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A
project supporting community education approaches
December 1998 - September 2000
Margaret Teale, HM Inspector,
part of the Adult Literacy in Scotland project
Background
The City of Edinburgh Council
applied for a national development grant in August 1998, through the Adult
Basic Education team in Community Education. The grant, awarded in October
1998, was for a total of £90,000 over a period of two financial
years. The Proposal - Adult Literacies in Scotland (ALIS) - which was
accepted by the Scottish Executive, was an action research project in
three phases.
The aims of the project were:
- To support community education
approaches to adult literacy whether delivered by local authorities,
voluntary organisations, or further education sector.
- To support the sharing and
development of effective models of programme organisation in adult literacy
work.
- To support the sharing and
development of good practice in the curriculum.
- To raise the profile of
adult literacy programmes in Scotland.
How
The development project was designed
to be consultative, participative and responsive. Methods included desk
research, survey questionnaires, consultation on project papers, focus groups,
use of a website, newsletters and seminars. As the project progressed, the
success of this participative and consultative approach put pressure on
the project co-ordinator, whose expertise and advice was constantly sought
on adult literacy and numeracy matters.
As the ALIS project was a low
budget initiative the project achievements were considerable, being the
work of one project coordinator, Catherine Macrae, and part time staff
from the Adult Basic Education Team.
Two papers (one detailed below)
provided an important foundation for the thinking and development of the
project. These can be downloaded from ALIS website: www.scotland.gov.uk/scotlit/proj.html
Project Paper 1: Literacy
and Community Education outlined an understanding of the concept of
literacy and the nature of literacy learning in adult life. It also related
the ideas to the purposes of the community education process. In addition,
a context paper analysed the history of adult literacy education in Scotland.
The papers were well received
and a good response obtained from local authorities. The themes that emerged
were:
- Support for the concept
of literacies that encompassed the literacies of home, workplace and
local communities, as well as of those of education. The responses welcomed
the shift away from describing literacies in terms of skills alone.
The link between these ways of conceptualising literacies and the need
for provision to offer both direct learning and indirect support was
seen as significant.
- The reliance of volunteers
as tutors was seen as enabling providers to be responsive to individual
students, but also offered a negative image of learners who are 'not
worth' professional efforts. Volunteers were perceived as being able
to develop learner's skills, but not their knowledge and understanding.
- The lack of resources was
identified by some providers as inhibiting the diversification of provision
beyond the existing level or range.
- Research and strategic thinking
was perceived to be lacking at a national and local level, particularly
in relation to learners' with disabilities and those living in rural
areas.
- Responses called for a national
policy is sensitive to local differences but
- which sets out clear targets,
student entitlement and expectations about quality. Some responses called
for a national agency.
- Much support was seen as
needed to achieve the potential contribution literacy and numeracy could
make to realising the aims of Communities: Change Through Learning.
Specific areas mentioned were professionalisation of provision, staff
training and development, research and the development of Scottish learning
materials. (Communities Change through Learning - Report of a
working Group on the Future of Community Education 1998. Scottish Office)
Resources
and development
The aims of the project were successfully
achieved in twenty months with the support of a National Advisory Group.
The activities engaged in and the products published include:
- Two project papers were
published 'Literacy and Community Education' and 'Adult Literacy and
Numeracy'. A survey of programmes in local authorities and Colleges
of Further Education www.scotland.gov.uk/scotlit/proj.html
- Five project seminars were
held to discuss project papers and draft guidelines before developing
the materials. These received excellent evaluations and proved to be
successful networking opportunities for practitioners.
- A website was established
to reach and consult with the widest of audiences. www.scotlit.org
- Newsletters disseminated
project aims and results, shared good practice and obtained feedback
on the project's materials and guidelines.
- A resource pack for practitioners
and managers Literacies in the Community was published which
contains :
Good practice framework,
Guide to tutoring and guidance
Guide to staff development
and training
Key ideas for policy makers
and managers. Click
here for more information
- A national conference held
on 8 September 200 disseminated the project publications and shared
good practice in adult literacy work. A conference report will be available
at the end of November 2000.
- Over 200 enquiries were
handled from local authorities, Further Education Colleges, the Scottish
Qualification Authority, Community Learning Scotland, agencies such
as Employment Services (New Deal), Scottish Enterprise, SUFI, SACRO
and other UK wide agencies.
- Five training events were
conducted for local authorities as part of the National Training programme
on Community Learning.
- Several presentations were
made to local authorities and national conferences on the work of the
project and its findings.
- European Basic Skills network
meetings were attended to support colleagues in Community Learning Scotland
to draft recommendations for the European Union.
Themes
and findings
The National Advisory Group, which
supported the project from its inception, was clear that the key ideas which
underpinned the strategic thinking and project publications should not be
underestimated in informing further national work on adult literacy and
numeracy work in Scotland. As the work progressed, many discussions were
held on the definitions of adult literacy, the strategic importance of the
work of the project and the need to take a joined up approach across all
sectors and settings.
The following were recurring
themes and conclusions:
- It was critical that a holistic
lifelong learning approach was taken to adult literacies, it being more
than a set of skills learned in isolation from adult's home, public,
private, community and working lives.
- Some form of national framework
and infrastructure was required to support a strategic response to the
lifelong learning, social inclusion and active citizenship policy agenda.
A previous lack of investment meant that a robust infrastructure would
require to be built.
- Desk research into strategies
and research findings, particularly from Canada, Australia, France and
Ireland, showed the lack of strategies and research development in Scotland.
The Moser Report A Fresh Start that reported on literacy and numeracy
in England and Wales was published during the life of the project. It
contributed to discussions about adult literacy and numeracy in the
Scottish context. It was apparent that there was a scarcity of research
in Scotland compared with these countries and Europe, including England
and Wales. It was noted that Scottish research and solutions were required.
- There is a need to provide
additional training to community projects so that they are able to assist
local people access and sustain their participation in literacy learning
- The business case for literacy
and numeracy provision in the workplace needed to be made.
- The potential impact of
New Deal had yet to be realised
- The balance of provision
for students with learning disabilities required attention with regard
to staffing, resources and progression.
- Practitioners in the field
were frustrated at the lack of funding and support from senior management.
- The need for nationally
accredited training was well established particularly in relation to
consistency and quality.
- Feedback from the field
indicated that the project was having a definite impact in some organisations
that were initiating changes advocated by the project. This pointed
to the need for sustaining pro-active support.
The
Future
In June 2000 Stephanie Young, chair
of the National Advisory Group Literacy 2000 team was invited to chair the
Literacy 2000 team. She was joined by Catherine Macrae the National Development
Project Co-ordinator on secondment to the Scottish Executive from the City
of Edinburgh Council and two HM Inspectors from Community Education and
Further Education. The Adult Literacy 2000 team will report to the Minister
of Enterprise and Lifelong Learning in December 2000.
Community Education in the City
of Edinburgh Council is pleased to have managed the National Development
Project that has produced such a valuable basis for the future development
of literacies in Scotland.
For
more information: Adult Literacies in Scotland their
website at:
http://www.lc.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/
or Email: noblel@communitiesscotland.gov.uk
Tel: 0131 479 5479
Literacies
in the community: resources for practitioner and manager
City of Edinburgh Council, October
2000, £35 outside Scotland, ISBN 1 902299 10 8
The resource pack offers guidelines
and advice in three sections: the good practice framework, the guide to
tutoring and guidance, and staff development and training, and includes
a summary poster.
Copies will be distributed in
Scotland to newly appointed regional training project workers. Those outside
Scotland can purchase copies from Community Scotland on 0131 479 5424.
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