numeracy in industry standards in training packages has been followed by evaluative research initiated by the ANTA and the Department of Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA), including research by the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium (ALNARC).

During the period 1990 to 1999, adult literacy became increasingly linked with the problem of unemployment, and with various interventionist strategies on the part of the Commonwealth Government.

Practice

Significant and multiple implications for literacy practice have emerged from forces for change such as globalisation and technological advancement. Governments throughout the 1990s consistently implemented a policy of opening-up provision of education and training to a wider set of providers, with the intention of offering more choice to the user. The barriers between traditional sectors of adult and community education and vocational education and training have in many ways disappeared. Adult and Community Education (ACE) and VET sectors have been merged to a large extent. These changes have had important consequences for the way practitioners carry out their work.

The effects of the transition of adult literacy and numeracy practice in workplaces are documented by an expanding literature. Professional groups such as the Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL) provide support for practitioners through publications and websites. A wide range of professional development packages and learner materials have been developed. While there is a growing literature investigating the impact on practice and workplace of inclusion of literacy and numeracy in industry standards via training packages, professional development literature is less extensive on this subject of integrated literacy and numeracy learning. There is also a need for professional development focussing on assessment in training package contexts.

Research

Australian language and literacy research makes a major contribution to the international body of knowledge in this area. Through the 1990s, research supports the view that literacy skills are directly related to worker productivity, the economy and quality of life. Research has also thrown light on literacy's importance in everyday community life and its relationship to VET and vocational learning. Vocational skills merge with community, public and civic literacies.

There is a small body of work on the importance of social capital in literacy and numeracy. Literacy is seen as a participation-in-VET issue, since the trust and social cohesion of social capital is a requirement for learners to become participants in vocational learning. For the unemployed; however, by themselves, the literacy skills associated with human capital are not sufficient for achieving employment.

One important aspect of the intersection of literacy, numeracy and VET is the emerging field of VET-in-Schools programs. To date, however, no specific research is found that is concerned with literacy and numeracy as it relates to the VET-in-Schools program.

The literature on equity concerns in relation to literacy and numeracy in VET includes women's literacy, people with disabilities, rural and remote people, Non-English-speaking background (NESB) people, Indigenous people, and people with socioeconomic disadvantage.

Numeracy

Numeracy has emerged through the 1990s as a complex issue, rather than a single concept that can be incorporated within literacy. It has become a distinct field with its own identity and growing body of literature. Definitions of numeracy usually include emphasis on the practical or functional application and use of mathematics, involving a wide range of skills and implying a certain flexibility, which is dependent on the needs and interests of the individual within the context of the peer group, community or workplace.

Numeracy is now appreciated as a key skill area in VET, but its conceptual boundaries, cognitive underpinnings, and assessment, require further research. Much of the existing research on numeracy in VET concentrates on professional development needs of curriculum writers, industry trainers and vocational teachers.

Common themes

In the literature on literacy and numeracy in VET reviewed, there are three major common themes, or patterns:

• Across policy, practice and research, there is an explicit awareness of the importance of literacy and numeracy in VET. It is viewed as the most significant underpinning (or 'generic') set of skills.
• The theme of 'integration' versus 'basic skills' recurs frequently.
• The theme of purposes for literacy and numeracy in VET also recurs. These purposes are twofold:
    - for facilitating mobility within and between work contexts.
    - analysis, synthesis, conclusions and issues

Analysis and discussion of themes emerging from the literature on literacy and numeracy in VET leads to certain conclusions:

• The integrated literacy and numeracy approach provides the best option for work-based practice where learning the integrated literacy and numeracy skills is a practical option for the workplace.
• The stand-alone provision of literacy and numeracy approach continues to provide the best option for (a) work-based practice where intensive learning of literacy and numeracy skills is indicated, and (b) for situations where literacy and numeracy learning are required to facilitate access to and participation in VET. The latter groups include literacy and numeracy for the unemployed as well as for the underemployed.
• There is no co-ordinated and integrated policy, practice or research agency on literacies and numeracies for lifelong learning across sectors and portfolios. There is no objective research that examines the literacy and numeracy implications of VET-in-Schools programs while recognising and reconciling the value and place of (often) opposing vested interests in that sector.
• There is unco-ordinated and incomplete research, policy and associated practice development about establishing physical and human structures for learning through the new literacies required online.
• There is no nationally consistent approach to all forms of professional development for integrated literacy and numeracy competencies as found in the training packages in pre-service and in-service courses that would build on existing best practice ANTA models.

From conclusions to directions for further research

The gaps identified in the literature suggest the need for research in a number of areas.

• There should be investigation of strategies for creating awareness of the roles of both basic literacy and numeracy skills and embedded literacy and numeracy as integrated task competence in all facets of lifelong learning in and through VET.
• There is room for a needs-analysis and scoping study to establish the extent of stand-alone literacy and numeracy provision required to satisfy demand for participation in VET and to support existing VET provision.
• There is a need for a co-ordination function and agency, formalised, coordinated and resourced through ANTA, to liaise between those involved in implementing ANTA's lifelong learning strategies and those involved in literacy and numeracy in VET.
• A coherent suite of research projects is needed to document and evaluate the implications of the nature and scope of transition literacies and numeracies required in a diversity of VET-in-Schools programs, and special methods of incorporating these explicit competencies in student and staff learning courses.
• There is a need for a scoping study to determine the literacies and numeracies required for various forms of VET learning online.
• Research is needed into the blend of basic skills and social resources required for best practice literacy and numeracy learning, particularly in the context of training packages.