MARK MORGANSEPT 26TH 2014

Surveys of Literacy Levels: Results and Implications

Overview

How international studies of literacy changed perceptions and definitions

International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS): 1994

Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC): 2012

Possible Developments for Research

IALS

Major innovations: Literacy levelsLiteracy domains: Prose, Document and

Quantitative LiteracyCanada, Germany, Ireland, France, the

Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, USLiteracy practices and relationship to critical

factors including level of education25% at level 1!!!!Issue of response rates: Which direction is

bias?

PIAAC

Broader assessment: ‘Real world’ Literacy tasks

‘Real’ numeracy tasks: Graph showing births in the US every ten years..in which decades was there a decline?

Problem solving in context of technology. Example of websites and selection of the

appropriate one and what information can be extracted

Literacy Results in PIAAC

Ireland close to average of all countriesWell behind Japan and Finland17.9% at Level 1But even at level 1, 95% of word meanings

correct (vocabulary)Ireland significantly below international

average on numeracyWhen PIAAC and IALS linked..no change

Influential Factors

Gender: No significant differences or in other countries

Contrast with school achievement and ‘reversal’ of gender effects…future

Age: Dependent on when access improvedEffects of age per se: Cognitive decline but

effects of compensation and individual differences

Contd

Adult education (low participation in Ireland in IALS)

Related to literacy level…and in every country

Findings from GUI….Holistic nature of development. Association of social-emotional development with learning and literacy

Interaction with life-skills