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<This article first
appeared in the September 2002 issue of Literacy
Today (issue no. 32<).
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<
What
makes 'good' literacy and numeracy provision
John
Guenther and Ian Falk
| Findings
from an Australian National Training Authority-funded project highlighted
some key principles for the effective delivery of basic skills training
in rural areas of Australia. Key was the development of trust and
support for individual learning needs, underpinned by adequate professional
resources and training. John Guenther, research associate at the Centre
for Research and Learning in Regional Australia, University of Tasmania,
and Professor Ian Falk, chair of rural and remote education in the
Faculty of Science, Technology and Education, Northern Territory University,
report. |
Background
In Australia, there has been a national research body for adult literacy
for 10 years and the Adult Literacy and Numeracy Australian Research Consortium
(ALNARC) has conducted a three-year research
programme from 1999 to the present. ALNARC's task was to establish a national
profile of adult literacy and numeracy research that is expected to help
contribute to Australia's socio-economic well-being.
A number of projects have been conducted through the Tasmanian Centre
for ALNARC (hosted by the University of Tasmania's Centre for Research
and Learning in Regional Australia). The emphasis has been on lifelong
learning, vocational education and training (VET) and social capital.
One that drew these three strands together was an Australian National
Training Authority-funded project which resulted in a series of 10 case
studies from 10 regional sites around Australia. While the project focused
on VET, a significant proportion of the 600 participants were concerned
with adult
literacy and numeracy issues as they related to their communities. The
qualitative
interview data was analysed separately to see what it had to say about
adult literacy and numeracy provision in the rural areas of Australia.
Findings: principles of effectiveness
Analysis of the data revealed a number of generic principles that could
be considered to contribute to the effectiveness of literacy and numeracy
provision in regional Australia. This research showed that attention to
these principles underpinned effectiveness - and lack of attention to
them caused ineffectiveness. In other words, the principles confirmed
what many practitioners know about 'good practice', but from a comprehensive
and independent body of research. The principles are not necessarily exhaustive,
have not been trialed outside the 10 sites and may well be context-dependent.
However, we suspect there are considerable generic applications of these
principles.
Principle 1: outcomes of adult literacy education are enhanced
with the presence of supportive and continuing structures
Delivery was considered effective when the structures of delivery assured
quality, when there were adequate resources and funding applied to the
training, and where there was a fruitful exchange of information and resources
through either formal or informal literacy and numeracy networks.
Principle 2: effectiveness of adult literacy delivery is improved
when content is targeted to meet individual and community needs
Effectiveness was enhanced in situations where there was access to one-to-one
support for trainees, where the content was relevant to their day-to-day
work or social life, and where resources were customised to meet individual
needs.
Principle 3: community ownership results in effective resource
use and higher participation rates
Local involvement and a learning culture that encouraged participation
in lifelong learning were identified as factors that contribute to effectiveness.
In some cases volunteer tutors facilitated social and educational links
that extended the reach of training.
Principle 4: trust and collaboration between providers and communities
underpins successful programmes
The fourth principle underpins all the
others and relates to trust and collaboration between providers and communities.
Trust is built in a community over time and is expressed through sensitivity
to cultural diversity and through active and ongoing engagement by training
providers in the community.
Implications for practitioners
The principles outlined above might suggest that the learning environment
has more to do with successful outcomes than the practitioner's role.
However, the case studies suggest that practitioners underpin
the success of programmes in a number of ways:
- the practitioner's involvement in the life of a community contributes
to success by fostering trusting relationships that in turn encourage
broad participation. In many smaller communities the long-term commitment
of an individual is important for this process.
- the practitioner's networks both inside and, importantly, outside
the community can draw in resources that would otherwise not be available.
- given that practitioners have access to adequate resources through
supportive structures, their ability to tailor programmes that target
the specific needs of individual participants and particular sectors
of the community is crucial to the success of programmes.
While
these findings would require further testing to enable them to be applied
more generally (even within the regional Australian context), they do
provide a useful benchmark for future research.
<
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