Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697631624993.pdf (Australia)
The relationship between primary-carers’ literacy skills and their children’s education and literacy skills development A position-submission in response to the “New Inquiry into Adult Literacy and its Importance” To: The House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training Submitted by: Dr. Marguerite Cullity, March, 2021 Literacy proficiency, an indicator of human development and social progress The measure, adult literacy rate, is a global indicator of human development and social progress.
It is used to assess and chart equalities and inequalities that: i) Affect a population’s opportunity to achieve key dimensions of human development (United Nations Development Program [UNDP], 2016); and ii) The extent to which a nation meets its citizens’ social and environmental needs (The Social Progress Imperative [SPI], n.d.).
Proficiency in literacy and numeracy: The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies’ (PIAAC) has six-levels of proficiency in the three domains of literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving in technology-rich environments (PSTRE).

In order of lowest to highest level of proficiency, the levels range from Below Level one to Level 5.
Level 3 is the recommended “minimum required by adults to meet the complex demands of work and life in modern economies” (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2006, p. 5; Australian Government, Department of Education & Training [AGDET], 2012).

Intergenerational human and social impact of low-level literacy skills Intergenerational low proficiency1 in literacy, numeracy or problem-solving is an early indicator of low educational outcomes for family members.
Some contributing factors are: unproductive educational experiences, low rates of school attendance and achievement, interrupted access to educational services, and limited home and school-based learning resources (e.g., books, digital technology).

Impact: ➢ These social, material and economic factors have a significant effect on the literacy proficiency and livelihoods of both adults and children (Bynner & Parsons, 2006; Hanemann, 2015; Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development [OECD], 2013).
➢ Adults with low proficiency in literacy often struggle to complete everyday literacy tasks, contribute to community events, use digital technology, interpret or calculate information, make informed decisions or secure ongoing employment (Hanemann, 2015).

Further learning and positive livelihood outcomes often elude them.
➢ Early school withdrawal indicates the likelihood of people disengaging from study and work opportunities and, also, the chance of them experiencing social and/or economic disadvantage (Lamb & Hou, 2017).

➢ The impact of COVID-19 has exposed a digital-divide for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Smith Family, n.d.) and, also, for adult learners and practitioners who have limited access to digital technology services and resources (OEDC, 2020b).
Practitioner observations reveal that the digital-divide was greater for adults who had limited digital literacy skills or who could not afford home-based technologies.

This lack of equitable access to technology and skills adversely affected learners’ and practitioners’ study/work opportunities, practices and outcomes.
1 “Low proficiency” in literacy, numeracy and/or problem-solving refers to people whose level of proficiency is below that required to meet the relevant demands of study, work and/or everyday life.
Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 1 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 An inconvenient truth: Intergenerational low proficiency in literacy is an indicator that family members may experience: -Social exclusion (e.g., disrupted schooling, reduced work opportunities); -Material deprivation (e.g., limited access to essential services and resources); and/or -Economic deprivation (e.g., reduced employment and livelihood options).
(World Literacy Foundation [WLF], 2015; Smith Family, 2016, 2018, n.d.; Lamb & Huo, 2017).

The vision for Australia is to halt the cycle of intergenerational low educational outcomes for at-risk school students and, also, their parents or guardians (i.e., primary-carers) who have low proficiency in literacy and/or numeracy.
This vision could be achieved by: * Producing a National Adult Literacy Policy and locating it in the non-accredited, adult and the continuing education sectors and, also, confirming a bipartisan commitment to it; * Creating a National Partnership Agreement on Adult Education that is comparable to the National Agreement on Early Childhood Education; * Implementing national legislation to support state/territory adult education boards and services, and research and development activities; * Designing a sociological-economic framework which uses national standards, performance criteria, indicators, measures and approaches that assess psychosocial, social, humanitarian and/or economic outcomes of adult community and adult literacy and numeracy programs; and * Implementing practice-engagement2 approaches in order that learners may develop and apply their new skills.
The issues are intergenerational, immediate, national, community, lifelong and lifewide, and human-development & social-progress oriented.

The magnitude of the challenge demands a cooperative, multi-sectoral, participatory effort to implement a practice-engagement approach that uses context-specific criteria and measures.

An inconvenient truth: The cost of low levels of adult literacy to the Australian economy for 2013 was estimated as $34 billion.
This estimate is based on 2% of Australia’s then GDP and as determined by the International Monetary Fund (Adult Learning Australia [ALA], 2017).

Social researchers claim that intergenerational low educational outcomes can be reversed (Smith Family, 2018; Bynner & Parsons, 2006; Hanemann, 2015; Wagner & Castillo, 2014).
The purpose of this paper is to generate discussion (within and across educational sectors and with other stakeholders) about the relationship between primary-carers’ (i.e., parents, guardians) level of literacy and the how their language, literacy, numeracy, problem-solving and digital skills impact on their children’s educational and social outcomes.
The thesis presented in this paper argues that to halt the cycle of intergenerational low educational outcomes and the associated disadvantages, it is vital that Australia: • Design and implement a multisectoral educational system that: is based on national standards of very-low to very-high levels of literacy and numeracy; facilitates cross-sectoral and civic stakeholder collaboration; and is comparable to other nations’ structures, policies, frameworks and curricula (e.g., Britain, Canada, New Zealand).
• Examine the validity/trustworthiness of pre-determined economic criteria (or context-specific sociological criteria) to assess and report on the availability, effectiveness and impact of adult community education and adult basic literacy and numeracy (LN) programs.

2 “Practice engagement theory…holds that proficiency and engagement in literacy practices mutually reinforce each other across the adult lifespan” (Grotluschen, et al., 2016, p. 38).
Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 2 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 • Implement practice-engagement approaches; for example, family learning and on-the- job/context-based training (Grotluschen, et al., 2016) in order to improve: -The literacy capabilities of parents/guardians (i.e., primary carers) who have low proficiency in literacy and/or numeracy; and -Their children who have low rates of school attendance and/or achievement.

N.B.
N.B.

Low rates of attendance and achievement are likely indicators of low educational outcomes (Smith Family, 2018).
Impact: ➢ International research reveals a clear link between primary-carers’ highest level of education, house-hold members’ access to and use of information-rich resources (e.g., books, magazines, visual sources & digital technology) and, ultimately, the impact of these elements on an individual’s educational outcomes, well-being and livelihood (Bynner & Parsons, 2006; Grotluschen, Mallows, Reder & Sabatini, 2016; Hanemann, 2015; WLF, 2015).

This paper provides evidence for this position.


It is organised in three parts and discusses: Part A A.1.

The cultural and social benefits of family learning, practice-engagement approaches A.2.

The link between primary-carers’ literacy skills and their children’s development A.3.

The impact of primary-carer engagement in children’s leaning Part B B.1.

Family Learning, a means to improve intergenerational educational outcomes B.2.
Adult Education is reliant on goodwill: A gap in resource and financial infrastructure B.3.

Measures used to determine the impact of adult education programs B.4.

Education and training, why adults don’t attend Part C C.1.

Challenges and Steps in implementing a Family Learning engagement-practice approach Within this paper: • Literacy refers to language-, numeric-, information- & digital-literacy skills used to: i) make meaning of and apply relevant information, and ii) meet the demands of everyday life.
• Everyday life refers to activities and tasks that are conducted outside of work.

• Low proficiency refers to people whose level of literacy is below that required to meet the relevant demands of study, work and/or everyday life.

• Practice-engagement theory and approaches hold that “proficiency and engagement in literacy practices mutually reinforce each other across the adult lifespan” (Grotluschen, et al., 2016, p. 38).
**************************************** Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 3 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 Seven Inconvenient Truths about intergenerational, low educational outcomes 1.

Intergenerational low-level proficiency in literacy is an early indicator of intergenerational social exclusion and material and economic deprivation (WLF, 2015).

2.
2.

Primary-carers’ (i.e., parent, grandparent, guardian) low proficiency in literacy is a marker that they may struggle to support their children’s learning and, as a consequence, perpetuate intergenerational low educational outcomes (WLF, 2015; Boughton & Beetson, 2017).

3.
3.

Students from low socio-economic backgrounds and remote areas are: * At risk of low level educational outcomes across the lifespan (Lamb & Huo, 2017); * Less likely than other students to have home-based or community access to digital technology (Smith Family, n.d.) or books (Grotluschen, et, al., 2016); * Less likely than other students to catch up on missed learning (Lamb & Huo); and * Less likely than other students to achieve key educational milestones (Lamb & Huo).

4.
4.

Adults who have low proficiency in literacy are not specific to any socio-demographic group (Grotluschen, et, al.

; ABS, 2013).

Low proficiency is influenced by a collective range of socio- demographic characteristics, including age at time of literacy assessment, highest qualification and employment status (Grotluschen, et, al.).

5.
5.

Low educational outcomes are a social, a health and an economic cost to a nation: * An estimated 7.32 million Australian usual residents (aged 15 to 74 years) have at or below Level 2 proficiency in literacy; and an estimated 9 million people have at or below Level 2 proficiency in numeracy (ABS, 2013).

Older people (45 to 74 years) recorded lower proficiency scores in literacy and numeracy compared to younger people (ABS, 2013).
* Poor or fair health circumstances are more likely to be reported by adults with literacy proficiency at or below Level 2 and, also, by adults who are not in the labour force (ABS, 2013, 2006).

* In 2014, approximately, 13 percent of young adult Australians (aged 19-25 years) were early school leavers –i.e., a predictor of social and/or economic marginalisation– (Lamb & Huo, 2017).
Early school leavers are unlikely to complete post-school training or sustain the benefits of long-term employment (Lamb & Huo, 2017; ABS, 2013).

N.B.

The national lifetime cost of young adult’s disengagement from learning was estimated as $12.6 billion (Lamb & Huo, 2017).

6.

Adult education is sometimes used as a political tool to publicise the outcomes of economic and social prosperity.
Adult literacy and learning initiatives are often defunded in times of economic stability or budgetary constraints (Kelly, 2018) or if program objectives are not aligned to government or stakeholder pre-determined criteria (Billet & Dymock, 2020).

7.

The cost of low levels of adult literacy to the Australian economy, for 2013, was $34 billion, based on 2% of Australia’s then GDP and determined by the International Monetary Fund (Adult Learning Australia [ALA], 2017).
These data sets are a remarkable indictment on Australia, given that Australia is a prosperous sovereign democracy; has a highly developed educational sector; and is a signatory to the UNESCO Education 2030-Incheon Declaration, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: “To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s [UNESCO], 2015, p. 7).
• SDG (Goal 4.3): By 2030, ensure that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes (p. 22).

• SDG (Goal 4.6): By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy (p. 21).

N.B.
N.B.

Unrealised policy statements and the ad hoc use of education and literacy initiatives are destructive as these actions create uncertainties for adult learners and educators, sustain existing social and economic inequalities, and ignore the Quality Education goal agenda (Wagner & Castillo, 2014).

Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 4 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 Part A A.1.
The cultural and social benefits of practice-engagement approaches Intergenerational learning is a tradition practised by ancient, first-nation, cultural and social groups.

Community elders, civic leaders and family members transfer their knowledge of social, cultural and environmental customs, values and behaviours to immediate and community members.

People’s self-worth, confidence, trust in others, and desire to learn are established, in part, through intergenerational learning practices.
Observation, listening, modelling, discussion, practice and reflection contribute to a shared understanding of knowledge, values and practice.

Parents, guardians, communities and schools are all pivotal partners in children’s learning (Muller, 2012).

Primary-carers who engage in children’s learning are likely to foster positive aspirations about the value of education to people’s livelihood (Muller).
Primary-carer engagement in child learning may include interactive activities, such as: reading to children and asking simple comprehension questions, assisting with classroom or outdoor activities, helping with homework, and creating a secure home-learning environment.

Impact: The school-to-home transfer of new skills reflects the practice-engagement approach as reported by Grotluschen, et al., (2016).
Adult literacy and learning research shows that practice-engagement strategies are one of the most universally successful means of improving adults’ proficiency in literacy, numeracy and/or problem-solving (Grotluschen, et al; Hanemann, 2015).

The home provides an immediate and relevant environment for family members to learn within and from each other and practise their new skills.
Family learning and literacy approaches fit within the frameworks of lifelong and lifewide learning and the adult education streams of adult community and adult basic education (e.g., language, literacy & numeracy programs).

Intergenerational learning facilitates second chance opportunities for adult learners and, importantly, strategies to improve their children’s educational outcomes.
Comparable community programs such as Family Learning and Literacy (Hanemann, 2015; Bynner & Parsons, 2006); Parents as Partners (Literacy for Life Foundation, 2019; Muller, 2012; Save the Children, Australia, 2011); and FRIENDS adult community and basic education programs (conducted in Fiji) are all designed to meet the language, literacy, numeracy and/or problem-solving needs of a group or community.

By their origin and foci these programs are of high relevance to their target audience.
Desjardins describes adult learning as: “…a means to assist individuals and communities in their everyday actions to secure their own well-being and to foster active citizenship….The centrality of adult learning and competencies cannot be overstated” (2020, p. 9).
Impact: ➢ Although adult education programs do not lead to a qualification, adults’ improved learning capabilities are often the springboard which enables to them participate in community events or other forms of learning (e.g., on-site job training, church or school activities, workshops, committee duties).
Consideration and recommendation: Persons (who do not hold a school or post-school qualification, are employed in manual jobs, are unemployed, or not in the labour force) may live in families with a history of interrupted schooling, low achievement, and/or low proficiency in literacy, numeracy and/or problem-solving.

An inconvenient truth: Intergenerational low proficiency in literacy is an early indicator of intergenerational social exclusion, material and/or economic deprivation (WLF, 2015).

N.B.
N.B.

It is vital, therefore, that Australia invest in adult community and adult basic education if we, as a nation, are to halt the cycle of intergenerational low educational outcomes and, also, the likelihood of intergenerational disadvantage.
Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 5 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 Impact The role and significance of adult community education: Billet and Dymock (2020) discuss Victoria’s commitment to adult community education (ACE) programs.

Victoria is the only state/territory in Australia to have legislated for the provision of ACE programs.
The community focus, flexible structure and learner-centred approach of ACE programs have enabled … “second chance, hard-to-reach and vulnerable learners to re-engage with education and learning” (Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education, cited in Harrison, Ollis & Ryan, 2020, p. 472).

ACE programs have also assisted adults with non-school or certificated qualifications to improve their employment and workplace opportunities (Harrison, et., al).
ACE programs utilise the practice- engagement approach as discussed by Grotluschen, et, al., (2016) in the OECD working paper Adults with low proficiency in literacy or numeracy.

A.2.
A.2.

The link between primary-carers’ literacy skills and their children’s development An inconvenient truth: Primary-carers’ (i.e., parent, grandparent, guardian) low proficiency in literacy is a marker that they may struggle to support their children’s learning and, as a consequence, perpetuate intergenerational low educational outcomes (WLF, 2015; Boughton & Beetson, 2017).

Literacy difficulties are a persistent reality in some families and communities.
To counter this result, Australian governments and education instrumentalities have (over the last four decades) invested in evidence-based ways to improve school-aged students’ educational performances.

N.B.

Even so, these efforts have not disrupted the cycle of intergenerational low educational outcomes as experienced by some families and groups.
Human development organisations (e.g., Save the Children, Smith Family, UNESCO) report family- based characteristics that can disadvantage students’ educational development.

Some related factors are: • Primary-carers who have not completed secondary education or who have not participated in further learning (Grotluschen, et, al., 2016; Lamb & Hou, 2017).
• Primary-carers with limited literacy capabilities [who were not born overseas] may hold low educational aspirations for their children and withdraw them from school for domestic or economic reasons, especially girls (UNESCO, 2015; WLF, 2015; Plan International, 2018).
• Primary-carers’ indifference to schooling increases the possibility of children demonstrating adverse social and educational behaviour; such as, behavioural problems, poor school results, high absenteeism, or withdrawal from school (Plan International, 2018).

• Members of a family who have less than 25 books in the home (Grotluschen, et, al.)

and/or limited access to digital technology (Smith Family, n.d.).
• Primary-carers’ employment status, especially those not in the labour force (Grotluschen, et, al.).

• Primary-carers’ reluctance to take leave from work or domestic duties to participate in further learning.

• The primary-carer has a major health problem or a disability (Smith Family, 2018).

• Children who live in a single primary-carer household (Smith Family, 2018).

• Families who live in remote areas (Lamb & Hou, 2017).
Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 6 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 Impact: ➢ The intergenerational transfer of low educational outcomes is consistently revealed in Australian and international literature as a likely indicator of social, health and/or economic disadvantage (see, ABS, 2013; WLF, 2015; Lamb & Huo, 2017; UNESCO, 2015).
➢ Adults who have at or above Level 3 proficiency in literacy, numeracy and/or problem-solving are more likely than others to hold aspirations for their children and to directly influence their children’s educational performance (WLF, 2015; Bynner & Parsons, 2006).

Recommendation: A shift in adult education policy and program structure is required.
There is an urgent need to: -Research and report on practice-engagement and other approaches that successfully address and inform adult community and adult basic education language, literacy and numeracy programs (e.g., program design, availability, effectiveness and impact); -Produce a National Partnership Agreement on Adult Education that is comparable to the National Agreement on Early Childhood Education; -Invest in and legislate for the provision of ACE and adult basic education programs; and -Use The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), 2011-2012, results to produce policies that aid ‘family literacy and numeracy’ programs (Grotluschen, et al., 2016, p. 25).
Implication: Unless family literacy difficulties are addressed, it is likely that intergenerational low educational education outcomes will continue for some families and, also, lead to the likelihood of ongoing social, material and/or economic disadvantage.

N.B.

Research evidence (Bynner & Parsons, 2006; Hanemann, 2015) points to a clear link between the primary-carers’ level of literacy proficiency and school-aged students’ achievement.
It is relevant, therefore, to implement practice-engagement approaches that improve the literacy skills of both primary carers and their children (e.g., community education, context-specific workplace training and practice, family learning and literacy initiatives).

These strategies are revealed in international literacy reports (see Bynner & Parsons, 2006; Grotluschen, et, al., 2016; Hanemann, 2015).

A.3.
A.3.

The impact of primary-carer engagement in children’s learning Regardless of family circumstances, the primary-carer’s engagement in children’s learning has a direct and positive effect on their social and learning development, their beliefs about the value of education, and their school and post-school educational outcomes (Smith Family, 2016; Hanemann, 2015; Literacy for Life Foundation, 2019; Korff, 2019).
i) Literacy for Life program The principal of a regional school, NSW, commented on the parents’ desire to participate in the Literacy for Life Foundation program: “More parents are talking to me about school and asking for their kids to be given homework.

Our pre-schoolers are using the library more, too.

It’s been a great thing for the community: it’s given the adults who did miss out on their schooling a chance to catch up and have a way to relate to their children” (Boughton & Beetson, 2017, p. 2).
ii) It Takes a Village program In 2009, the Save the Children organisation conducted a multicultural, early learning playgroup program for newly arrived migrants and humanitarian entrants.

It Takes a Village (ITaV) participants included mothers and their children from an outer metropolitan area of Perth.
Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 7 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 A snapshot of the report findings revealed that the program assisted the participants to: ➢ Establish informal social support networks for mothers and children; ➢ Develop the confidence to contribute to community activities; ➢ Improve both mothers’ and children’s knowledge of social, learning and play activities and behaviours; ➢ Ease the children’s transition to school; ➢ Identify community leaders within the mothers’ group; ➢ Improve the mothers’ ability to access available services and become less reliant on settlement- services; and ➢ Decrease family social isolation and, also, to increase the likelihood of family cohesion (Save the Children, Australia, 2011).
N.B.

The women’s increased confidence to participate in community activities and to consider employment and training opportunities were attributed to their participation in the ITaV’s English classes and lifeskills workshops (Save the Children, Australia, 2011).
Findings also revealed a ‘flow on effect’ for family members: “As the participants progress in their personal and professional development, they become positive role models for their children providing them with motivation for studying hard and achieving at their personal best” (Save the Children, Australia, 2011, p. 14).

Implication: Learning occurs within and across generations.
A national focus on child and youth education alone is a blinkered approach to halting: i) the cycle of intergenerational low educational outcomes and, ii) the possibility of family members’ social exclusion and material and economic deprivation.

Conversely, family members who engage in community or context-specific literacy and learning initiatives are likely to promote and sustain educated, productive, healthy and secure individuals and societies.
An adult educator provided an example of how literacy and numeracy programs can lead to improved family educational outcomes and social circumstances: “One student used to beg to be the cleaner on site and I kept telling her that I couldn’t do that – it was an agency etc.

She kept coming to class throughout and apart from the LN [literacy and numeracy] component her teacher encouraged her to learn to drive.

She did this and she passed.

Her LN skills improved and she ended up working for Silver Chain.
Her three daughters all made university.” Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 8 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 Part B Figure 1: Intergenerational low levels of literacy, an indicator of disadvantage circumstances Family literacy proficiency Indicators Intergenerational low-level proficiency in literacy Low educational outcomes Disadvantaged circumstances *Social exclusion *Material deprivation *Economic deprivation Likely Outcomes B.1.
Family Learning, a means to improve intergenerational educational outcomes The UNESCO Family Learning approach (Hanemann, 2015) is an evidence-based, intergenerational, context-specific and interactive, authentic/real-world learning and teaching approach.

Programs based on this approach have been successfully implemented in North America since the 1960s and in the United Kingdom and Europe since the 1970s.
More recently, programs have been conducted in many world regions and countries, including Australia (Hanemann, 2015).
Family, interactive learning programs aim to: • Support family and community learning needs and livelihood activities; • Facilitate an understanding and appreciation of learning in different contexts (e.g., informal, formal) and environments (e.g., home, work, community); • Facilitate primary-carer and child shared learning opportunities; • Encourage and support primary-carers to re-engage in learning and achieve their related goals; • Advance the learning and literacy abilities of children and their primary-carers; • Empower learners to make meaning of and apply new knowledge, skills and attitudes; & • Reduce the number of children who fail or drop-out of school (Hanemann, 2015).
Impact: ➢ Case studies reveal that the community education, practice-engagement Family Learning approach has significantly influenced family members’ educational, social, cultural, health and economic well-being (Hanemann, 2015; Literacy for Life Foundation, 2019; Korff, 2019; Save the Children, Australia, 2011).
B.2 Adult Education is reliant on community goodwill: A gap in resource and financial infrastructure Resource infrastructure gap: Family learning and literacy programs are often community initiated and reliant on the goodwill, expertise and funding of human development organisations, academics, educators and corporate organisations.

In some instances, civic groups offer sites and rooms in which to conduct classes.
Monitoring, evaluation and reporting are often reliant on community members and researchers who have both the cultural and academic background to complete the work.

Within the Australian education system, no other educational sector is dependent on this level of social, civic, professional and/or corporate goodwill.
A Learning for Life Foundation report noted that, “the lack of English proficiency [by adult learners] presents a major barrier to undertaking genuinely participatory evaluation at a local level” (Literacy for Life Foundation, 2019, p. 4).

The reliance on third-party assistance is problematic.
Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 9 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 The COVID-19 crisis exposed the digital-divide experienced by some families and demographic groups in Australia.

Adult basic LN education rarely, if at all, has access to this level of infrastructure and this limits learners’ opportunity to develop the digital literacy skills used in everyday life and work.

It also limits practitioners’ use of contemporary learning and teaching tools and activities.
I recently heard a thirty-year old learner ask: “What is a Word document?” A focus group meeting of senior literacy and numeracy practitioners in Perth emphasised the challenges experienced by adult learners who have low-level digital literacy skills.
They commented that: the adults’ lack of access to digital technology and services and limited confidence to attend a local library stops the adults from: • Accessing and reading information about LN programs; • Enrolling in an LN program as many forms need to be completed online; • Practising digital skills learnt in class; • Filling in social services forms and then being disadvantage by the outcomes; • Applying for jobs that require digital or word processing skills; • Shame that they were unable to access and complete information; and • Upset that they cannot assist family members to complete online activities.
Recommendation: It is recommended that the LN provider, TAFE and the Council library staff cooperate to enable the LN students to visit (during non-semester or low-client times) each organisation’s library and learning spaces.

This approach is used by the university sector.

Intended impact: ➢ For adults to build the confidence and knowledge about accessing and using information-rich resources and, also, to be introduced to future learning and job opportunities.
The limited resources available to many adult basic education practitioners and students begs the question: As Australia is a signatory to SDG 4, why are adult community and basic education programs (e.g., context-specific work, family & LN) not included in the structure, policies, strategies and curricula of Australia’s formal education system”?
Impact: ➢ Existing infrastructural constraints compromise the quality, availability, effectiveness, impact and continuity of community and adult basic education programs (anecdotal data).

➢ Unaddressed constraints lead to a significant loss in human, social, cultural and economic productivity and well-being (WLF, 2015; Lamb & Hou, 2017).
Financial infrastructure gap: Adult basic and community educational initiatives have been defunded by governments (commonwealth, state/territory) as these programs do not meet government required accreditation criteria.
Billet and Dymock (2020) note that: “This outcome ignored the diversity of adults’ learning needs and readiness, and that these needs were best understood locally.” (p. 410) Impact and inconvenient truth: Australian governments’ have (since the 1980s) focused on school-aged student curricula and learning even though research consistently reveals that: i) An estimated 7.32 million people have at or below Level 2 proficiency in literacy and an estimated 9 million people have at or below Level 2 proficiency in numeracy (ABS, 2013); and ii) Children’s educational behaviours and outcomes are influenced directly by primary carers’ highest qualification (ABS, 2006; Grotluschen, et, al.)
and, in addition, carers’ aspirations for their children directly influence the students’ educational performance (WLF, 2015; Bynner & Parsons).

Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 10 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 NB.

The concepts of ‘dying-out’ or ‘growing-out’ people with low-level literacy and numeracy proficiency are misplaced.

Four decades of focussing on school-aged student learning has not reversed the cycle of intergenerational low educational outcomes.
Recommendation: ➢ Australian governments (commonwealth, state/territory) invest in adult education research and development activities and use this information to design and implement adult community and adult basic education LN programs.
➢ Design a sociological-economic framework which uses national standards, performance criteria, indicators, measures and approaches that assess psychosocial, social, humanitarian and/or economic outcomes of adult community and adult literacy and numeracy programs; and ➢ Implement practice-engagement initiatives in order that learners may apply their new skills.

➢ Design and implement a nationally accredited adult teacher training course for current and potential adult educators and managers.
An accredited adult teacher education course will ensure the quality of adult education services and, also, reduce the reliance on volunteer practitioners.

A possible outcome of an accredited course is the likelihood of qualified teachers participating in policy, research and development activities.

A senior adult LN educator commented that: “There is a lack of academics working in the field of LN and consequently the research base and output has diminished significantly.
In addition, there is a lack of teacher training courses for adult educators.

Both limitations compromise the efforts of LN practitioners.” B.3.

Measures used to determine the success of literacy and numeracy classes Adult literacy rate is an indicator of national, regional and global human development and social progress performance.
The social and human development aspects of adult literacy demand a disciplinary-aligned framework and tools to assess the key performance criteria and outcomes of adult education programs.

The use of non-social and non-human development criteria runs the risk of producing untrustworthy (not valid) and unreliable data.

Learning is a social practice and, therefore, requires a combined sociological and socio-economic lens to guide and assess its progress.
Non-economic outcomes (e.g., literacy rate, community engagement, improved confidence) have the potential to lead to economic prosperity and, also, improved human-development and social-progress outcomes (Deloitte Access Economics, 2014).

Pre-determined criteria and measures used to assess humanities-based initiatives (e.g., literacy education, aid development, social welfare) often use a quantitative or an economic-productivity framework to analyse and report data.
Educators, sociologists and economists argue the need to consider a sociological-economic framework, context-specific criteria, and/or participatory action research methods (Bynner & Parsons, 2006; McDougall, 2016; Literacy for Life Foundation, 2019; Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs, 2012; Tanguay, 2014; Keizer, 2005).
It is recommended by scholars that a cross-disciplinary paradigm be used to assist nations and communities to measure, assess and review a program’s humanitarian, social, qualitative, quantitative and economic outcomes.
Consideration (comparable measures): Australian Indigenous literacy programs conducted by the Learning for Life Foundation have used an 8-Domains of Potential Impact framework to evaluate program outcomes: The domains are: employment and economy; further education and schooling; health; language, land and culture; housing; law and justice; community organisations; and active citizenship e.g., local government, voting etc.

[sic] (Literacy for Life Foundation, 2019, p. 8).


Adult literacy and numeracy (LN) outcomes are often realised post-program and the impact may not be evident in the immediate future.
Some long-term outcomes are: Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 11 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 -Adults stay engaged with LN activities and learning opportunities; -Increased transfer of new knowledge, skills and attitudes to everyday life events; and -Primary-carers’ increased efforts to improve their children’s i) rate of attendance and achievement and ii) to complete upper-secondary education (see Smith Family, 2018).
Recommendation Design an educational, sociological-economic, context-specific framework of criteria and measures to assess the availability, effectiveness and impact of LN programs.

The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies’ (PIAAC) provides national and state/territory evidence-based demographic data that shows the proficiency levels of diverse and specific groups of adult learners.
The use of PIAAC data ensures the quality and delivery of adult basic education in Australia and other countries.

Adult education mangers and practitioners use PIAAC national and state/territory data to determine a cohort’s likely LN requirements and to design and assess programs accordingly.

The quality of the educators’ work will be reduced if the Morrison, Australian government enacts its plan to publish national PIAAC results only.
The government’s proposed action also threatens researchers and policy makers access to valid and reliable statistics and demographic profiles.

In the words of one adult educator: Adult student LN requirements vary according to the time- and context-specific characteristics of the survey participants.

The profiles of students in Darwin differ to the students who live in regional Tasmania.

We need to understand the profiles of specific cohorts if we are to deliver targeted and quality education for them.
Recommendation: ➢ Analyse and publish The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Australia results at a national and a state/territory level in order that providers and educators can address the immediate learning needs and context-specific literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills required by their respective students.

B.4.
B.4.

Education and training, why adults don’t attend Social commentary sometimes promotes the idea that adults (due to age-status) are independent citizens who should explore ways to address their literacy or learning difficulties.

Adults with low literacy skills, however, are less likely than other adults to participate in post-school education and training (Grotluschen, et, al., 2016; OECD, 2013).
The low rate of adult participation can be due to a range of personal, social and economic issues rather than an indifference to learning (Grotluschen, et, al.).

Australian adult education and training strategies (AGDET, 2012; Adult Literacy Information Office, 1993) have, for over thirty-years, committed to employer/workplace and employee/community improved English language, literacy and numeracy proficiencies.
An emphasis on vocational foundation skills can overlook some adults’ immediate need to re-engage in context-specific education, develop livelihood skills, build networks, contribute to family, participate in community activities or increase their confidence as learners.

Some adults with low-level literacy skills are unsure about participating in certificated courses.
Research findings reveal that some adults: • Have developed coping mechanisms to engage in home, social and workplace activities (Grotluschen, et, al., 2016); • Socialise and work with people who speak their home-language; • Lack an awareness of the benefits of language and literacy learning (Grotluschen, et, al.
); • Have a mistrust of formal learning (Korff, 2019); Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 12 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 • Are anxious about sitting a two-hour, pre-course skills assessment (anecdotal data); • Are nervous about participating in post-school education (Korff); • Are reluctant to take leave from work or home-duties to attend classes (Grotluschen, et, al.

); and/or • Experience transport difficulties (anecdotal data).

N.B.
N.B.

There are obvious policy and educational gaps in Australia’s adult education policies and structure.

Adult basic and community education programs are casualties of this oversight.

**************************************** Part C Challenges and Steps in implementing a family learning, practice-engagement approach 1.

Listen, consult, collaborate and act respectfully, inclusively and proactively with all stakeholders and interested parties.

2.
2.

Commit to a renewed 2030: Quality Education for All (SDG 4) agenda to “leave no one behind” (Smith Family, 2018; UNESCO, 2015) and to halt the cycle intergenerational low educational outcomes.

3.

Commit to a National Partnership Agreement on: Adult Community and Basic Education that is inclusive of young and older adults with very-low proficiency levels in literacy, numeracy and/or problem-solving.
Under the National Partnership Agreement commit to an evidence-based, cooperative, multi- sectoral, participatory effort to implement a practice-engagement approach that uses context- specific criteria and measures.
The Agreement can be achieved by implementing the following steps: i) Produce a National Adult Literacy Policy and locate it in the non-accredited, adult and the continuing education sectors and, also, confirm a bipartisan commitment to it; ii) Design and implement context-specific, practice-engagement approaches in order that adult and school-aged learners can apply their new knowledge and skills and, thereby, increase their proficiency in literacy, numeracy and problem-solving.
iii) Design a sociological-economic framework which uses national standards, performance criteria, indicators, measures and approaches that assess psychosocial, social, humanitarian and/or economic outcomes of adult community and adult literacy and numeracy programs; and iv) Implement national legislation to support state/territory adult education boards and services, and research and development activities.
3. Review, revise and transform adult education language, literacy and numeracy approaches and modify programs to better meet the interests and needs of at-risk school-aged students and their primary-carers.

4.

Organise a taskforce of stakeholders and significant others to: • Research and determine the structure, features and usefulness of practice-engagement approaches that halt low educational outcomes for at-risk school-aged students and their primary-carers.
• Identify potential stakeholder target and other groups.

A comparable National Partnership Agreement is: Australian Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

National report on Schooling in Australia, 2010.

2.3 Strengthening early childhood education.


Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 13 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63 In economic terms, the annual cost of: • Early school leaver disengagement from learning was, in 2014, estimated as $12.6 billion (Lamb & Hou, 2017); and • Low adult literacy and numeracy proficiency to the Australian taxpayers was, in 2013, estimated at over $30 billion (Adult Learning Australia, 2017).
In educational and social terms, the cost of these outcomes are adults’ unrealised potential and the likelihood of household disadvantage.

?

Do Australian governments and stakeholders have the courage and sagacity to create a formal educational system in which adult education is a recoginised and vital component of Australia’s lifelong learning, sustainable development core vale: a “fair go for all….leaving no one behind” (Australian Government, 2018, p. 6).
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(2017).
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To lift literacy levels among Indigenous children, their parents’ literacy skills must be improved first.

The Conversation.

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(Ed.).

(2015).

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(2011).

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Adult Literacy Core Curriculum: Including spoken communication.

Retrieved November 17, 2016, from: https://api.excellencegateway.org.uk/resource/etf:1286 The author: Dr. Marguerite Cullity (Ph.D.

Melb., M.Ed., B.Ed., Dip.

Teach.


Primary) Marguerite has extensive experience of teaching adults and children from mainstream, equity, education support, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds; as well as tutoring novice teachers, advising undergraduates, and working with teaching and professional staff.

These roles were conducted within the Australian primary school, Ministry of Justice and higher education sectors.
In addition, Marguerite has researched and developed learning and teaching curricula for, adult basic, university, vocational and school sectors.

As an Australian volunteer (AVID, 2016 to 2017) Marguerite worked with the Mothers’ Union, Anglican Church of Melanesia, to research and develop an adult literacy curriculum for Melanesian women and teenage girls.
Her current research interest in Intergenerational Learning and Literacy builds on the Melanesian women’s desire to participate in family and community learning and, also, the global need to address improved literacy proficiency alongside improved intergenerational educational outcomes.

Relationship, primary-carer literacy & child education 17 Adult literacy and its importanceSubmission 63