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Funding from the NRDC Practitioner-Led Research Initiative allowed Essex Adult and Community Learning and Essex Library Service to run a research project on this topic from September 2005 until April 2006. It focused on the effects of incorporating reading for pleasure into Skills for Life literacy classes based on the adult literacy curriculum and whether there is evidence to support the link between creative reading and the acquisition of functional literacy skills.
One of the main messages from Skills for Life tutors was that ‘the support, expertise and resources of the library service make it easy to include reading for pleasure in delivery of the national literacy curriculum’.
This research has been cited in Skills and social practices: making common cause by Alix Green and Ursula, a paper in the NRDC Insights series. Quoting the finding that a focus on reading for pleasure supported the enhancement of knowledge and skills as well as boosting motivation and emotional development, they say: ‘The association of enjoyment and pleasure, and of self-motivated literacy practices with successful learning, is a key finding for the future of basic skills strategies, whatever their fundamental policy drivers might be.’
Download the report (pdf)
Evidence to demonstrate the impact of reading for pleasure on
adult learners is crucial if libraries are to make the case
about their role to learning providers. They need to show the
outcomes of this work on emergent readers and to link these
outcomes to the relevant agendas, ie Shared Priorities, Skills
for Life and the Government's broader adult learning strategies.
Impact research commissioned from Morris Hargreaves McIntyre
in 2005 resulted in Confidence All Round,
an important report which went some way to identifying the
benefits of libraries' activity for adults with literacy needs.
This built on earlier research into the pilot
phase of The Vital Link and Essex Libraries'
Quick Reads project.
In order to increase the evidence base for the impact of libraries'
work with emergent readers, The Vital Link has now produced
an evaluation toolkit that can be used by library staff and
Skills for Life practitioners who are working with adults
who are just getting into reading for pleasure. Based on the
methodology developed by Morris Hargreaves McIntyre for Confidence
All Round, this uses the Generic Learning Outcomes developed
by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) as part
of their Inspiring Learning For All framework.
The toolkit provides:
- the context for evaluating this activity
- definitions of quantitative and qualitative approaches
- guidance on carrying out, analyzing and reporting on
the research
- the tools required to carry out the evaluation
It has been tested successfully by a small number of library
authorities who have found it a useful process. "Working
on the evaluation has really helped us. It was only when we
put all the information together that we were able to see
properly what we'd done so far, where the gaps are and how
to move on from here for the next academic year." Buckinghamshire
The toolkit can be used to evaluate the impact of an ongoing
programme or of a time-limited project. The target audience
may consist of current learners or of emergent readers who
are not engaged in formal provision, but ideally the following
conditions should be met:
- There should be an active partnership in place between
the library and local Skills for Life practitioners
- There should be positive dialogue between library staff
and tutors involved in promoting reading for pleasure
to learners and agreement about the expected outcomes
- The library service should be playing an active role
in introducing and fostering the concept of reading for
pleasure as a way to engage, inspire and sustain learners
and to help them progress
- This should include use of the library and active promotion
of reading for pleasure as part of Skills for Life delivery
- The library service and Skills for Life practitioners
involved should have an awareness of the aims of the Vital
Link programme and its support tools, eg First Choice
database, improvement framework
The timescale for the evaluation needs to be considered carefully
so that there is an adequate period between use of the initial
reader questionnaire and the follow-up questionnaire. An ideal
timescale would be from October to March in order to capitalise
on an extended stretch of activity. It is preferable if the
initial questionnaire is used after learners have acclimatised
to their new environment and that busy exam times are avoided
when using the follow-up questionnaire.
We are keen for library authorities and their Skills for Life
partners to use the toolkit in order to test it further and
add to the evidence base. We would also like to collate findings
from different library authorities and keep use of the toolkit
under review. So please contact Genevieve.clarke@readingagency.org.uk
if you are planning to use the toolkit in any way or if you
have any comments or queries about its use.
Vital Link evaluation toolkit Sep 06
VL eval toolkit
analysis Sep 06 (Excel spreadsheet)
Evidence to demonstrate the impact of reading for pleasure
on adult learners is crucial if libraries are to make the
case about their role to learning providers. Research into
the pilot phase of The Vital Link and into Essex Libraries'
Quick Reads project has provided some useful findings - see
below and downloadable reports. In order to explore the impact
of current work, The Reading Agency commissioned Morris Hargreaves
McIntyre to carry out a research project for the Vital Link
in May 2005. This was funded by a research consortium made
up of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and regional
agencies in the East of England, East Midlands, the North
East and North West.
The research assessed the impact of libraries' work with
emergent adult readers, looking for evidence of the link between
an enjoyment of reading and increased confidence and motivation,
improved skills and quality of life, and ultimately better
employability. Evidence was drawn from focus groups of learners
in the participating regions using the Generic Learning Outcomes
from the Inspiring Learning for All framework developed by
MLA. This will feed into the new impact measures for libraries
currently being developed so that libraries' support for literacy
is recognised as an important contribution to the Shared Priorities.
Headline findings show that
- More than three-quarters of participants in the focus
groups identified evidence of:
- related activity, behaviour and progression
- enjoyment, inspiration and creativity from reading
- an improvement in literacy skills
- More than half identified evidence of:
- a change in their attitudes or values about reading, learning
and libraries
- a positive impact on their health or well-being
- More than a third identified evidence of:
- an increase in knowledge and understanding
- a greater sense of social inclusion
- Around a fifth identified a beneficial impact on employability
The Executive Summary and full report are available for download
below:
The Vital Link is also on the project group for a research
project led by Essex Adult Community Learning and Essex Libraries
which has received funding from the practitioner-led project
fund led by the National Research & Development Centre
for Adult Literacy & Numeracy (NRDC). This involves eight
tutors from seven Adult Community Colleges across Essex reflecting
on the way in which they are able to integrate reading for
pleasure activities supported by libraries into their curriculum
delivery and the impact of this work on their students. The
tutors are working in Skills for Life, ESOL and family literacy
classes.
The project will run from this autumn until spring 2006 and
will be supported by Briony Train and Professor Greg Brooks
from the University of Sheffield. One of the outcomes will
be good practice guidance on weaving reading for pleasure
into curriculum delivery. Library staff are supporting the
research by linking with the tutors, promoting reading in
the classes and providing appropriate resources to engage
learners.
(2002)
Evaluation of the pilot phase of the Vital Link was built
in from the start through a cross-departmental study at the
University of Sheffield led by Greg Brooks, Professor of Education,
and Bob Usherwood, Professor of Information Studies, both
of whom have been involved in numerous separate studies on
literacy skills attainment and on the impact of reader development
work respectively. Briony Train, Researcher in the Department
of Information Studies, who implemented much of the research
and wrote the final report. The evaluation took the form of
formative research to measure the effectiveness of reader
development strategies in terms of their contribution to achieving
Government targets for reducing the numbers of people with
poor basic skills.
It includes interviews with key library and basic skills
staff, and a pre- and post- questionnaire completed
by learners and focus groups with learners. The research
outcomes and methodology were refined and discussed at a national
workshop with representatives from the Vital Link pilot projects
and key agencies. The evaluation measured the impact of library
support and reader development approaches on: increasing adult
learners' confidence and enjoyment of reading; achieving gains
in literacy skills; supporting progression to other learning
opportunities; building the capacity of libraries to
support basic skills development through reader development
work (eg staff training, more appropriate stock collections
and ICT provision); and developing integration of library
support into basic skills provision.
Essex Libraries began work on its Quick Reads project for
emergent adult readers in 2000 as part of a much wider reader
development project called Ask Chris which was funded by the
DCMS Wolfson Public Libraries Challenge Fund. This was then
integrated into the Vital Link's pilot phase, also funded
by DCMS, in 2001-02. Quick Reads was then awarded Learning
and Skills Council funding from October 2002 - March 2004
which enabled Essex Libraries to develop their links beyond
adult community colleges to Further Education colleges. One
of the main elements of the continuing project is the development
of a service for emergent readers which includes collections
of mainstream titles and associated promotional materials
which have been trialled with adult learners. Essex Libraries
is now represented on the advisory group for the Vital Link.
The evaluation report for Quick Reads, like that for the
Vital Link, was produced by Briony Train from the University
of Sheffield. It builds on the former evaluation and provides
further evidence of the distinctive role of libraries in supporting
emergent readers.
For further information on Vital Link evaluation, please
contact Genevieve Clarke at genevieve.clarke@readingagency.org.uk
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