Committee Reports::Report No. 04 - Adult Literacy in Ireland::31 May, 2006::Report

In accordance with its Orders of Reference, the Joint Committee on Education and Science agreed to seek submissions regarding Adult Literacy with a view to the preparation of a Report. The Committee invited submissions from the public and also heard oral presentations on the matter. This report also builds on the report produced by the Joint Committee on Education and Science of the 28^th Dáil. The Committee hopes that this report, which contains twenty-eight recommendations for the future development of this important sector of the Irish educational system, will contribute to the continuing debate on Adult Literacy in Ireland.

The Joint Committee would like to acknowledge the contribution to this report made by the many individuals and organisations who responded to the public advertisement placed by the Joint Committee. The contribution of those who subsequently made oral submissions is also acknowledged. In the course of their work, the consultants who assisted the Joint Committee in the preparation of the report, conducted several interviews and received information from a number of other sources. The Joint Committee would also like to thank those individuals and organisations.

The Committee is indebted to the two consultants on this project, Mr. Jim Dorgan, of Curtin Dorgan Associates and Ms Elizabeth McSkeane, who assisted the committee in the production of this report and would like to put on the record its appreciation of the professional and efficient work done by them on this report.

The Joint Committee requests that its recommendations in relation to this issue are taken on board and recommends that it would invite the Minister for Education and Science or the Secretary-General of the Department of Education and Science to attend a meeting of the committee, in six months time, to report to the Committee on the progress made in implementing the recommendations of the Committee in this report.

Table of Abbreviations

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) undertaken by the OECD in a number of western countries in 1995, showed that one in four adults in Ireland had basic literacy problems and that this ratio was almost the highest amongst the countries surveyed.

2.The response to the IALS, and to the greater awareness of the importance of literacy, was a large increase in resources devoted to literacy services in Ireland. The national budget is now around € 25 million, most of it disbursed to the VECs who organise and carry out literacy training in their respective areas.

3.The Joint Committee believes that a high level of literacy problems in Ireland is unacceptable and it should be a national priority to reduce it within as short a time as possible. This requires the adoption of a long term programme with an objectively measurable target and an adequate budget.

4.Specifically the Joint Committee proposes that the long term objective should be to halve the number of persons on the lowest level of literacy — as defined by the IALS - and to do this in half a generation, or 15 years.

5.As an intermediate step, the Joint Committee proposes that during the course of the National Development Plan 2007-13, a programme should be implemented which will require a quadrupling of the adult literacy tuition budget from €25 to about €100 million by 2013 with an additional €25 million for improving ancillary and support services.

6.It is recommended that this should be used to double the annual number of students, to increase the average number of hours of instruction per student and to enhance ancillary and support services.

7.A new national adult literacy survey should be taken up as soon as possible to judge the current state of literacy after more than a decade since the first one. Thereafter surveys should be taken up every three years to the end of the programme in 2013 to evaluate progress. The specific objectives of the adult literacy programme and its rate of implementation can be adjusted in the light of these surveys.

8.Preparation of the National Adult Literacy Programme for 2007-13 should be accompanied by:

•An evaluation of the outcome of the various measures implemented during the period 2000-2006. This evaluation should be completed before the end of this year.

•an implementation strategy for the National Adult Literacy Programme which should be drawn up in consultation with the key stakeholders

9.It is also necessary to have a national framework of levels of literacy and a multi faceted assessment strategy which are relevant to students of literacy. Work on this is underway and should be completed as soon as possible.

10.The Joint Committee recommends that the National Adult Learning Council should be activated as a matter of urgency and the implementation of the National Adult Literacy Programme should be assigned to it.

11.Below national level, the Joint Committee recommends that there should be an adult literacy infrastructure in each county and city, to advise on the local implementation of the literacy programme.

12.With the development of literacy services proposed in this report it is necessary to review staffing arrangements. The Joint Committee recommends:

•third level qualifications should be formally recognised as professional accreditation for adult literacy practitioners;

•the role of volunteers should be clarified by drawing up a volunteers’ charter which sets out their responsibilities and their rights.

13.Numerous proposals have been made for new and improved programmes and initiatives for literacy training. Many have already been implemented and evaluated. It is not necessary for the Joint Committee to comment in detail on all of these projects. However, the Joint Committee wishes to highlight some issues of general relevance which have emerged from certain initiatives :

•The standard literacy input is for 2 hours per week for about 30 weeks. The Joint Committee recommends that 4 hour and 6 hour options should be available and that the length of courses should be extended.

•About 25% of all students in the literacy service are non English speakers. The Joint Committee recommends that there should be a national strategy based on consultation with the relevant stakeholders for the design, delivery, assessment and evaluation of courses for non English speakers who do not have a literacy problem per se. Such courses should not be funded from the budget for adult literacy.

•Workplace literacy is an important teaching and learning strategy. There is a need to offer literacy courses in the work place for potentially vulnerable employees. The Joint Committee recommends that stakeholders should formulate a national strategy to raise awareness and to advise and implement innovative programmes.

14.The Joint Committee also recommends emphasis and resources to be given to a dedicated family literacy budget for the country.

•Development of a literacy strategy for Travellers

•Exploitation of new technology to develop innovative approaches to literacy training

16.Despite the increase in literacy services in recent years, it is believed that a substantial number of people are unaware of them, or do not know how to access them or are unwilling to do so. The Joint Committee recommends that a national literacy awareness programme should be launched.

17.It is also important that awareness training should be given to persons in the public service who are in contact with the public in those areas, such as health and social welfare, where literacy problems may be an issue among recipients.

18.Some persons have literacy problems which are attributable to specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia. These special needs are not readily identified or addressed within the general adult literacy service. It is therefore crucial that identification of these special needs be carried out by professional educational psychologists. The Joint Committee recommends that specialist assessments should be available to the adult literacy sector.

19.Many submissions have emphasised the importance of ensuring that persons with literacy problems are aware of the services available and receive appropriate guidance. The Joint Committee recommends

•Increasing resources to partnership initiatives facilitating access to literacy support through various routes (workplace, health service, etc);

•Ensuring that participants in adult literacy training have access to guidance and support services.

20.Many recommendations were received by the Joint Committee about the deterrence of costs to many potential literacy students. These costs include getting childcare or eldercare and transport. The Joint Committee recommends that all programme budgets include provision for students who need help with these costs.

21.The Joint Committee further recommends that there should be a feasibility study, including costs, of providing incentives to participants in adult literacy training through social welfare, training allowances or tax credits

22.Finally, because literacy problems have to be addressed by a range of actions by the state, the Joint Committee recommends that means of ensuring contact and coordination between all relevant Departments and state agencies should be identified and implemented.

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Since the publication of the OECD International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), adult literacy has been identified as an issue of major social and educational concern for Ireland. The unprecedented level of attention now being focused on adult literacy in recent years is due to:

•The IALS results for Ireland, which were published in 1997 and which demonstrated that 25% of the adult population could manage only Level 1 literacy and numeracy tasks on a five-level scale of difficulty; and that the incidence of the problem in Ireland was higher than in all but one of the other countries in the survey.¹

•Increasing awareness of how the changes taking place in society are making greater and more complex demands on individuals and systems thus putting people with literacy problems at an increasing disadvantage.

1.2 The IALS findings provoked a far-reaching reaction in the Department of Education and Science (DES) and in Government generally. A substantial increase in funding for adult literacy followed under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2000 — 06. Since then, the service available to support people with literacy and numeracy needs has expanded greatly, as has the number of people accessing the service.

1.3 In early 1998 the then Joint Committee on Education and Science examined a number of witnesses with an interest in the field and on behalf of the Joint Committee, Deputy Richard Bruton prepared a report which the Joint Committee adopted and published in May 1998.²

1.4 The present Joint Committee returned to the issue last year and decided to include in its work programme the preparation of a report on the current situation in adult literacy. Submissions from the public on six key issues identified by the Committee were invited by means of an advertisement placed in the national press on 25 March 2005. A total of 38 submissions were received from individuals and organisations involved in the provision of literacy services. On September 7 and 8, 2005, the Joint Committee heard oral presentations from 28 of the individuals and representatives of the groups which had made written submissions. A summary of the issues which emerged from their submissions is contained in Annex. I. A list of contributors is given in Annex III.

1.5 On 21st December, 2005, the Joint Committee appointed James Dorgan and Elizabeth McSkeane as consultants to assist in the preparation of a report incorporating contributions from the written and oral presentations and preparing a draft concerning the future of adult literacy and numeracy strategy, policy and practice in Ireland. . In the first instance, the consultants were asked to compile a preparatory Analysis Document summarising and analysing the submissions. That document also contains a review of general literacy issues and the development of adult literacy services in Ireland in the period since IALS. It was submitted to the Joint Committee and discussed at its meeting on 9 February 2006. A number of comments were made by members and arising from these the consultants were asked to prepare a draft final report on adult literacy in Ireland, 2006. This report is presented in fulfilment of that instruction.

1.6 The Section following this Introduction addresses general background issues and analyses the context from which the recommendations have emerged. This draws on the earlier Analysis Document and comprises: causes and impact of literacy problems, definitions of literacy, key points in the history of the development of the adult literacy service and an overview of the service as it has developed since IALS. The Sections which follow contain recommendations grouped under five headings: Section 3 addresses planning, Section 4 covers issues of organisation and structure, Section 5 explores staffing issues, Sections 6 and 7 examine specific actions and supports for participation respectively.

1.7 In drawing up the recommendations contained in this report, the Joint Committee has decided to give greatest weight to key strategic issues, in preference to detailed comment on the large number of specific actions which were described in many of the submissions. It is the view of the Joint Committee that at the present time, the most urgent requirement for the literacy sector is to review, reaffirm and where necessary amend, strategic decisions concerning the status of adult literacy on the national agenda, the vision and objectives to be adopted, the organisation and monitoring of these and the funding which should be assigned.

1.8 That said, some actions which require a degree of coordination or leadership at national level are highlighted in Section 6 and 7 below. Many more are contained in the summary of submissions given in Annex I. It should be emphasised that actions and issues which are not included amongst the recommendations are not considered unimportant: rather, their omission is due, in many cases, to the level of detail which would be needed to do them justice. The Joint Committee expects that specific actions will be addressed in the context of the proposed national structures and strategic framework.

1.9 The National Development Plan 2000 — 2006, which provides funding for the National Adult Literacy Programme for the same period, as set out in the White Paper on Adult Education³, will expire at the end of this year. The social partners are currently engaged in discussions aimed at achieving a new partnership agreement. This, along with the development of a new NDP for the period 2007-13, provides an opportunity to incorporate the recommendations of this report into the wider programme for Government and for social partnership.

SECTION 2 ADULT LITERACY IN IRELAND

SECTION 2. 1: The Nature of the Problem

The International Adult Literacy Survey

2.1.1 The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) was a very significant study for Ireland because it provided the first ever, and so far, the only set of statistics describing adult levels of literacy and numeracy in the country; and also because of the extent of the problem it described. Some of its main findings included the following:

•One in four Irish adults have difficulty with simple literacy tasks such as reading the instructions on an aspirin bottle, that is, with Level 1 tasks on a scale of five levels⁴;

•There is a substantial gap between the literacy levels of younger and older people: a smaller proportion of young people (17%) scored at the lowest level, as compared with 44% of the older age group; and a larger proportion of young people scored at the highest level, level 4/5;

•Overall, Ireland came second lowest on the international scale of literacy levels: only Poland scored lower.⁵

Table 1 International Adult Literacy Survey: Results for English Speaking Countries

2.1.2 The results of the IALS came at a time when there was increasing awareness of how the changes taking place in society are making greater and more complex demands on individuals. These very wide-ranging changes have also had a major impact on the nature of work, both in content — the tasks which people actually have to perform in their jobs — and in the way in which the workplace is organised. Because of these changes, individuals now need a wider range of skills in daily, social and working life.^{6 7}

Impact of literacy and numeracy difficulties

2.1.3 People who have difficulties in literacy and numeracy are at risk of exclusion from social and economic life. This has been recognised in recent years, not only by educationalists but by many authorities from different sectors including the National Competitive Council, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and IBEC. Forfás, for example, comments that in spite of the healthy state of the economy and the low level of unemployment

…there is some cause for concern. A proportion of those losing employment from vulnerable industries have low skills and/or qualifications. It appears likely that these will be more exposed to difficulties in obtaining other employment than those who are more skilled, or have better qualifications.⁸

2.1.4 The effects which reading and writing difficulties have on the personal and social lives of the individuals themselves, in terms of quality of life, loss of opportunity, the impact on personal and social relations and on people’s ability to participate in civic and community life, are widely recognised as being just as significant. In a ‘learning’ or ‘knowledge’ society people who lack basic skills are seriously marginalised and disadvantaged, not only in their employment prospects but also in daily⁹, civic and personal life.^{10 11}

Importance of addressing the problem

2.1.5 Because of these factors, the Joint Committee is convinced that ensuring that all citizens of this country are equipped with the skills they need to manage daily, civic and working life, is an essential function of Government. This is, firstly, a matter of prevention: of ensuring that young people leave the compulsory stage of education with the skills they need to participate fully in society. This Joint Committee has in the past addressed issues arising from educational disadvantage at primary and post-primary levels and in the context of this report, the importance of coordinating the work of the schools with the work of the adult literacy sector is addressed in Section 3 below.

2.1.6 Secondly, it means addressing the problem when it does arise and this is the area with which the Joint Committee is currently engaged. The increase in funding and the expansion of the adult literacy service which has occurred since 2000 are the first steps in achieving a radical improvement in the literacy and numeracy skills of a substantial section of the adult Irish population. It is now necessary to maximise the impact of those actions through careful planning, through strategic and targeted measures, supported by the structures and funding needed to drive a major national effort which will significantly reduce the literacy and numeracy problem in the foreseeable future.

2.1.7 The Joint Committee regards the achievement of a population with these basic skills not as an optional extra, but as an essential feature of a democratic society in which all citizens are equipped to play their part in community and working life, as well as fulfilling their potential as individuals.

Causes of Literacy Problem

2.1.8 People who have difficulties with reading, writing or numeracy often believe that this is due to their own shortcomings. This, coupled with a lack of public awareness and understanding, stigmatises the problem and contributes greatly to the low self-esteem which many individuals in this position experience. However, many people who have gaps in basic skills are extremely resourceful and develop sophisticated strategies to compensate, such as memory skills. Often they manage to hide the gaps from their colleagues, friends and sometimes even from their families. It is important, therefore, to recognise that many people who find themselves unable to cope with the literacy or numeracy demands of daily and working life are intelligent individuals who have been affected by adverse factors and often by a combination of factors.

2.1.9 Some of the causes¹² of literacy problems can be due at least in part, to particular needs arising from characteristics of the individual, such as

Under the right circumstances, people with particular needs arising from these characteristics can learn to read, write and handle numbers effectively. It is therefore crucial that special needs are identified as soon as possible, so that suitable interventions can be made.

2.1.10 However, many of the causes are rooted in environment and other circumstances¹³, such as:

-Inappropriate teaching strategies or a generally negative experience of school;

-Poor attendance at school due to ill-health, drop-out or being kept at home to work or carry out home duties.

Like many manifestations of educational disadvantage, literacy problems have multifaceted causes, closely associated with socio-economic factors such as poverty¹⁴ and may be part of a cycle of marginalisation, low education and disadvantage within families. This fact highlights the importance of reinforcing links between different levels and sectors of education and with other government agencies as well. Increased demands on the literacy skills which people need to carry out routine tasks have also contributed to marginalising people who in the past would have had occupations which did not involve reading, writing or numeracy. That said, literacy and numeracy problems are not only a manifestation of educational disadvantage, but can be experienced by individuals from any educational or socio-economic background. Because the causes of low literacy levels are multi-faceted, the strategies required to address the problem need to be multidimensional as well.

2.1.11 The Joint Committee therefore wishes to stress that improving literacy and numeracy in the adult population of Ireland is a task which concerns not only the education system and the Department of Education and Science. All government departments have a role to play in addressing the educational, social and economic inequalities which contribute to this problem. It is therefore essential to identify ways in which all relevant stakeholders can play their part; and to create systems and structures by which all this activity can be co-ordinated.

Definitions of Literacy

2.1.12 There are different views about what is meant by ‘literacy’ and what ‘literacy’ is for. One approach tries to define literacy solely as a set of competencies — lists of things that people can do — which can be broken down into different types of tasks and sub-skills, all of which can be relatively easily measured. A more holistic approach views literacy as a complex combination of the skills already mentioned, but considers certain personal, social and critical dimensions¹⁵ as being a necessary part of the definition. According to one important OECD project, for example,

Reading literacy is understanding, using and reflecting on written texts in order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s understanding and potential and to participate in society.¹⁶

2.1.13 This view of literacy emphasises the learner’s own priorities and stresses the dimensions of understanding and critical reflection.¹⁷ In other words, although the individual sub-skills involved in reading, writing and numeracy are essential, they do not, by themselves, add up to ‘literacy’. In contrast, ‘literacy’ which is meaningful, in that it equips people to make choices and handle the tasks involved in all aspects of adult life, is:

-learner-centred, in that it addresses the learner’s own priorities and acknowledges the learner as an active participant, not a passive recipient;

-Multi-faceted, because it includes dimension such as personal judgment, when and how to use a skill, critical awareness; understanding and reflection;

2.1.14 Definitions of literacy are important because they underpin decisions about the type of programmes to put in place, the content of those programmes, the materials developed, the teaching methodology used and how staff is trained. They also affect how we define progress. This is particularly important when it comes to assessing learners’ success in improving their literacy skills.

Dimensions of Literacy

2.1.15 Another important aspect of literacy definitions is the range of dimensions included in the term. For example ‘literacy’ has in the past been considered to encompass ‘numeracy’ as well, although increasingly these are being highlighted separately. The IALS analysed literacy in terms of three ‘domains’: prose literacy which involves reading newspapers, magazines and documents consisting of continuous prose; document literacy which refers to timetables, graphs, charts, maps and forms; and quantitative literacy, which is essentially numeracy. This multi-dimensional approach to literacy is common practice and indeed there are other dimensions sometimes included under the literacy banner which IALS did not probe: for example, oral/aural skills and increasingly, Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Describing Levels of Literacy

2.1.16 Once people have started work on improving their literacy and numeracy skills, in order to gauge their progress it is necessary to have signposts of achievement — levels — by which that progress may be tracked. For example, the IALS distinguished five levels of literacy in each of the three domains of prose, document and quantitative literacy. In that system, reading the instructions on an aspirin bottle was defined as a Level 1 task. One implication of expressing literacy ability in terms of levels is that either/or terminology such as ‘literate’/ ‘illiterate’ is neither meaningful nor accurate¹⁸: rather, people have different degrees of strengths and weaknesses and these are not necessarily the same in the different domains: people can be good at reading but poor at spelling; good at writing but not so good with numbers.

2.1.17 However, the five levels specified for the IALS represent a set of international indicators, rather than national standards developed for Ireland. Other countries have developed frameworks specifically for, or relevant to, the achievements of adult literacy learners. In this country, the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) has recently published their current work on Levels 1 and 2¹⁹ for the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and it is likely that when the relevant work is complete, the description of these two levels together with the already defined Level 3 will provide the framework within which national measures will be located.

SECTION 2.2: Early Issues and Policy Development

2.2.1 Although the IALS raised awareness of the issue, the problem of low levels of literacy amongst Irish adults is not new. The fact that some Irish adults had difficulties in reading and writing was mentioned in the Murphy Report on Adult Education in 1973.²⁰ At that time and before, there was virtually no State support for the provision of an adult literacy service. One-to-one tuition was provided by concerned individuals and community groups around the country, almost exclusively by volunteers, often in the learner’s or the tutor’s own home.

2.2.2 By the early 1980s the situation had improved slightly. In 1983 the Commission on Lifelong Learning (the Kenny Report) quoted a survey carried out in the previous year which indicated that there were at least 40 adult literacy schemes in the country, almost all of which were run by voluntary workers.²¹ Even so, the Kenny report did not identify adult literacy as being a major educational issue. Although twelve areas of adult education were identified as requiring expansion, adult literacy was not explicitly stated. This indicates that even into the 1980s, although there was some awareness at policy level that there were Irish adults whose abilities in reading and writing were insufficient for their needs, this was not yet regarded as a serious problem and therefore, not a major priority for educational policy.

Development of VEC Literacy Services

2.2.3 In the 1980s and for much of the 1990s, the role of the people who organised literacy activity in many locations was not fully formalised. During that time, different VECs began to appoint paid organisers, later known as Adult Literacy Organisers (ALOs) but these were not always full-time positions: sometimes, a part-time tutor who was already paid to work for a certain number of hours in a Vocational Education Committee (VEC) night school would be allocated duties to organise the adult literacy tuition and paid for a few hours each week. Gradually, as the number of people coming forward for literacy support increased, the role of the organiser expanded and over a period of time all of the VECs appointed ALOs to run the schemes, several in some of the larger counties. Since 1998 the position of ALO has been a full-time, permanent post although in smaller schemes the ALO also carries out some tuition.

Establishment of National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA)

2.2.4 By the late 1970s there was enough of a groundswell of activity in literacy tuition at local volunteer level to create the impetus for a representative organisation to be set up. This was the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) which came into being in 1977 and whose first constitution was written in 1980. In 1984 the Department of Education made an allocation of £45,000 to enable NALA to establish a national office and a year later, took the significant step of establishing the Adult Literacy and Community Education (ALCE) Budget. Through this budget line, £1m was channelled to the VECs over a three-year period for literacy and community education activities. Over the next decade and a half leading up to the IALS, the ALCE budget increased steadily, from £1m in 1991 to £4m in 1998. This facilitated a substantial increase in adult literacy activity, for example, by enabling the VECs to appoint more paid tutors. Under the 1930 Vocational Education Act, the VECs are charged with the provision of adult education and accordingly, the VECs were the first formal providers of an adult literacy service in Ireland. They still provide over 90% of the adult literacy service in Ireland.

White Paper on Education, 1995

2.2.5 By 1995, when the White Paper on Education was published, awareness of the existence of a problem with literacy had increased to the extent that a short section in the White Paper addressed “Literacy Programmes.”²² Also significant was the fact that literacy support was by then available in a range of educational settings, through various initiatives and programmes which had been developed in the preceding years: in Vocational Training and Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), Youthreach, in FÁS Community Training Workshops and in the network of Centres for the Unemployed run by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).

After IALS: Green Paper and White Paper on Adult Education

2.2.6 Following the publication of the IALS, many responses from stakeholders in different sectors called for action to be taken. The Green Paper on Adult Education, which was published the year after IALS,²³ identified literacy and numeracy as the number one priority in adult education in Ireland, because of the impact of this problem on individuals, and also on economic and social progress in an increasingly technological society.

2.2.7 In 2000 the DES published the White Paper on Adult Education.²⁴ This highlighted adult literacy as a top priority for government educational policy and focused attention on second chance and further education and on the barriers facing learners. Provision for second chance and further education was founded on a framework of four pillars, of which a national adult literacy programme was identified as being the most important.²⁵

2.2.8 The White Paper noted that annual funding for the adult literacy had increased from £0.85 to £7.825 between 1997 and 2000 and that the number of people accessing the adult literacy service had increased from 5,000 to 13,000 in the same period. This had been supported by investment in staff development, the creation of referral networks and the development of radio and TV programmes by RTÉ. An Inter-Departmental Group on Literacy for the Unemployed had also been established, to report back to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion.

National Adult Literacy Programme

2.2.9 The White Paper formulated a National Adult Literacy Programme (NALP). The priorities set out therein may be summarised as follows²⁶: Expansion of the client base to circa 113,000 by the end of the NDP period (2006), prioritising in particular those with the lowest literacy levels and developing initiatives to encourage the participation of particular sections of the population including unemployed people, refugees and asylum-seekers, people with disabilities and men;

•Improvements in referral between different agencies and coordination of resources of agencies such as FÁS and the VECs, in order to reach clients;

•Development or expansion of literacy initiatives in particular settings such as the workplace, in targeted programmes such as Community Employment (CE) and in other training initiatives run by FÁS, Teagasc and other relevant agencies;

•Improvement of links with agencies such as the libraries and other agencies with the potential to reach literacy clients;

•Development of innovative approaches, including ICT, broadcasting and others to support literacy work;

•Exploration and reduction of barriers to adults’ participation in literary and numeracy work, including barriers in the social welfare and supplementary benefit system;

2.2.10 Also included in the White Paper is a section highlighting the importance of coordinating efforts with the school sector, where up to one in ten of all fifth class pupils have difficulty in literacy.²⁷

2.2.11 The White Paper also recommended that another National Adult Literacy Survey should be conducted “three years hence and at regular intervals thereafter”²⁸ preferably on an international basis like the 1997 OECD study, but failing that, on a national basis.

Taskforce on Lifelong Learning

2.2.12 Two years later, the Report from the Taskforce Report on Lifelong Learning,²⁹ which was established by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) in collaboration with the Department of Education and Science, reviewed progress on the actions recommended under the NALP, reaffirmed the importance of addressing the literacy problem through the NALP and recommended:

that the initiatives now underway should be built upon and strengthened to achieve the aim that all adults have access to basic skills³⁰.

SECTION 2.3 Expansion of the Adult Literacy Service and Current Position

2.3.1 It is clear from the foregoing that since the publication of the IALS in 1997 there has been a substantial increase in the scale of the resources committed to adult literacy and an extension in the range of initiatives and institutions involved. As things stand, the adult literacy service is mainly provided by the VECs in the form of literacy tuition for two hours per week in small groups. Some programmes, such as the Return to Education programme which is designed for Community Employment (CE) participants, provide more than two hours of literacy training per week. Since one-to-one tuition is not supported by the DES, this form of teaching is delivered by voluntary tutors and voluntary effort remains important. There are over 4,000 of these working in adult literacy, that is, three times more than the number of paid tutors.

2.3.2 Tables 2 and 3 below give some figures on the expansion of the literacy services in terms of funding, numbers employed and students. In less than a decade the budget has risen from €1.1m to €23 m and the number of students from 5,000 to about 35,000. Figures on staffing, whether voluntary or paid, are not yet available for 2004 and 2005 but rapid growth is reflected in the available data for 2000 to 2003. It should be noted that since 2005, the DETE has provided FÁS with €2 m per annum for literacy training. These figures are not included in the table. In total therefore the national budget for literacy training for 2006 is in the region of €25 m.

2.3.3 To put this funding increase in the context of the overall education budget, Table 4 below gives a breakdown of government spending on education for one year, 2004, by sector. Clearly, funding to adult literacy is still a very small fraction of the total education budget and the per capita spending is very low by comparison with the other sectors. It is also very important to note that since 2000, the provision of services to immigrants has also come out of the adult literacy budget.

SECTION 3: PLANNING

Aims of the National Adult Literacy Programme

3.1 The preceding section has indicated the extent of the problem of literacy in Ireland and the consequences for the individuals who experience it and for society as a whole. The view of the Joint Committee is that such a low standard of literacy in Ireland is a major failing in society and that a national implementation strategy must be initiated with the aim of eliminating the problem within a definite period of time. The Joint Committee proposes that the long-term goal of the National Adult Literacy Programme should be to reduce by half the number of people at the lowest level of literacy within half a generation, say fifteen years. This would bring the Irish rate down to about 12%, which is slightly better than the average of 15%, which was recorded in the IALS in 1995.

3.2 These recommendations are based on the assumption that the number of adults with literacy problems is 500,000 — the number reported by the IALS in 1997. It may be that the number has increased since then due to e.g. higher population, migrants, the number of early school leavers and other factors. It may also have declined due to, inter alia, demographic factors and the NALP. But with respect to the latter, it must be remembered that it is only in very recent years that the resources and the number of students in literacy training have been significant. In the absence of any more up to date information, the 500,000 figure is therefore adopted as the basis for this Recommendation. When the national literacy survey, referred to in Recommendation 7 is taken up, a revision of the above objective may be required. In the mean time, the Joint Committee believes that it is prudent to plan on the basis that the literacy problem in Ireland remains a major one.

3.3 Translating this objective into annual numbers of students and resources involves assumptions, most notably about the speed at which students progress in response to literacy training. There is some international experience on this which suggests that with 200 hours tuition a student could progress through the equivalent of one of the three NQF Levels that cover people with literacy problems. The implication of this, and keeping the assumption that about 500,000 persons are affected, is that a doubling in the number of students and in the average hours per year, a four fold increase on the present level of provision is an approximate measure of the resources needed to meet the objective in Recommendation 1.

3.4 If the literacy surveys referred to in Recommendation 7 prove that the current problem is less severe than assumed, then a faster implementation of the overall objective in Recommendation1 can be visualised. On the other hand if the problem is worse, or if the periodic surveys show slower progress than anticipated in paragraph 3.3 above, then the Recommendation 2 about resources should be revisited.

3.5 These increased costs should be borne and the full implementation of the National Adult Literacy Programme should become a major priority, not only for the education sector, but for the Programme of Government, equal in importance to the maintenance of employment, the promotion of economic growth and the elimination of poverty. Indeed, raising standards of literacy and numeracy is an essential element in all important social and economic measures. This will require a concerted effort on the part of all government departments and services, working in support of the efforts of the DES and the DETE in particular.

3.6 The development of a new National Development Plan to succeed the NDP 20002006 provides an appropriate seven-year framework within which the objectives of a new national implementation strategy for the National Adult Literacy Programme can be formulated as an intermediate step towards this long-term goal.

National Adult Literacy Programme, 2000-2006: Evaluation

3.7 In order to plan the steps needed to achieve the goal, it is essential to review the extent to which the aims set for the National Adult Literacy Programme 2000-2006 were actually met. A recent progress report from the DES defined the overall aim of the National Adult Literacy Programme 2000-2006 as follows:

The object of the National Adult Literacy Strategy is to promote system development to ensure increased access to literacy, numeracy and basic education for adults whose skills are inadequate for participation in society.³¹[our emphasis]

3.8 The actions proposed in the White Paper, as well as the targets set and the many initiatives which have been accomplished since the inception of NALP³², are almost all described in terms of inputs and activities such as levels of expenditure, number of students accessing the service and programmes, rather than in terms of outputs, such as the expected impact on people’s literacy skills. The most explicit focus of the NALP for the period 2000 — 2006 was therefore to improve access to the adult literacy service for a greatly increased number of learners; and to set up a range of structures and provision options which would facilitate this. Considering the very low base, in terms of funding, staffing and general provision at which the adult literacy service was operating prior to 1997, it was appropriate that the first stage should concentrate on ensuring that systems were in place to allow for the participation of greater numbers of people in diverse circumstances.

3.9 Given that the aims of NALP were expressed in terms of increased inputs rather than outcomes on learning, in the absence of a repeat study of IALS, it would be difficult to evaluate the precise impact of the National Adult Literacy Programme, 2000 — 2006 in terms of improvements in literacy levels. In fact, the Joint Committee is recommending a repeat national or international adult literacy survey (see Recommendation 7 below) and this should provide a general indication of any changes in the literacy and numeracy skills in the Irish population since 1997. That said, it is important that NALP 2000 - 2006 should be formally evaluated in terms of the aims and priorities which were actually set for it, as outlined in sections 2.2.9 and 3.7 above. The findings should inform the development of a new strategy for the full implementation of the National Adult Literacy Programme in the period 2007-2013.

3.10 During the last six years, a great deal of information has emerged from the implementation of NALP. Much of this has been evaluated and documented at local level. The main programmes have been piloted and some have been evaluated on a larger scale. Before moving into a new phase of implementation, it is important to review this recent experience and identify the key messages and lessons which have emerged from it.

3.11 Rather than duplicating methodologies and actions which formed part of the smaller-scale evaluations of individual projects and programmes, the NALP evaluation could include, among other things:

•An audit of the full range of policy recommendations included in White Paper, Task Force Report on Lifelong Learning and National Development Plan and also of the recommendations made in the 1998 report on adult literacy from the predecessor to this Joint Committee: and a review of the extent to which each recommendation has been acted on, advanced or fully achieved;

•An overview of levels of participation in different parts of the service, different programmes and different target groups;

•Identify any gaps in the evaluation of individual programmes or projects and take steps to remedy such gaps;

National Adult Literacy Programme 2007-2013: Implementation Strategy

3.12 Strategic planning is now one of the most important dimensions of educational management. The future implementation of the National Adult Literacy Programme must ensure coordination between all stakeholders involved in the adult literacy service and its partners and collaborators, whether they operate in a capacity of providing tuition, referring people to the service, supporting the service by funding, staffing, research, guidance or by liaising with other education sectors and levels.

3.13 A substantial amount of work has already been carried out in relation to the development of an Implementation Strategy. Many of the submissions which contributed to this report contained specific suggestions which could support the full implementation of the next stage of the NALP. Most significantly, a consortium of stakeholders, the National Adult Literacy Advisory Group, was established in 2002 in order to advance this task. Following a two-year period of consultation involving the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA), NALA, adult literacy practitioners, representatives of the Library Council, the DES and the Department of Social and Family Affairs, this Group produced an Implementation Plan.³³ The purpose of the consultation process and the Implementation Plan it produced was:

to address the need to consolidate systems in order to build further capacity, as well as to continue the integration of adult literacy services into other VEC adult education provision. It aims to build pathways for progression both within the VEC and in other adult education and training services and to address employment and career opportunities for staff in the sector.³⁴

3.14 This Implementation Plan addresses many of the key issues referred to in Recommendation 4, and also contains detailed proposals for actions, some of which have been accomplished already, whilst others are in progress. That document should therefore be adopted and used as a starting point in the planning for the full implementation of the National Adult Literacy Programme, 2007 — 2013.

Evaluation of National Adult Literacy Programme 2007-2013

3.15 If the next stage of the National Adult Literacy Programme explicitly foregrounds the aim of having a positive impact on people’s lives by enabling them to improve their literacy and numeracy skills, then it is essential to ensure from the outset that systems are in place which make it possible to judge in the future whether NALP is achieving its goals. In order to know if learners are making progress, signposts, or levels of achievement, need to be used. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) describes ten levels of achievement for learning experiences which relate directly to qualifications. The first three levels, Levels 1 — 3, provide a framework which may be used to gauge aspects of the progress and achievements of adult literacy students.

Assessment of Students’ Progress

3.16 In order to know if learners are making progress, there needs to be a way of finding out what their strengths and weaknesses are, in relation to the levels specified, when they start working on their literacy and numeracy and then when they have been in the adult literacy service for a while. Assessment is a way of finding out this information and it can take many forms. People who have difficulties with reading and writing may have experienced failure in traditional assessment situations, such as tests.³⁵ It is therefore important to devise ways of assessing learners’ initial level and progress which are supportive and non-threatening, as well as being valid and reliable³⁶.

National Adult Literacy Survey

3.17 The White Paper on Adult Education proposed that the literacy and numeracy levels of Ireland’s adult population should be explored again in another International Adult Literacy Survey, by 2003. This survey never took place. In order to monitor the ongoing efficiency and impact of the adult literacy service over a period of time, it is necessary to gather information periodically about the key indicators of success.

SECTION 4: STRUCTURES AND ORGANISATION

4.1 This Committee believes that the availability of a wide range of services and programmes, delivered in many different contexts, facilitates access to the adult literacy service for many people who would not otherwise be in a position to address their literacy and numeracy needs. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the potential for duplication of service is avoided and that these different initiatives are accessed by the individuals who can make best use of them. The Joint Committee therefore wishes to emphasise the need for a structure for careful planning and co-ordination, at both national and local level, of the diverse range of literacy support options which have been designed to meet the needs of different target groups. This should include a clear statement of the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the development, implementation, management and evaluation of each initiative.

4.2 The DES stands at the apex of the institutions involved in the provision of literacy services in Ireland. Literacy services are administered as part of adult education services within the further education section of the DES. The majority of literacy services are provided by the VECs, funded by the DES. Within each VEC, an ALO, reporting to the Adult Education Officer, coordinates literacy services.

4.3 Other government Departments and agencies have a role in literacy, at both national and local level. These include the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment (DETE) which funds basic education and training initiatives through FÁS which are aimed at target groups including people with literacy needs. Other involved Departments include Justice, Health, and Social and Family Affairs. At local level the Area Partnerships under Pobail (formerly Area Development Management (ADM)) facilitate activities with a strong community education focus, including initiatives which support literacy. Finally, there are a large number of charitable and voluntary organisations working with Travellers, immigrants and people with special needs, which play a role in the national literacy effort.

4.4 The thrust of the Joint Committee’s proposals in the preceding section is that the elimination of literacy problems in the Irish population should be promoted to the top of the national agenda. Although the current remit of this report is to make recommendations in relation to adult literacy, the Joint Committee is concerned to note worrying findings on literacy levels in schools. The DES refers to earlier research into literacy levels in primary schools which suggests

that about 10 per cent of children in our schools have serious reading difficulties. However, this research shows that the number of children in disadvantaged schools with serious reading difficulties is between 25 and 30 per cent.³⁷

4.5 It is also important to note that adult literacy is at least in part, a manifestation of educational disadvantage. This is not only a problem for the education system, but needs to be addressed at a policy level from the perspective of tackling poverty and the resulting educational and social inequalities. The Joint Committee therefore believes that in order to address the problem of low levels of literacy and numeracy amongst Irish adults in the long-term, resources alone are not enough. It is essential that concerted action be taken which mobilises the effort of the adult literacy sector, in co-ordination with all other adult education and training providers, and with the school sector at both primary and post-primary levels. It is equally important that such actions be co-ordinated with policies external to the education system, but which have a bearing on addressing poverty and eliminating educational disadvantage.

4.6 The Joint Committee has therefore concluded that the most effective way of addressing literacy and numeracy problems in Ireland is in the context of

an integrated national strategy for achieving educational equality that will result in an inclusive, diverse and dynamic learning society without barriers.³⁸

as described by the Educational Disadvantage Committee. This coordinated approach is underpinned by the rationale that

Everyone stands to gain when educational inclusion is achieved as part of a bigger social and economic change agenda.³⁹

4.7 The National Adult Learning Council (NALC) will be an important resource in accomplishing this change and specifically, in achieving the goal of tackling problems of adult literacy and numeracy. Its remit extends to all of the stakeholders involved in adult education and this could facilitate the integration of adult literacy with other adult education sectors. However, NALC, which was proposed in the 2000 White Paper, and actually established in 2002, has not yet been activated, presumably due to issues concerning its membership, structure, authority and financing. These are currently under review and have been for some considerable time. The literacy issue requires urgent attention and cannot wait any longer for these questions to be resolved. The review of the National Adult Learning Council must be completed as a matter of urgency, to enable the Council to become fully operational and thus facilitate the actions needed for the national literacy effort.

4.8 Whilst the national structure of NALC should provide leadership and coordination at national level, there is also a need for coordinating structures for literacy at local level.⁴⁰ Such local organisations help to establish needs, promote awareness, integrate cross-referencing between public and private organisations, and advise on the deployment of resources.

4.9 The membership of local organisations should include a core drawn from adult literacy stakeholders in the area notably the VECs, FÁS, local branches of the Departments of Health, Family and Social Affairs Pobail, Travellers, employers and trade unions, and other relevant stakeholders. The core members should have the power to co-opt additional members, representative of other interests active in the area. This would impart an important element of flexibility to cater for the different needs of each local area.

4.10 In relation to the overall national adult literacy and numeracy strategy, the Joint Committee endorses the view that this is one aspect of a broader effort to achieve educational and social equality, which should be underpinned by the following principles⁴¹:

•The integration of strategies, structures and systems in support of literacy;

•Realistic goal-setting and sensitive and appropriate assessment strategies for adult literacy students;

•Appropriate monitoring and evaluation strategies of literacy programmes and initiatives.

SECTION 5: STAFFING

Paid tutors

5.1 The adult literacy service for the most part is organised on a VEC-wide basis by Adult Literacy Organisers (ALOs) reporting to the Adult Education Organiser (AEO) in each VEC. Tutors are employed on a temporary, part-time basis and all literacy tutors undergo an initial 20-hour tutor training programme. Optional professional qualifications in the teaching of literacy are available from third level institutions and some VECs require staff to work towards these. However, there is no statutory requirement. Tutors come from a variety of background: former volunteer tutors, former teachers in the mainstream system and increasingly, people from different professional backgrounds.

5.2 As of 2003, there were 1,450 paid tutors in the service and 4,200 volunteer tutors. Although volunteer tutors are far more numerous than paid tutors, they almost always work with just one student, which means that the great majority of adult literacy students are now taught by the paid tutors, who work with groups of learners rather than one-to-one.

5.3 An expanded adult literacy service, which provides more tuition time to more students, clearly requires more teaching hours. Many of the paid tutors are currently employed for a very small number of hours each week, some for as little as just one two-hour class. The increased teaching required by the proposed expansion of the service could be accomplished, to a large extent, by increasing the number of hours for which the existing paid tutors are employed.

5.4 The terms under which staff is employed within the adult literacy service also have a profound effect on its structure and stability. As things stand, the ALOs are now employed on a permanent basis. However, none of the 1,450 adult literacy tutors in the country is in a permanent, full-time position. All are employed on a temporary, part-time basis and many have no contracts, no job security and no career structure.

5.5 Practically speaking, it is not possible for an educational service which is delivered almost wholly by temporary, part-time workers to achieve the level of stability which is necessary for long-term planning, management and evaluation. The lack of job security and the absence of contracts and a career structure create difficulties for individual tutors who are increasingly required to commit to a range of educational support activities, including all of the training requirements of new quality assurance, assessment and evaluation processes, which are essential to maintain a quality service over a sustained period of time. An effective adult literacy service needs a stable core of members who have the benefits, rights and responsibilities which job security and a professional career structure provide.

Professional Development and Qualifications for Staff

5.6 A professional career structure requires professionally-trained and qualified staff. At the moment the basic initial training for adult literacy tutors consists of a twenty hour programme. As the demands made on staff working in the adult literacy service expand to include assessment, evaluation and quality assurances processes, the need for training in these and other functions emerges also. There is therefore a strong case to be made for including participation in top-up training in the job description of adult literacy tutors, to be completed after a specified period of service.

5.7 Access to a profession is usually regulated, at least in part, by the achievement of professional qualifications. There is therefore a need to identify appropriate third level qualifications which are recognised as professional accreditation for adult literacy practitioners.

Staffing: Volunteers

5.8 The adult literacy service in Ireland has its roots in the efforts and commitment of volunteer tutors, who continue to make an invaluable contribution to the delivery of a quality service. The expanded service and the demands of accountability, assessment and accreditation put new demands on all practitioners working with adult students, including volunteers. It is important that those donating their time to the adult literacy effort should be properly supported and should be fully aware of any new requirements and demands, as these emerge.

SECTION 6: LITERACY INITIATIVES

Range of Provision Options

6.1 Submissions to the consultation process which contributed to this report described a wide variety of programmes, services and strategies which were funded under the National Development Plan, as part of the NALP 2000 — 2006. These diverse options are tailored to the needs of particular target groups in specific contexts and include:

•The core adult literacy and numeracy service, which consists of free one-to-one or group tuition for two hours per week, per person, provided by the VECs;

•Family Literacy programmes, which involve literacy support in a family context, often through partnerships between the adult literacy service and the schools;

•Workplace programmes, which provide literacy support in work contexts, through partnership between key stakeholders including the VECs, FAS, ICTU and NALA;

•Intensive programmes of literacy tuition consisting of 6 or more hours per person, per week, such as the Return to Education programme for participants on the FÁS Community Education programme who need support in reading, writing or numeracy.

6.2 On-going programmes which are delivered as services aimed at particular groups and include literacy support include:

•Youthreach, which provides social, personal and vocational training, including literacy support, for early school leavers, run by the VECs;

•Community Training Centres, which provide social, personal and vocational training, including literacy support, for early school leavers, run by FÁS. The VECs usually supply tutors for literacy support;

•Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS), which is sometimes accessed through the

6.3 Innovative strategies designed to maximise access and raise awareness of literacy issues include

•Read Write Now, a suite of five TV series developed in partnership with NALA, AV Edge and RTE and broadcast on RTÉ 1 and 2 over the last five years;

6.4 Many of these innovations have been developed and implemented by two or more stakeholders co-operating or working in partnership. Adult literacy is a complex problem with many causes and needs to be addressed through a multi-dimensional strategy, which links the adult literacy service with other parts of the education system and also, with relevant agencies and organisations outside the education system. The national and local planning structures proposed in recommendations 8 and 9 above, should be used to support the clarification of roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders in implementing, managing, monitoring and evaluating each individual initiative; and in co-ordinating each within the National Adult Literacy Programme.

Level and Intensity of Provision

6.5 The overall aim of addressing the low levels of reading, writing and numeracy amongst a substantial section of the adult population, involves two inter-related processes: firstly, to make the adult literacy service accessible to those who need literacy support, which in turn requires an increase in the number of people participating in the service; secondly, to ensure that those who do access the service make meaningful progress in working towards their goals. In 1997, the adult literacy service provided tuition for 5,000 people per year and this increased to 33,873 in 2005. While some of these people were participants in the family, workplace and high-intensity programmes described above, the great majority were students in the core adult literacy service. This consists of either one-to-one or group tuition of a maximum of two hours actual tuition per week, which for the most part runs during the academic year and excludes holiday time.

6.6 Gaining proficiency in any skill requires a considerable and sustained input of teaching and learning and international research⁴² estimates that literacy learners need about 550 hours’ input to reach a degree of independence in reading, writing and numeracy. According to that estimate, it would take over nine years for an individual literacy student following two hours’ tuition over thirty weeks of the year, to achieve independent literacy. It is true that this is a very blunt measure, as different learners start with different degrees of existing proficiency. Furthermore, literacy input need not be solely face-to-face tuition but should also include private study. However, this estimate does serve to illustrate the main point, which holds for effective learning of any skill, not only reading and writing, that many of the individuals whose literacy work is confined to a two -hour class each week will make very slow progress. During the long summer breaks some people may even regress on the gains they made during the academic year.

6.7 At present the DES is funding a pilot study of the effectiveness of 6-hour literacy classes. Final decisions on the intensity of future literacy courses will have to await the outcome of the evaluation of this pilot. However, the Joint Committee is confident that there is a demand for more intensive courses and that they will prove effective.

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

6.8 Providing support for the English language needs of immigrants is an important task. According to the DES Annual Report 2004,

The adult literacy service has also responded to the English language needs of immigrants. In 2004 nearly 8,000 people attended literacy classes.⁴³

This means that approximately one in four participants in the adult literacy service is an ESOL student. However, it is important to recognise that the provision of ESOL and the provision of adult literacy and numeracy support, are different, if related, processes.

6.9 Furthermore, the ESOL service has come out of the adult literacy budget, which puts an added strain on the resources of the agencies concerned, mostly the VECs… A number of submissions recommended that a separate budget should be established for ESOL. However the Joint Committee does not believe that merely establishing a separate budget would address the main problems, which are: a lack of resources and the absence of a coherent strategy for this important area. In relation to the resource issue, the Joint Committee has recommended a substantial increase in funding for adult literacy in whatever groups it is manifest. It will be a matter for the stakeholders responsible to decide how this should be distributed among the various needs as these are manifest in the different groups in any particular area.

6.10 However, there is a question about the eligibility of non-English speakers who are fully literate in their own language and possibly in full-time employment. The Joint Committee recommends that their needs should be met by training and education services other than the adult literacy sector. The details of this needs to be worked out at national level and in consultation with organisations outside the scope of the adult literacy services.

Workplace Literacy Programmes

6.11 The workplace is one of the areas where the multiplying complexities of modern life are increasing requirements for literacy and numeracy in all ranks of the workforce. If an adequate response to this need is not elaborated there is a significant risk that affected workers will lose their employment or at least fail to progress in the face of demands by the labour market for progressively more skilled workers. An additional dimension of the problem is that many of the workers needing training are non-English speakers whose problems need a tailored approach. In 2002 NALA proposed a number of models for the implementation of workplace learning. Recently, a pilot project in basic adult education, including literacy, was launched in five local authorities and was evaluated positively (Return to Learning). FÁS is also working on the design and piloting of workplace literacy schemes in the private sector.

6.12 As a first priority, an awareness raising campaign is needed which will target at employers and trade unions to increase their sensitivity to the problem which is often more prevalent than they imagine, and secondly, the development of programmes which can be promoted amongst employers and employees. The work of NALA and the Return to Learning Programme and the work in FÁS are valuable resources in this regard. It is also important that individual workers who may already be in a marginal situation should not be further disadvantaged by any loss of pay they might incur as a result of attending workplace literacy classes or as a result of any extra cost that may be imposed on their employers. Reimbursement of some, or all of these costs, can be justified by reference to the priority which needs to be given to combating literacy problems in the workplace.

Other Initiatives

6.13 A number of other important recommendations have been submitted to the Joint Committee for programmes aimed at groups with particular needs. The most important of these is Family Literacy. Family literacy is one strategy which facilitates families and children working together and recognises the parent as the primary educator of their children. Family literacy has the potential to provide an important intervention into the cycle of educational disadvantage. It can also help to create links between different services and sectors.

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

•People with Dyslexia or other Specific Learning Difficulties. Submissions to the Joint Committee emphasised 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.

•Teaching Methods: A variety of other recommendations have been made in submissions concerning, for example distance learning, thematic teaching, curriculum development, teaching materials, use of broadcast media and ICT. The development and use of many of these has been pioneered by individual VECs and NGOs, often with the collaboration and leadership of NALA.

SECTION 7: SUPPORTING ACCESS TO THE ADULT LITERACY AND NUMERACY SERVICE

7.1 The Joint Committee received a large number of submissions which expressed concern about the various obstacles faced by adults who would benefit from work on reading, writing or numeracy but who for various reasons are not in a position to do so. Some people do not address their literacy needs because they do not know that the adult literacy service exists; or because they do not perceive that they have literacy needs; or because they would like to address the issue but are prevented from doing so by practical life circumstances.

Referral

7.2 Referral is the process by which potential students are put in contact with the adult literacy service, for example by the staff of an institution or workplace who think that an individual may benefit from support in reading, writing or numeracy which that agency is not in a position to supply in situ. People have been referred to the adult literacy service by employers and trade unions, by staff in the health service, in social welfare and probation systems and by local community groups, among others.

7.3 Effective referral depends on a number of connected processes. Firstly, staff in the referring agency needs to be aware of the nature of literacy and numeracy difficulties, how these present, what services are available to support individuals and how to contact them. They also need to have an understanding of the difficulties which people with reading and writing difficulties can face in addressing the problem, and be able to broach the subject in a sensitive and confidential manner. Because of the stigma associated with literacy problems and the low self-esteem of many people who need help with reading and writing, this can be a difficult process. Secondly, the adult literacy service needs to have the staffing, the capacity and the infrastructure to take up such referrals within a reasonable time.

7.4 Referral sometimes takes place when an individual has found that they have difficulty in carrying out specific tasks which they need to complete in certain situations. This is potentially a highly motivating strategy, as the individual may not previously have been aware of the gaps in their skills, or, if they were, did not know what to do about them. Effective referral can link the literacy or numeracy work to the activity which gave rise to the initial identification of the problem, whether in the workplace, in training or elsewhere and this can be a starting point for the learner to clarify broader learning goals. However, referrals need to be monitored and tracked to ensure that potential adult literacy students are receiving the help they need.

Guidance

7.5 One of the most important dimensions of learning for people who decide to improve their literacy skills, is the availability of accurate and up-to-date information about the range of tuition options, activities and programmes available and the options for progression into higher or more specialised areas of learning.

Assessment of Specific Needs

7.6 Many practitioners within the adult literacy service report meeting people who have literacy problems which they suspect may be due to a specific learning need, such as dyslexia. People with these specific learning needs can make progress, provided that they are following suitable programmes or activities. The first step in accomplishing this is to identify the need correctly and for this, a professional assessment is needed, usually carried out by an educational psychologist.

7.7 A large number of the submissions to this Committee emphasised the importance of having access to specialist assessments and also highlighted the difficulty of doing so. As things stand, there is no state psychological assessment which is readily available to the adult literacy service. The National Educational Psychological Service, (NEPS) which supports the school sector, is not available to the adult education sector and submissions to the Committee reveal that privately-funded assessments which are needed to determine whether an individual has a specific learning difficulty can cost between €350 and €500; and that people can wait for up to one year to obtain an assessment. Until learners’ needs are clarified, it is not possible to ensure that the programmes and activities they are following really support their learning. Clearly, these factors can present serious obstacles to the progress of people who do have specific learning difficulties.

Additional Costs to the Learner: Transport, Child and Elder Care

7.8 For adults on a limited budget, taking part in education can be an expensive business. The cost of bus fares and, in sometimes in rural areas, taxis, can prevent individuals from travelling to their place of learning on a regular basis. In some cases, this can be dealt with by outreach strategies which bring the learning closer to the person’s home. However, many adult students prefer to maintain their privacy and work on their reading, writing and numeracy in a different locality. Service providers need to have the facility and the funds to assist learners with these incidental, but often substantial, costs.

7.9 Another very significant barrier which adults face is the responsibility which many have for the care of children and elderly relatives, which can make it difficult to get the free time to spend on their own learning. Service providers need to have the facility and the funds to provide crèches and/or funds to cover the cost of child and elder care, as appropriate.

7.10 Throughout this report, the Joint Committee has emphasised the view that it is a major duty of Government to ensure that all citizens are equipped with the basic skills which are essential to participate fully and actively in a democratic society; and that whatever resources and structures are needed to accomplish this in the medium-to-long term, should be made available. In support of this, the Joint Committee believes that serious consideration should be given to providing financial incentives to people who do decide to embark on improving their literacy and numeracy skills.

7.11 Achieving a society in which all adults are equipped with the skills widely used in daily life and in the workplace, and in exercising their democratic rights in their community and in the wider society, will not be accomplished by the actions of any single government department, or agency or institution. It will be essential to clarify the roles which all government departments and agencies can play in improving the literacy of adults in Ireland during the coming years, and to establish processes for coordinating communications and actions.

Tithe an Oireachtais

An Comhchoiste Um Oideachas agus Eolaíocht

An Ceathrú Tuarascáil

Litearthacht Aosach in Éirinn

Bealtaine 2006

Houses of the Oireachtas

Joint Committee on Education and Science

Fourth Report

Adult Literacy in Ireland

May 2006

Foreword