Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 2006 > Committee on Education and Science > Report No. 04 - Adult Literacy in Ireland

ANNEXES

ANNEX I: ANALYSIS OF SUBMISSIONS

Introduction

In its public invitation inviting submissions on adult literacy from organisations and members of the public, the Joint Committee highlighted the following issues as being of particular interest:

1.Prioritisation of those with the lowest literacy levels;

2.Innovative ways to reach out to those in need of the services;

3.Expanding and strengthening referral services;

4.Development of specific initiatives for disadvantage groups;

5.Workplace literacy;

6.Support services.

A total of 38 submissions were received from national and local agencies, NGOs, professional educationalists and other individuals. In responding to the invitation most respondents organised at least some of their comments under the six headings proposed by the Joint Committee. However, not all of them followed that structure and most included some other points. Therefore, in the interests of doing justice to the range of views submitted in the presentation which follows, some headings are added to the six proposed by the Joint Committee. While submissions under the six headings proposed by the Joint Committee are summarised in Part A, the additional topics are presented in Part B.

It should be noted that the way in which the different points made by the respondents is summarised, varies according to the manner in which it was presented. There was a considerable degree of overlap in how respondents interpreted the six categories: for example, certain recommendations were made under the ‘referral heading’ by some respondents, (issue 3 in the Joint Committee’s framework), whereas others included it as part of ‘innovative strategies’. In fact referral, reaching target groups and initiatives (issue 4) are often different aspects of the same activity. Because of the potential for overlap between the different categories, a certain amount of simplification has therefore been necessary in this Section in order to group the recommendations into the Joint Committee’s framework.

Finally, it should be emphasised that the analysis focuses on proposals for solutions to the problems experienced in the promotion of adult literacy. Descriptive or background material is excluded.

PART A: Responses to the Joint Committee’s Six Issues⁴⁴

Issue 1: Prioritisation

1. Most contributors proposed that those with the lowest levels of literacy should be the priority. However, the identity of the groups making up those with the lowest level varied depending, to some extent, on the respondent. Those which specialised in particular areas naturally proposed that their area of concern should attract priority (e.g. unemployed, Travellers, prisoners). More broadly-based organisations listed these and others (immigrants, early school leavers, people with disabilities, lone parents, long term unemployed, multiple deprived). Altogether the result of this question was the proposal of a comprehensive list of priority targets.

2. However, one frequent response under this heading urged an increase in programmes involving intensive and continuous tuition. This proposal emerged in part from the identification of those with the lowest literacy levels a key priority. It was contended that people starting from a low skill base could not progress adequately on the basis of the standard literacy support of about 2 hours per week, either in a group or one-to-one. For these respondents, therefore the priority was to increase the number of hours in group tuition, and/or the volume of one-to-one tuition. One-to-one tuition is not funded by the DES and is accordingly undertaken by volunteers. It was stressed by many of these contributors that the need for one-to-one tutoring, which is very important in working effectively with those on the lowest levels of literacy, should not be met exclusively by volunteers.

Issue 2: Innovative Approaches

3. Thematic Courses. A number of workers have found it necessary to improve their literacy in order comply with health and safety regulations in the workplace. This has led to the development of literacy courses in the context of specific employments. These employments include transport, (e.g. obtaining HGV licenses), construction, factory operations and IT. Such courses are relatively easy to promote to persons with literacy problems since their practicality is evident. Moreover the literacy element is blended with the vocational, thus easing the stigma which is often an obstacle for male students. The same principle applies when literacy is blended with courses on home-making (cookery), sports, or arts and crafts.

4. Family Learning. This is one of the most commonly-cited methods of reaching those in need. It was submitted that a special budget should be provided for this type of approach and more personnel, such as Home School Liaison Officers and Rural Coordinators, should be recruited to support the programmes. Family learning is a very significant strategy because it assists in creating links between the school and the adult literacy sectors, thereby intervening in the cycle of educational disadvantage at key points of need.

5. Intensity. The most frequently-expressed point in the submissions was the need for intensive training (see 2 above). At present standard literacy intervention comprises 2 hours per week in small groups or one-to-one with a volunteer tutor. The frequent recommendation in these submissions is that this should be raised to as much as 12 hours per week. As noted above, at present one to one training is carried out voluntarily and is reserved for those in greatest need. A corollary recommendation is that tutors engaged in one to one training need to be fully trained and remunerated.

6. Continuity An important factor in improving the effectiveness of literacy work is continuity. There are a number of dimensions to this. One is that the academic year of September to April is too short and has too long a break so that by the time clients return — if they return - a good deal has been forgotten. Continuity also means following up individuals who drop in and out of courses over a period of years. The client data base referred to in 3.22 would be helpful in mitigating the disruption caused by this. Finally, continuity also means progression. There needs to be a range of pathways from basic literacy work to more advanced learning of different kinds.

7. Integration. A number of submissions emphasise the importance of integrating literacy as part of basic education. This helps to alleviate some of the stigma of literacy work, thus removing barriers to participation. It also enhances the effectiveness of the basic education. It was proposed that this approach should also be adopted in FAS courses, VTOS, Youthreach, BTEI courses and others. One submission recommends that the literacy element of these courses should remain under the control of the local literacy service to ensure quality.

Issue 3: Referral

The term ‘referral’ was interpreted very broadly, to include a variety of activities ranging from general publicity aimed at raising public awareness of the issues, to the services of psychologists assessing the needs of an individual.

8. General Public Awareness: At the most general level, a number of submissions proposed that national or local publicity campaigns should be undertaken aimed at raising the general awareness of the community about the problem and reducing the stigma attaching to reading and writing difficulties.

9. Public Service Awareness: A very common recommendation was that awareness of those in the public service particularly likely to meet individuals affected by literacy problems should be given literacy awareness training. This was proposed for personnel in the health services, including GPs, and for staff in FAS, social welfare, and other state agencies. It was suggested that the DES should take a lead in promoting this type of training.

10. Formal Referral to Specialist Support Services: In addition to awareness training in schools, it was recommended that the availability of educational psychology services and of Home School Liaison Officers needs to be greatly expanded, in order to identify problems at an early stage and to refer individuals to suitable interventions. This also applies to Irish speakers for whom assessments in Irish are hard to obtain.

11 Referral Networks: It was proposed that local networks of state agencies and NGOs should be set up to cooperate in identifying persons with problems. The creation of posts for literacy outreach workers was proposed as a means of promoting these networks. .

12 Standards: It is urged that there is a need for nationally accepted standards of literacy and numeracy and a uniform approach to the specification of levels.

13 Student data-base: A number of proposals were made for the creation of a student record database so that the progress of individuals, many of whom may access the service on an irregular basis, can be tracked and some degree of continuity can be provided.

Issue 4: Target Groups

Submissions did not make consistent distinctions between innovative programmes and specific initiatives for disadvantaged groups. Since the major expansion in literacy training in Ireland is of fairly recent origin, many of the interventions have an innovative dimension. The principal types proposed under this heading were:

14 ESOL: A large number of submissions focused on the needs of non-nationals. Evidently, dealing with the needs of this rather different, and far from homogenous group, has been making substantial additional demands on the adult literacy service. One proposal was that the adult literacy budgets should include a specific amount dedicated to ESOL courses. Another stressed that the literacy and the language issues needed to be separated: not all those with problems in English have literacy difficulties. A related point is that for a many non-nationals, the most appropriate learning environment may be the workplace (see Issue 5 below).

15 Travellers: This group is an important priority with particular needs. Various suggestions have been submitted which could be helpful in meeting these, including the development of a dedicated national literacy strategy for Travellers, outreach from Travellers’ Centres, specific measures to encourage continuity of service, a national budget and specific targeting.

16 People with Dyslexia or other Specific Learning Difficulties. As noted above, it is important that adequate screening and assessment services are available to identify persons with dyslexia. Submissions note the importance of expanding the scope of existing interventions, the importance of expanding the pool of specially trained individuals to deal with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties, and the necessity of one-to-one interventions when working with people with these needs.

17. Men. Many men who would benefit from working on their reading, writing or numeracy are reluctant to come forward. There is therefore a need for interventions designed to encourage their participation. Suggestions submitted included the provision of programmes targeted fathers and sons. Thematic courses (see below)) which build literacy training around work or leisure pursuits are also considered likely to be effective for this group.

Issue 5: Workplace Literacy

18 There was a large response to the Joint Committee’s request for submissions concerning this aspect of literacy training. Several submissions identified it as an important priority. It was also noted that literacy training in the workplace is needed by supervisors and other categories of promoted employees whose further progress may be barred by literacy difficulties. Overall, the need for workplace literacy was regarded as urgent by contributors. Furthermore, many of the potential workplace clients are non-nationals and literacy training for them requires special approaches. It was recommended that the DES should coordinate with the DETE to produce a national policy; that trade unions and employer groups need to be made aware of the problem; and that appropriate publicity needs to be directed at both groups. It was proposed that the Return to Learning project in five local authorities should be generalised to all local and health authorities and to private companies too. It was also suggested that financial support for employers and employees would be needed to motivate people working in the private sector. (See Supports Issue 6, also).

Issue 6: Supports

A very wide variety of recommendations were made concerning supports or ancillary services required to increase the effectiveness of literacy training.

19 Childcare, Eldercare and Transport Childcare and ‘eldercare’ services were the most frequently-cited recommendations. It is clear that for parents or carers, some form of practical assistance is necessary if they are to avail of literacy training. A related support recommended was assistance with transport to and from the training centres.

20 Financial assistance. A number of respondents recommended that financial incentives be given to persons attending literacy courses.

21 Buildings. A number of recommendations were made about the need to improve the physical facilities within which literacy training is given. In many cases the facilities are run down, in other cases they take place near or actually in schools, an environment which may have negative associations for many clients of adult literacy students. In other cases the facilities were available only if not required by some other educational or training activity. Another problem was that school buildings are only available during the school year, which contributes to closure of the service during the summer vacation.

22 Educational Psychology, Counselling and Guidance. A number of submissions emphasised the need to extend educational psychological services to the participants in adult literacy courses. In some cases the availability of counselling was also recommended. It was also submitted that there was a need for guidance for participants to inform them about the education and training choices open to them.

23 Research: A number of suggestions were made for research in the area of literacy. For example, one contributor proposed that 3% of the budget for literacy training should be allocated to research into, inter alia, evaluation of the effectiveness of the service. Another recommended the establishment of a national research centre dedicated to adult literacy. One contribution urged a repeat study of the IALS. Another recommended that research be undertaken into the relationship between literacy and health promotion.

24 Curriculum/Materials: Numerous recommendations were made about the need to improve the quality and volume of teaching materials and the content of courses. The most frequent were recommendations to improve the availability of IT based materials and curricula. It was also suggested that TV, radio and audio visual materials should be developed to complement adult literacy work. The RTE “Read Write Now” TV series were commended as an example of what could be done by the broadcast media. An increased role for local groups was envisaged when local TV becomes general. Specific recommendations were made for development of materials for Irish literacy, SLDs and numeracy

PART B: Priorities Additional to those Invited by the Joint Committee

Planning

1. A number of organisations recommended the adoption of a national literacy plan. A National Adult Literacy and Numeracy Plan has been drafted by a range of stakeholders and one contributor recommended that this should be adopted by all parties. This should be coterminous with the next National Development Plan to follow the NDP 2000-2006 now approaching its conclusion.

Funding

2. All of the recommendations implied the need to increase resources in order to support the recommended adult literacy and numeracy interventions. A number of specific points were raised in support of this:

•It was pointed out that the £74/€90 million allocate under the NDP worked out at about €10 per person per annum. (on the basis that about 25% of the population have literacy problems). One specific recommendation was that funding should be increased from 0.15% of GDP to 0.2%.

•It was suggested that the level of funding for adult literacy provided to the different VECs is based on historical distribution reflecting different levels of development of adult literacy courses throughout the country. This has led to considerable differences between VECs on the per capita funding. A major revision of funding allocation based on need was recommended.

•Some contributors thought that funding should be provided at the start of the year in order to provide time for planning the year’s activities; and that for the same reason, funding should be provided on a multi annual (3 to 5 years) basis.

•Some contributors want funding to be divided into budgets for pay and non-pay, on the grounds that this would improve transparency, which would make it easier to manage different budgetary requirements. This is particularly important when costs such as pay, are subject to change.

Structures

3. A number of proposals were made for restructuring of organisations involved in literacy training. Some of these are designed to support specific programmes and are dealt with below. Others have general application. All of these proposals need further elaboration, especially as some are mutually exclusive. Recommendations from contributors on the issue of structures included the following:

•Interdepartmental Committee to be set up between the DES and the Department of Health to ensure integration of literacy training and health promotion ;

•Coordination between DES and DETE to ensure promotion of workplace literacy training;

•Establishment of a State Literacy Agency;

•Clarification of role of all of the stakeholders in the field, including the National Adult Literacy Agency, the IVEA, the individual VECs and others;

•Establishment of local networks between VECs and other agencies working with disadvantaged to increase effectiveness of referral, raise awareness, improve effectiveness of referral and improve delivery of services;

•The creation of an adult literacy service separate from the VECs ;

•Development of Library Service to collaborate with adult literacy service;

•The formal identification of the VECs as major providers of the adult literacy service in Ireland.

Staffing: Tutors

4. Most of the specific recommendations imply the need for an increase in the number of personnel or improvements in their training and support. Recommendations are for increased numbers, more full time personnel, improvements in pay, settled conditions of employment, coherent personnel structures, training and clarification of qualifications.

•General improvement in pay and condition with secure contracts for teaching personnel;

•Introduction of career structure;

•Staffing norms to be determined;

•Greater professionalisation of literacy teachers and less reliance on voluntarism;

•Identification of professional qualifications in order to place literacy personnel on a par with second level teachers;

•More full time teachers and some paid tutors for one-to-one training;

•Additional training for tutors in general and in particular, for those dealing with specific problems (SLDs).

Staffing: Management and Non-Teaching Staff

5. Several recommendations concerned management and support staff:

•Review of roles of the Adult Education Officers and the Adult Literacy Officers in light of evolving activities;

•Strengthening of the Home School Learning Service;

•Increase in administrative and support staff for adult literacy service;

•Increase in staffing of IVEA to enable it to play appropriate role in development of literacy training;

⁴⁴ References are given to individual and organisational submissions associated with each point. As the same points were made in many submissions, references are usually to a selection of the more important submissions relating to each point.