national strategy for developing numeracy - executive summary
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Meeting the Numeracy
Challenge Executive SummaryA development strategy for numeracy in Adult Basic Education
(01) 855 4332 liter [email protected] www.nala.ie
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Published by
National Adult Literacy Agency
76 Lower Gardiner Street,Dublin 1.
2004 National Adult Literacy Agency
The copyright in this report belongs to
the National Adult Literacy Agency.
Meeting the Numeracy ChallengeMeeting the Numeracy Challenge
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Introduction
The NALA mission statement is to ensure
all adults with literacy difficulties have
access to high quality learning
opportunities. In working towards this
mission, one of the objectives identified by
our members and included in our
Strategic Plan 20022006 is to develop
and promote a dedicated numeracystrategy for I reland2.
I n the Autumn of 2002, as a starting
point in producing i ts dedicated
Numeracy Strategy and Development
Plan, NALA car r ied out an audi t of
cur rent numeracy provision in ABE
settings in I reland.
NALA also put together a working group
comprising representatives of relevantstakeholders, with a brief to look at and
report on current adult numeracy issues,
and to produce a proposed strategic plan
for adult numeracy. The group met
monthly from December 2002 through to
May 2003.
This resulting report discusses the
findings of the recent NALA adult
numeracy survey in the context of theissues it raises for adult numeracy
provision.
Definition of Numeracy
The working group looked at a number
of definitions of numeracy and numerate
behaviour fr om across the world, and
then proposed its own definition, as
follows:
Numeracy is a lifeskill that involves
the competent use of mathematical
language, knowledge and skills.
Numerate adults have the confidence
to manage the mathematical
demands of real-life situations such
as everyday living, work-related
settings and in further education,
so that effective choices are made in
our evolving technological and
knowledge-based society.
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Executive Summary
2 NALA will: develop and promote a dedicated numeracy strategy(The National Adult Literacy Agency, Strategic Plan 20022006, Step 6, p17).
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International developmentsand practice in adult numeracy
The Adult Literacy and Life skills (ALL)
Survey that is currently taking place
internationally (Ireland is notparticipating), is a follow-up to the
International Adult L iteracy Survey (IALS)
which did include I reland and which was
carried out in 1997 by the Education
Research Centre in co-operation with the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD).
The ALL survey will explicit ly survey the
numeracy abilities of adults (the survey
also includes Document and Prose
Literacy and problem solving). I t is a
comparative sur vey that is being jointly
developed by Statistics Canada and by
the United States National Centre for
Education Statistics (NCES), in
cooperation with the OECD.
The countries with the most interesting
developments in adult numeracy outside
I reland are Australia, Canada, Denmark,the United Kingdom and the USA. The
repor t describes these developments in
some detail3, and summarises them as
follows:
1. AustraliaI t may be seen that Australia has a well-
developed provision for numeracy, which
incorporates professional development for
the tutors in the field. This level of
provision has been achieved despite the fact
that numeracy continues to be defined
within literacy in the body of national policy
documentation.
2. BritainBr itain has recognised the impor tance of
build ing up the numeracy capabil ity in
the population and has also recognised
that the foundation for this objective is
set in the ear ly school years. I t i s the only
country which has put in place a
numeracy curriculum that extends
throughout all levels of the education
system.
3. CanadaI n Canada adult numeracy is more
developed in some areas than others, with
Ontario leading the way. Their integrated
basic skills programme includes numeracy
with an emphasis on skills-based
outcomes. There are also national Skills
profiles related to 150 occupations and
these include a numeracy element.
4. DenmarkThe approach taken in Denmark has
been to address defini tion, cur r iculum
and professional development
simultaneously, in a single concentrated
and ambitious phase of development. No
other country has been so coherent in its
evolution of numeracy provision.
5. USAThere is no national policy on numeracy
in the USA, but a Framework for Adult
Numeracy Standards was published by
the National I nstitute for L iteracy in
1996. This identifies seven themes
essential to adult mathematical li teracy
and supports four key purposes for
numeracy learning as identified by adult
learners. Two interesting supportorganisations exist: the Making Math Real
I nstitute (MMRI) in Pennsylvania support
tutors who lack confidence in their own
Maths skills; and the Adult Numeracy
Network (ANN) supports numeracy
tutors whilst also aiming to influence
policy and practice.
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Meeting the Numeracy ChallengeMeeting the Numeracy Challenge
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Research on international developments by kind permission of Terry Maguir e and the University ofLimerick (taken from Engendering Numeracy in Adult Mathematics Education with a Focus on Tutors:A Grounded Approach Maguir e, unpublished PhD, U niversity of L imerick, May 2003).
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Adult Numeracyin Ireland National policyand practice
Background andGovernment PolicyI n I reland, adult numeracy is explicit ly
contained with in NALAs defin it ion of
adult literacy, and therefore is implicitly
represented within all of the aims,
objectives and action steps in the NALA
Str ategic Plan 20022006. Developing a
numeracy strategy is also one of the core
objectives of this Strategic Plan.
The Governments Green Paper Adul t
Education in an Era of L ifelong Learning
(1998), similar ly states, I n keeping with
existing practice in the literacy services
and the scope of the I nternational Adul t
Literacy Survey, any reference to literacy
in this paper should be interpreted as
cover ing numeracy ski lls also. I t also
adds, Tackling low li teracy/numeracy
levels must rank as the pr imary adulteducation pr iori ty in I reland.4
Numeracy is also contained within the
adult li teracy agenda of the new National
Adult Literacy Programme, and
workplace numeracy is specifically
mentioned within the Tackling
Educational Disadvantage Special
I nitiative of the Governments new
national Social Partnership Agreement
for 20032005, Sustaining Progress(2003)5.
Adult numeracy provisionAt present in I reland, adult numeracy is
being delivered within both VEC literacy
schemes and other ABE settings, and has
been incorporated in most aspects of
adult li teracy provision promotion,
training, tuition, regional and national
forums, distance learning
(Time4Learning radio programme), the
NALA Quality Framework and the NALA
Assessment Framework.
The cur rent situation benefits from the
extensive nature of the range of
provision that is offered by the different
organisations that are working to meetthe needs of adul t learners. H owever
there is a serious lack of consistency in
the level and quality of numeracy
provision nationally.
A contributing factor is the lack of a unified
concept of numeracy amongst service
providers, who are not operating to a
generally agreed vision or concept of
numeracy in the context of ABE in I reland.
I t is important that a consistency ofapproach is applied across the ABE sector
and that service providers have a clear,
national definit ion of numeracy to follow in
providing numeracy services and when
interpreting published government policy
documents.
A partial picture of the actual type and
extent of cur rent provision is to be found
in the findings of the NALA AdultNumeracy survey which are given in Part
3 of the full report.
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Adult Education in an Era of L ifelong Learning, Government of I reland, November 1998,pp68695 Sustaining Progress, Social Partnership Agreement 2003-2005, Chapter 2, Section 2.8, p30.
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Tutor trainingThe White Paper in Adult Education
(Department of Education and Science,
2000) recognised the need to have a
highly trained corps of adult educators6
to underpin the Adult Education sector
in I reland. I t is in fact widely accepted
that adult numeracy tutors have a vital
contribution to make in raising the level
of numeracy of the adult population.
There is now a significant amount of in-
service numeracy training available for
tutors via NALA, and this is increasing all
the time, including new numeracy
workshops and training for working withNumeracy and Farming.
There is also accredited tutor training in
numeracy through NALA/WIT, and in
fact the numeracy module from WI T was
the second module to be made generally
available as a single certificate and is now
the thi rd most popular course.
H owever, as the find ings of the NAL A
numeracy survey in Part 3 of the fullreport clearly show, there is a need to
further develop numeracy training in
order to satisfy tutor training needs.
These developments need to take into
account the fact that some ABE settings
are not part of the NALA membership
and therefore may not be able to access
training as easily as those who are
members.
Awareness and profile of adultnumeracyFor various reasons, numeracy does not
have as high a profile as other parts of
adult literacy, and awareness levels
amongst ABE providers, adult literacy
tutors and the general public would seem
to be comparatively low.
I ncreased promotion of adul t numeracy
is therefore needed, and this should be
targeted at providers, tutors and adult
learners.
Extent of current adult numeracyproblemThere are no separate figures for
numeracy within the Department of
Education and Sciences statistics for
adult literacy, and therefore no
comprehensive accurate up-to-date
statistics on the cur rent adult numeracy
provision in I reland or the actual
number of adult numeracy learners.
The recent NALA adult numeracy survey
results give an incomplete picture, as the
survey reached just over 400 providers
out of whom only 121 (just over 25%)
responded. Also no defin it ion of adul t
numeracy was given out with the sur vey
questionnaire. This means that,
inevitably, respondents would have had
varied understanding of the meaning
and contexts for numeracy and how thisdiffers from basic maths.
This fact does not however negate the
findings of the survey and the issues
these findings raise for the future
development of adult numeracy in
Ireland.
Findings of the NALA adultnumeracy survey
This part of the full report gives an
outline of the present situation r egarding
adult numeracy in I reland, based on the
recent NALA numeracy survey.
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Meeting the Numeracy ChallengeMeeting the Numeracy Challenge
6 Learning For L ife: White Paper on Adult Education , Government of I reland, July 2000, p150.
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Research methodology usedin the survey
This adult numeracy survey, and its use
as part of the formulation of NALAs
adult numeracy strategy, was informed bymembers and stakeholders in the
following ways:
G The init ial idea for the numeracy
strategy came from the NALA
membership.G The numeracy sur vey
questionnaire was sent to over 400
organisations from adult literacy
and other ABE settings.G Key stakeholders were repr esented
on the NALA numeracy working
group.
This repor t will also be disseminated to
all NALA members and key stakeholders
in adult literacy and numeracy in
Ireland.
Survey recipients
The survey questionnaire was sent to allVEC Adult Literacy Schemes and to a
range of other ABE settings, including
Youthr each, Community Training
Workshops, N TDI centr es, Training
Centres, VTOS centres and Prison
Education Units. Just over 400
questionnaires were sent out..
Survey respondents
The number of questionnaires returned
was 121. These were made up of:
G VEC Adult Literacy schemes 62G Other ABE settings 59
N Youthr each 17N NT DI 10N Community Training Workshops
(CTWs) 8N Training Centres 7N VTOS 7N Prisons 6N Other 4
The findings are presented in terms ofthe issues they raised:G AwarenessG Tutor resourcesG Tutor trainingG Provision of tuitionG Learner participationG Numeracy contentG AssessmentG AccreditationG
MaterialsG PromotionG Development needs
Recommendations
Recommendations for development
arising from the survey findings are
included at the end of each of the
relevant sections of the full report.
A complete List of Recommendations ,
based on both the survey findings andother research carried out by the
working group, is also to be found in the
full report.
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Conclusion
Although there is alr eady a signif icant
amount of adult numeracy provision
within adult literacy schemes and other
adult basic education settings, there is aneed at present to raise awareness of
numeracy and give it a higher profile
within adult li teracy in I reland. This
mir rors simi lar exper ience and
developments in other countr ies, which
are at varying stages of this process.
Research into international developments
has shown that approaches to defining
and delivering adult numeracy have
varied widely and that adult numeracy asa whole is still in an early stage of
development.
Approaches that have shown some
noticeable benefits internationally include
the following:
G a clear definition of adult
numeracy, based on the real needs
of adults at this time;
G an integrated li felong learningapproach to numeracy provision,
looking at educational needs from
school through to adult learning;G a methodology for the delivery of
adult numeracy provision, based
on an agreed definition of
numeracy;G an accessible, high quality tutor
training programme for adult
numeracy tutors;G a national core cur r iculum for
adult numeracy;G networking opportunities for adult
numeracy tutors;G a range of appropriate adult
numeracy resource materials.
Within I reland, there has alr eady been
some progress in integrating adult
numeracy into core adult literacy and
other ABE provision, including
workplace literacy, family literacy and
intensive literacy programmes. There ismuch to be said for encouraging further
integration of numeracy in this way.
H owever, there is also a proven need to
promote awareness of adult numeracy in
its own right, so that there is a greater
understanding of what numeracy means,
and its importance in the quality of adult
lives. T his awareness-raising for ABE
providers and other relevantorganisations, and for potential tutors
and learners, needs to take place
nationally, regionally and locally.
Addi tional resources are also required, in
order to develop the capacity for both a
suitably trained cohort of adult numeracy
tutors and a wide range of accessible
quality numeracy provision. These need
to be backed up by an increased amount
of r esource materials and networking foradult numeracy tutors.
These developments will enable adult
learners to develop their numeracy
capacity and numerate behaviour within
a variety of contexts, whether at work, at
home, in a social context or within
further education. This in turn will lead
to increased competence in the many
areas of life that involve some form ofnumeracy, and a growing self-confidence
among learners in their own abilities.
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Meeting the Numeracy ChallengeMeeting the Numeracy Challenge
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The potential benefits in terms of
personal empowerment and active
citizenship are significant, and it is hoped
that some of the positive effects of an
enhanced numeracy pr ovision wil l be:
G reduced inequalities in learning
opportunities;G less social exclusion;G sustained economic
competitiveness.
The NALA Adult Numeracy Strategy
20032006 puts in place a development
plan for actions that will both raise
awareness levels and achieve success in
fur ther developing adult numeracyprovision in line with the
recommendations of this report. I t is
hoped that the necessary resources can
be put in place to deliver the full strategy
and its benefits.
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Development WorkerG Create role of NALA Numeracy
Development Worker, either as a
new post or within capacity of
existing development work roles.
(NALA)
Tutor trainingG I nclude numeracy as an explicit
and integral part of all initial
training of adult literacy tutors,
and have this initial numeracy
training at local level accredited
appropriately. (VECs/ABE
providers/NALA)G Establish a numeracy training
programme development group,
via the Training Advisory Group,
to r eview train ing needs and
fur ther develop a nationally
recognised, accessible numeracy
tutor training programme. (NALA)
Resource materialsG Review numeracy resources that
are currently available nationally
and internationally, and pr ior it ise
key areas for research and
development. (NALA)G H ave a numeracy specialist on the
new NALA materials working
group and editor ial group. (NALA)G Produce a basic resource package
for adult numeracy. (NALA
materials working group)G Provide a methodology and
support for the development of a
range of resource materials,
including computer software,
appropriate for different ability
levels and target groups. (NALA
materials working group)
Integration of numeracyinto all adult literacy andABE provision
G Fur ther develop the integration of
numeracy into all adult literacy
and other ABE provision, e.g. core
provision, workplace literacy,
family literacy and intensiveli teracy programmes. (NALA,
VECs, ABE providers)
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Meeting the Numeracy ChallengeMeeting the Numeracy Challenge
List of Recommendations7(Suggested responsibilities in parentheses)
7 Note: This is the complete list of recommendations. T hese recommendations also appear with in thereport, attached to the relevant section for the issue or issues concerned. Some of the
recommendations appear more than once within the report.Many of the recommendations are also di rectly linked to the action steps set out in the proposedNALA Adult Numeracy Strategy, which is included in this report.
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NetworkingG Facil itate and suppor t an adult
numeracy network, such that
organisers and tutor s can exchange
ideas and resources. (NALA websiteand fora)
G Facilitate regular adult numeracy
network events at regional and
national level. (NALA fora)
Assessment and accreditationG Provide an enhanced NALA
assessment fr amework for adult
numeracy, with a number of stages
below foundation level. (NALA)G Establish a nationally accredi ted
adult numeracy core cur r iculum as
part of an adult literacy curriculum
which is linked to the new NALA
Assessment Framework.
(NALA/FETAC working group)G Develop nationally recognised
certification in adult numeracy.
(NALA/FETAC working group)
G Produce a clear path ofprogression options for adult
numeracy, including the option of
accreditation at a national level.
(NALA/FETAC)
Awareness and promotionG Devise and deliver a specif ic
Numeracy Awareness Training
programme that can also be
adapted for incorporation as anintegral part of a revised Literacy
Awareness Training programme
(NALA)G I ncrease resources for adult
numeracy, to integrate numeracy
into other li teracy and ABE
provision, and to make it clear that
numeracy is par t of their provision.
(VECs/ABE providers)
G Devise a promotional strategy that
will appeal to the real needs and
interests of potential adult
numeracy learners, as well as
allaying any fears that they may
have concerning their previousexperiences of maths (NALA)
G Provide pr omotional material and
methods specifically to attract new
adult numeracy tutors both
nationally and at a regional and
local level (NALA)G Specif ically promote adult
numeracy to parents through
schools, as an aid to helping
children with their mathshomework. (VECs/ABE providers)
G Carry out a high-profile national
campaign to promote adult
numeracy pr ovision, at such a time
as resources are sufficient to cover
potential demand. (NALA)
Monitoring of provisionG Collect and record adult numeracy
statistics as a separate item within
the overall data for adult literacy.
(Department of Education and
Science/VECs/ABE providers)
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(01) 855 4332 liter [email protected] www.nala.ie
National Adu lt Literacy Agency
76 Lower Gar diner Street
Dublin 1
NALA Cork
c/o VTSU Bu ildin g
Tramore Road
Cork
Ph one: (021) 4317011
Fax: (021) 431 5054
Email: [email protected]
NALA Mullingar
Education & Employment Centr e
Austin Friar Street
Mullingar
Co Westmeath
Ph one: (044) 42111
Fax: (044) 45834
Email: pkiern [email protected]
I n the Autumn of 2002, as a starting point in producing its dedicated
Numeracy Strategy and Development Plan, NALA car r ied out an audit of
cur rent numeracy provision in ABE settings in I reland. NALA also put
together a working group comprising representatives of relevant stakeholders,
with a brief to look at and report on current adult numeracy issues, and toproduce a proposed strategic plan for adult numeracy. This resulting report
discusses the findings of the recent NALA adult numeracy survey in the
context of the issues it raises for adult numeracy provision.