This paper draws on three data sources – a national survey from Germany of adult literacy and numeracy skills (leo. – Level-One Study), the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC), and case studies of workplaces in England – to argue for a greater focus by policymakers and researchers on the literacy demand experienced by adults. We consider the heterogeneity of the population of adults deemed functionally illiterate by large-scale national and internatio…
The JDC (Defence and Citizenship Day) has become an essential element in the fight against illiteracy in France. It not only furnishes annual statistics for national, regional and local policy evaluation, but also identifies those young adults within a entire cohort (mostly 17–19) who need help with their literacy skills, so that they can be referred to by support organisations. It is difficult to assess very precisely the impact of post-JDC actions carried out by JDC partners. Neither the JDC…
Literacy as specified in the recent PIAAC survey (OECD 2013) is separated into competence levels. This allows a comparison of adults performing on literacy Level I and below versus those performing on Level IV and above. The PIAAC survey also contains variables on participation in adult education. Core findings confirm the Matthew effect for participation rates, but not for training hours.
The author discusses the influence of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) on the literacy education field in Canada. Methodology is holistic and centred around critical policy analysis. Finds Canada invested heavily in the surveys and has not yet changed policy or practice in response to the findings. Two reasons for lack of influence are suggested: the difficulty of comparing literacy survey results over time, and the lack of federal investment in the org…
Little is known about the qualifications of trainers in further vocational education. Some hold a degree in educational sciences. At the same time prospective trainers seem to be part of the target group of programs that specialize in adult education. The study focuses on which contents are intended in these programs and whether they could qualify for a later occupational activity as a training professional. For this purpose the course descriptions of 32 programs were analyzed and 10 responsibl…
Political Education has a long tradition in Austrian adult education. In the period of the Second Republic, ist is cinsidered marginalized. A closer look puts this assumption into perspective. Political education is widely party-centered and present in large-scale organizations such as the Federation of Trade Unions. There is a wide and confusing institutional landscape. With a few exeptions, political education is marginalized within traditional adult education such as the peoples universities…
In the recent years, the effectiveness of training teacher has become a big subject in empirical educational research. In this paper, an exploratory interview study (N?= 3) will be presented, in which the graduates of a general educational teacher training report on the effectiveness of the program. The study examines the question about the impact of the teachers who participated in the General Education Teacher Training. The teaching action here is conceptualized as part of the field of teache…
