This was the largest study in Britain to date
of strategies used to teach reading in adult literacy classes
and the first attempt to correlate that evidence with measures
of change in learners' reading attainment and attitudes
to literacy. The researchers observed and recorded over
472 hours of teaching and learning, with the sample of learners
being broadly representative of the national distribution,
and data gathered on 454 learners in 59 classes represents
a wealth of information.
Some of the main findings include:
- learners who spent more time working in pairs made
better progress; and learners who spent less time working
alone in class made better progress.
- The influence of the core curriculum was mentioned
by many teachers as the reason for making greater use
of group teaching.
- Women made slightly better progress than men
- Employed people made better progress than the unemployed
- There was evidence of a significant increase in confidence
amongst learners
- The average amount of attendance by learners between
the pre- and post-assessments was only 30 hours.
- Very frequent teaching strategies include: giving
appraisal/feedback immediately, discussion of vocabulary
during reading, and using a dictionary to find word
meanings
- Most teachers were positive, speaking of the curriculum
as being more 'structured', 'focused', generating 'good
ideas, raising the profile of adult literacy, increasing
teachers' confidence and clarifying issues of differentiation.
Recommendations include:
- It is a priority for initial teacher training and
for continuing professional development to provide teachers
with specific and general strategies for teaching reading,
in particular: oral fluency, explicit comprehension
strategies, reciprocal teaching, phonics and language
experience approaches.
- More support should be provided for teachers in making
more creative use of curriculum materials.
Brooks, G., Burton, M., Cole, P. & Szcerbinski,
M. (2007). Effective teaching and learning: Reading. London:
NRDC.
You can download the full report and summary from: www.nrdc.org.uk/publications_details.asp?ID=90
This study analysed the relationship between
classroom practice in the teaching of writing and changes
in learners' competence in free writing and changes in learners'
confidence in writing and their uses of writing in their
everyday lives. The researchers recruited 341 learners across
25 organisations. Progress in learners' competence in writing
was measured using an assessment created by the NFER for
the NRDC for use in research studies. It requires learners
to undertake three free writing tasks in response to a simulated
magazine.
Some of the findings include:
- Demonstrable progress in writing cannot be achieved
quickly. This research indicates that learners lead
in the region of 150-200 hours to progress by one level
of the National Standards.
- Young learners and learners in employment and full-time
education made the most progress
- There were small increases in confidence in writing
and uses of writing outside class
This study also showed that the following
are features of effective teaching of writing:
- learners spend time on the composition of texts of
different kinds
- meaningful contexts are provided for writing activities
- time is given for discussion about writing and the
writing task
- individual feedback and support is provided as learners
engage in composition
Two particular significant relationships between
teaching and learning suggest that:
-
A flexible approach to teaching and
responsiveness to learners' concerns as they arise has
a positive impact on learners' progress in writing
-
practice that makes a strong link with
the real world beyond the class may help learners to
feel more confident, particularly in the everyday writing
tasks they undertake at home
Two negative correlations were found between:
- use of authentic materials and tasks and changes in
learners' assessment scores
- asking learners to work in collaborative groups and
learners' self-reported confidence in writing in a public
place or at work
Previous research has shown that poor basic
skills are a major obstacle to achievement in many areas
of adult life. It follows that enhancing literacy and numeracy
skills will produce both social and economic benefits. The
research reported here has taken place against the background
of a major government initiative in Britain, Skills for
Life, that is tackling the problem of poor basic skills
in a substantial minority of the population. An important
goal of this programme is to investigate in much greater
depth than previously the ways in which poor basic skills
impede social and economic life in modern Britain.
This report is the latest in a series drawing
on data from the 1958 and 1970 British birth cohort studies,
which have followed up individuals throughout their lives,
with new data about the cohort members collected at regular
intervals. The National Child Development Study (NCDS) has
followed up all 17,000 individuals born in a single week
in 1958. The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), which is
the subject of this report, has followed up all 16,500 individuals
born in a single week in 1970. In 1981, when the NCDS cohort
members were aged 23, they were asked to appraise their
own basic skills difficulties. This identified a small but
significant minority who acknowledged serious problems with
written communications and number work. It was then possible
to show the extent to which self-assessed basic skills difficulties
were correlated with a range of indicators of disadvantage
in adult life.
This work was followed, first at age 21 in
BCS70 (1991), and later, at age 37 in NCDS (1995), by objective
assessments of the literacy and numeracy skills of a representative
10 per cent sample of the cohort members. This showed much
more widespread problems with literacy and, particularly,
numeracy than the earlier self-appraisal data had indicated,
together with disadvantaged education careers, patchy work
histories, low grade jobs, casual work and unemployment
of the adults involved. Women in this situation frequently
left the labour market, opting for early partnership and
early child-bearing.
Bynner, J. & Parsons, S. (2006). New light
on literacy and numeracy. London: NRDC.
Download the summary report from: www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_3186.pdf
The project aimed to examine a wide variety
of embedded LLN provision to reflect the diversity of vocational
courses. Seven case studies describe examples of embedded
approaches at work, and illuminate how embedded LLN can
work successfully as an integral part of vocational courses.
They also illuminate some of the characteristics critical
to this success. Many of the teachers - both vocational
and LLN - appear to be both expert and strongly committed
to this approach and we can learn more from their practice
as a result. The case studies describe:
-
how well resourced and well taught vocational
courses offer learners both the acquisition of practical
skills and a new "professional" identity, or, as some
of the case studies describe, offer learners membership
of a new "community of practice".
-
how LLN learning often takes place when
the speaking, listening, reading, writing or calculating
are directly linked to a practical task.
-
how "embedding" is not just about interlinking
different curricula; it is deeper and more complex.
Mapping literacy, language and numeracy skills onto
the vocational curriculum can only give a general idea
of what has to be learned and provide a starting point.
The LLN teacher has to learn, by participating in the
vocational classroom, how literacy, language and numeracy
are used both for the particular job and in this type
of vocational classroom, and cannot do this simply by
studying the curriculum on paper.
-
how qualities possessed by teachers
and relationships between them were more important than
general curricular models of embedded provision. On
all the courses described, the teachers planned and
worked closely together. Indeed, in five out of the
seven case studies, there were teachers who possessed
both vocational and LLN expertise, and on two courses
there was a single teacher who taught both. They shared,
in their respective roles, the same vocational objective
for their learners and they were strongly learner-centred.
-
how although all the learners accepted
the fact that LLN were elements of the course, the great
majority of them would not be prepared to attend stand-alone
literacy, language or numeracy classes. However, there
are a range of vocational programmes for young people
that include key skills and additional learning support
This report then concludes with several recommendations
for teachers and teacher trainers; for curriculum managers
and course teams; and for policy makers.
Roberts, C., Baynham, M., Shrubshal, P., Brittan,
J., Cooper, B., Gidley, N., Windsor, V., Eldred, J., Grief,
S., Castillino, C. & Walsh, M. (2005). Embedded teaching
and learning of adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL. London:
NRDC.
Download the full report from: www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_822.pdf
This research examines the issues surrounding
the delivery of the Skills for Life agenda (DfEE, 2001)
to adult learners in six rural counties of England. Although
the research is situated in the rural the findings and policy
recommendations offer much to those concerned with the planning
and delivery of the Skills for Life agenda in the urban
and semi-urban context. We argue that providing adult literacy,
numeracy and ESOL in rural communities and then engaging
learners with that provision is a major challenge for providers
and policy makers alike. Currently the Skills for Life policy
draws heavily on research material grounded largely in the
urban context and relies on urban models of delivery and
funding that are often found to be inappropriate and unworkable
in many rural areas. Our analysis draws on, amongst other
data, 103 questionnaire responses and 214 learner interviews.
We make recommendations for policy development and future
research in this field.
This study builds on the growing national
and international interest in the problems faced by rural
communities and the delivery of adult literacy, numeracy
and ESOL in times of rapid change. We argue that for effective
delivery the needs and motivations of the adult literacy,
numeracy and ESOL learner, in the context of their rural
setting, need to be fully understood before it can be met.
In particular we argue that without changes to the funding
of the delivery of the Skills for Life agenda in rural areas
it will be almost impossible for rural Learning and Skills
Councils to meet government targets. In this report we have
focused on rural as the defining characteristic of 'hard
to reach'. Clearly there are many other potentially disadvantaged
groups in society for which this report and its findings
may aid policy development.
Some of the findings of this research are:
- Learners prefer provision that is locally available.
- There is a lack of suitably qualified tutors, particularly
in numeracy and ESOL.
- In all areas providers feel they are in competition
with each other for the same learners; partnership working
is crucial if this is to be avoided.
- Transport, access and childcare are major barriers
to learning in rural areas, along with the issue of
attracting a viable number of learners.
- Tutors need to have greater training opportunities
and to be adequately compensated for the cost of their
time and travel to rural areas.
- Word of mouth was the most effective method of promoting
classes and encouraging new learners to attend.
- Learners are often aware of their lack of basic skills,
they think they can not learn or have other priorities
and therefore develop coping strategies and are unlikely
to seek help until such time as they see a need. This
often occurs after a change in their circumstances,
personal or professional. This has implications for
those involved in encouraging new learners to attend
provision.
- Family learning is popular but the client group is
predominantly mothers. In some areas there is a lack
of progression routes from family learning.
- Whilst further research needs to be conducted to establish
how best to access the workplace, the use of embedded
learning is one strategy which has shown some success.
The findings of this report have led to the
following recommendations:
- A number of changes could be made to funding arrangements
to facilitate the expansion of literacy, numeracy and
ESOL provision in rural areas. Specifically:
- Funding should give providers the flexibility
to work with smaller groups if necessary, thereby
making local, community-based provision more viable.
- Additional funding should be made available to
enable providers to pay for tutors' travel costs
in rural areas.
- Long-term core funding needs to be more widely
available to enable providers to plan ahead.
- Providers should establish a full picture of the extent
of local delivery to ensure more effective partnership
working and so that information, advice and guidance
can to be made available to all learners concerning
courses on offer.
- ESOL learners also need clear advice and guidance
on how best to utilise their previous qualifications
and experience in this country.
- Funders should consider extending family literacy,
language and numeracy programmes to allow a greater
number of parents to participate, for example, by allowing
literacy and numeracy classes linked to the school curriculum
to be offered in the evening.
- Each area should undertake a full review of localised
ESOL needs.
Atkin, C., Rose, A. & Shier, R. (2005).
Provision of, and learner engagement with, adult literacy,
numeracy and ESOL support in rural England: a comparative
case study. London: NRDC.
Download the full report from: www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/
This report outlines the theory and research in applied
linguistics about classroom processes, and about the active
role of the learner in learning in particular. It focuses
on factors that affect learning-teaching events from outside
the classroom: participants' beliefs, intentions and resources,
learning and teaching curricula and materials, the political
and institutional context, socio-cultural factors and
issues of inequality. It then analyses research on the
nature of learning-teaching events themselves: characteristics
of context, approaches to teaching, social interaction
and the construction of social identities. Recognition
of the complexity of the relationship between learning
and teaching leads to a conceptualisation of teaching
as the 'creation of learning opportunities', in which
the management of learning, and engagement in learning
are crucial factors.
Six different types of potential outcome from learning-teaching
events are identified:
- Learning about content
- Learning how to learn
- Learning about language
- Learning about social relations
- Reconstructing identities
- Wider benefits of learning such as increased confidence
Some of the key points arising from this study are:
- Learning is infused with the complexity of learners'
lives. A variety of different factors are interrelated
and integrated in the learning-teaching process
- Teachers and researchers need to pay attention to
the beliefs about learning, teaching, language, literacy
and numeracy that learners and teachers bring with them
to the learning-teaching encounter. Beliefs also shape
curricula and teaching materials.
- Both teachers and learners come to class with purposes
and intentions. Teachers and researchers should therefore
identify participants' intentions as a key factor in
learning events.
- Social interaction is the key mechanism through which
learning takes place. Its characteristics need to be
studied in detail as a means to understanding the dynamics
whereby teaching can facilitate learning.
- Rather than trying to make generalisations about particular
teaching methods, it is more useful to try to understand
how learning opportunities and possible outcomes emerge
in particular contexts.
Ivanic, R. & Tseng M.L. (2005). Understanding the
relationships between learning and teaching: An analysis
of the contribution of applied linguistics. London: NRDC.
Download this report (pdf) from: www.nrdc.org.uk
This report spans policy, theory and practice, and provides
a detailed analysis of third age guidance issues in the
four countries of the UK. It considers the effects of
third-age unemployment and under-employment, and demographic
change on national economies, local communities, and individuals.
It also discusses varying policies and how these impact
on older adults and their potential economic and social
contributions to society. Overall, the report argues that
current policy relating to older adults is essentially
piecemeal and reactive in nature, and sees older adults
mainly as passive consumers of state services.
Some of the key points of this research are:
- governments and communities throughout the developed
world, and including the UK, have not yet fully appreciated
the severity of the economic and social challenges that
current demographic changes present to the future stability
and well-being of their economies and communities. Policy
decisions tend to be reactive and concerned principally
with pensions issues and retaining older workers for
longer in their present jobs, rather than proactively
identifying and implementing strategies that can unlock
older people's potential.
- Lifelong learning should be genuinely lifelong and
readily accessible to older age groups. There is a national
shortage of opportunities for older adults to retrain
and upskill; however, occupational training need to
be counter-balanced by courses that help older people
to understand current social, demographic, economic
and other developments within society, prepare for 'active
retirement' and improve their quality of life through
non-vocational provision.
- Training and lifelong learning programmes and career
development support strategies need to be much more
widely available in the workplace and open to all age
groups irrespective of occupational status. Every effort
should be made at local and national level to help employers,
including small and medium size employers, to understand
the relationships that link training, lifelong learning
and career development support with higher staff motivation
and efficiency, and therefore with increased company
productivity and profitability.
- Older people welcome high-quality guidance. Provision
they identify as being particularly helpful are highly
personalised and people-focused initiatives that combine
a range of guidance activities into an integrated service.
In most instances the initiatives offer clients opportunities
to learn from the same site. However, 'same site' services
are often difficult to organise and resource, and comprehensive
career, learning and life guidance services for older
adults delivered through local networks (such as the
'Stage Posts' system proposed by NIACE) should also
be given serious consideration.
- Mechanisms are required in the UK that facilitate
the ready exchange of experience on lifelong learning,
skills training and career guidance and enable the four
nations to learn from and build on each other's good
practice, including good practice in work with older
age groups. On current evidence England has much to
learn from the developments taking place on Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
Ford, G. (2005). Am I still needed: Guidance and learning
for older adults. Derby: University of Derby, Centre for
Guidance Studies.
Download the report (pdf) from: www.derby.ac.uk/cegs/publications/amIstillneded.pdf
The aim of this project was to explore what basic skills
provision is available in the Lancaster area, whether
on an institutional basis, through voluntary organisations,
or through informal or even individual encounters, and
to develop a taxonomy of that provision. The report provides
contextualisation for the element of the Adult Learners'
Lives project in progress in Lancaster. In view of the
interwoven nature of institutional provision in the area,
Lancaster and Morecambe were combined for the purpose
of the study.
Basic skills provision in this project is taken to mean
provision for individuals or groups which has clear learning
gains for the individual in terms of development of essential
literacy, numeracy and language skills; this is distinct
from support with basic skills which would mean help with
completing tasks the individual found difficult, or with
assessing courses or material, but which would not necessarily
enable the individual to complete those tasks independently
in the future.
The profile of provision which has emerged from the report
should not be taken as a full description or database
of provision. For example, official statistics on provision
proved difficult to find and most of the information has
been gathered either by telephone or face-to-face from
individuals who were engaged in the provision and available
during the time limits of the project. It was also not
possible to contact all providers within these time limits.
This working paper therefore serves as a way of raising
issues that emerged during conversations with providers,
as much as a catalogue of provision. Also, provision is
constantly changing, so the report can never be completely
up to date.
Signposting organisations are hungry for information
about course and providers, and providers are keen to
find out what other organisations are doing. Some providers
are also anxious to find out what training is required
and/or is available in basic skills teaching. This points
towards the need for a flexible system of tracking and
updating information on provision.
The report also includes a description of the categories
that emerged from the survey, a table listing some providers
under each category, followed by descriptions, and a brief
discussion of some of the issues arising.
Burgess, G. (2004). 'Is that not literacy, helping parents
to help children? Mapping Basic Skills provision in the
Lancaster area. Working Paper No. 5. Lancaster: Lancaster
University, Literacy Research Centre.
Download this working paper from www.literacy.lancs.ac.uk
The PALS 2003 survey is a follow-up sample
survey of respondents to the National Adult Learning Survey
(NALS) 2001 and explored a variety of learning experiences
in the previous two years since the respondents were last
interviewed. The three main vocational motivations for engaging
in taught learning were: to gain new skills for the current
job, for career development and to gain more satisfaction
out of work. The main economic motivations for learning
included: change to a different type of work, to get a new
job, to get a pay rise and to get a promotion. 61% said
that they did the learning in their employer's time, while
17% said that they did the course entirely in their own
time. Some of other key findings are:
(1) 84% of those who were learning at NALS
did some further learning in the following two years,
whilst only 31% of those not learning at NALS did some
further learning
(2) 87% of people who were studying for qualifications
in PALS had been learners in NALS.
(3) Those who continued to learn were more likely to have
left full-time education aged 19+, to be economically
active, and to be in managerial or professional occupations.
By contrast, non-learners who started to learn were more
likely to be educated at level 3 or above, self-employed
or unemployed, under 40 and white
(4) About 15% of vocational learners said that their learning
had led to major changes in their work
(5) Over 60% of respondents who said that they were likely
to learn in the next two to three years said they would
considering attending either a further education college
or adult education institute.
Snape, D., Bell, A. & Jones, A. (2004).
Pathways in Adult Learning Survey (PALS) 2003. London: DfES.
Download the full report from www.dfes.gov.uk
This NRDC report explores areas of reading difficulty in
adult literacy learning through focused observation of practice
and close study of learners. It shows that adult learners
had difficulties in the following areas: word identification,
comprehension, phonological awareness, decoding and spelling.
Further analysis of assessment data showed that there are
three groups of readers, each with distinct teaching requirements:
(1) a small subgroup of competent readers
with no discernible difficulties in any of the areas.
These learners may be in provision for the sake of improving
the compositional aspects of their writing.
(2) a rather large subgroup who appeared
to have difficulties only in the phonological area, including
spelling. These learners might well benefit from close
attention to phonological awareness in the context of
meaningful reading and writing.
(3) the majority, who had difficulties in
several areas. Very few had difficulties in every area
- rather, this is the group with the classic 'spiky profiles'
- but it seems clear that, if they are to make progress,
teaching must address both their areas of strength and
their areas of weakness across all the subskills of reading
and spelling. This group of learner should be given regular
diagnostic assessment by their tutors so that the tutors
can tailor their instruction to specific needs.
One of the main findings of this study is
that a wide range of strategies were being used to address
adult learners' reading difficulties. However, there appeared
to be no perfect correspondence between learners' difficulties
and pedagogy.
Besser, S., Brooks, G., Burton, M., Parisella,
M., Spare, Y., Stratford, S. & Wainwright, J. (2004).
Adult literacy learners' difficulties in reading: An exploratory
study. London: NRDC
Download the report from www.nrdc.org.uk
This report examines the reasons for the success
of brokerage, in encouraging employees into learning, particularly
learners with the greatest needs. It identifies four ideal
types of brokerage: learning adviser, management co-ordinator,
independent guidance, training intermediary. Whilst effective
brokerage was specific to individual contexts, the following
conditions for success were common to these:
(1) learning opportunity is not constrained
by narrow 'workforce development' agenda
(2) employees have a sense of ownership
(3) employee relations are generally good
(4) broker power stems from personal characteristics,
rather than his/her position in the company
(5) the broker is at a similar level or in a similar role
to learners.
Barriers to effective brokerage in the workplace included
(1) poor workplace relations, levels of trust and level
of management commitment
(2) prejudicial attitudes to types of learning that
count in the workplace
(3) structural contradictions and tensions in the broker's
role.
Several ways are suggested that increase learning brokerage
within the workplace, including strengthening the role
of union learning representatives, developing the 'learning
adviser' type of brokerage in small to medium enterprises,
and training programmes for potential workplace brokers.
Thursfield, D., Hamblett, J. & Holden, R. (2004).
Learning brokerage in the workplace: Some preliminary
findings. London: LSDA
Download the report from www.lsda.org.uk
Retention and achievement, retaining students
and ensuring that they gain a qualification, could be seen
as a primary concern for most education providers. In post-sixteen
education, where attendance is not compulsory, issues of
retention and achievement become especially significant.
It is possible to discern changes over the last two decades
in the significance and meaning of retention and achievement
for both the student and the educational provider.
This review looks at the work of the Further
Education Development Agency (FEDA) and the Learning and
Skills Development Agency (LSDA) in the area of retention
and achievement. This body of work illustrates how retention
and achievement became recognised as 'an issue'. It also
shows how the perceived cause of low attendance and poor
achievement changed from being simply blamed on external
factors (i.e. poorly motivated students from poor backgrounds)
to the quality of educational provision being offered to
students. The impact of this has been the many quality initiatives
and staff development programmes in FE provision. The concluding
remarks address the relevance of this body of work to the
Adult Learners' Lives project: a study which looks explicitly
at socio-economic factors in adults' lives. It also considers
whether non-British research may be able to contribute to
our understanding in the key area of motivation and persistence
in adult learning.
Appleby, Y. (2003). Retention and achievement:
A focused review. Lancaster: Lancaster Literacy Research
Centre.
Download this working paper from: www.nrdc.org.uk
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