Journal of applied research in higher education, Feb 8, 2024
Purpose-The lack of physical contact and the absence of nonverbal clues could make some learners ... more Purpose-The lack of physical contact and the absence of nonverbal clues could make some learners uncomfortable interacting with others via online learning platforms. Hence, understanding the determinants of students' motivation and engagement in online learning platforms is crucial in harnessing digital technology as an enabler of unrestricted and quality learning experiences. Design/methodology/approach-Drawing on the self-determination theory (SDT), this study investigates the factors associated with student's motivation to learn (MOL) and their influence on online learning engagement (OLE). Data were collected from 228 university students from the Klang Valley region of Malaysia using the online survey method. Findings-The results of data analysis using the partial least squares structural equation modeling indicate that self-directed learning, computer and Internet self-efficacy and online communication self-efficacy significantly influence MOL. Besides, these factors indirectly influence OLE through MOL. Originality/value-This study adds to the SDT framework by demonstrating how students' perceptions of autonomy, competence and relatedness through online interaction relate to MOL and OLE.
Students and educators often challenge the effectiveness of traditional mentoring models and thei... more Students and educators often challenge the effectiveness of traditional mentoring models and their associated learning and teaching strategies applied in professional healthcare and education workplace environments. The traditional mentoring model in UK for nurses and midwives is formal mentor training, assessment and revalidation in accordance with Standards to support learning and assessment in practice (NMC 2008 whilst teaching uses, the formal mentor training, assessment of Practical Teaching, Target setting and guidance model in support of Ofsted, the Teaching Standards (2012) in schools and the Professional Standards (2014) in Further Education. Learning and teaching strategies traditionally consist of reflective practice, role modelling, coaching and guided participation with practice assessment and evaluation. These customary mentoring strategies need to be compared against contemporary mentoring models from other professional disciplines and also outside UK. It will be usef...
International journal of multidisciplinary comparative studies, 2021
This paper reports a study on the preparedness of Further Education (FE) teachers for educational... more This paper reports a study on the preparedness of Further Education (FE) teachers for educational change. Previous studies on changes in the FE sector (Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS 2010; Learning and Skills Council have shown that change, whether internally or externally induced, can impact on teachers, who are the main fulcrum of educational change. The study examined the extent to which teachers, who are increasingly described in the literature as leaders are equipped with change management (CM) skills and how this may have helped them prepare to cope with, manage and implement change. Essentially a case study, the study draws on a mixed method approach. Data were collected through a survey and interviews with selected teachers from the college which evolved as a result of a merger. A key finding from the study was that majority of teacher leaders had progressed onto leadership and management roles without relevant training in CM which could have enabled them cope with the challenges of change which is rampant in the sector. Furthermore, it was established that knowledge of CM was crucial for coping with, and implementing change. Based on its findings, the paper concludes that, as professionals working in a rapidly changing environment, teachers in the FE sector in the UK would benefit from acquiring 'new knowledge' in CM.
Background: Due to recent lockdown conditions, which restricted opportunities for face-to-face co... more Background: Due to recent lockdown conditions, which restricted opportunities for face-to-face contact and the ability to be physically in schools, the need for novel, safe ways to train pre-service teachers emerged even more pressingly. Whilst virtual simulation has received some attention in pedagogy and its benefits have been dem
This study reports the measured impact of attendance at after school science club (ASSC) on the p... more This study reports the measured impact of attendance at after school science club (ASSC) on the progress and attainment of Key stages 3 and 4 students in a coeducation academy in the UK. The research was experimental in design and collected data from both a control and an experimental group of participants, 17 and 140 respectively. Data were collected through observation, questionnaires, focus groups and test performance scores. The data were subjected to various statistical analyses using SPSS. The means of performance scores for students in both control and experimental groups were tested for significance at different time points using Welch's T-test, and the effect of the ASSC on science performance scores across the different time points for both groups was tested (pre and posttests) using the Kruskal Wallis test. The questionnaire was analyzed using thematic analysis with recurrent themes identified following a process of coding to establish the skills that students can gain from attending and participating in an ASSC. The study found that the experimental group, who attended ASSC showed improvements in their academic attainment although most participants identified the acquisition of non-academic skills as the more significant outcome of their engagement. These skills included collaboration and teamwork, leadership and communication skills, and confidence in learning. Drawing on the findings, the study provides evidence that discipline-specific after-school clubs can facilitate learning and recommends that discipline-informed extra-curricular activities should be promoted in facilitating learning in STEM subjects.
The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring socia... more The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring social practices as a frame to explore the narratives of two UK adult literacy learners who provide a description of their engagement with a transformative curriculum and pedagogical approach. One of the learners reveals his frustration at the lack of transformative opportunities in his learning programme. The other offers an illustration of how transformative learning can be encouraged and how it can actually transform the life of its beneficiaries. In essence, both case studies highlight some of the characteristics of transformative learning. Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capitals, and habitus are applied. The critical elements of these concepts include tools for consciousness raising and increasing the flow of capital, and linguistic capital. The notion of spoilt identities based on neoliberal individual accountability, that fails to address the structures and hierarchies of power, is chal...
... Three dimensional change? The relationship between theory, policy and adults' understand... more ... Three dimensional change? The relationship between theory, policy and adults' understanding of literacies. Research in Post‐Compulsory Education , 8(1): 123–36. [Taylor & Francis Online] View all references; Ade‐Ojo 20083. Ade‐Ojo, G. 2008. ...
The broad aim of this paper is to track the evolution of adult literacy
policy in the UK across t... more The broad aim of this paper is to track the evolution of adult literacy policy in the UK across three decades, highlighting convergences between policy phases and the promotion of democratic learning spaces. It is anchored onto the argument that, although it is generally accepted that democratic learning spaces are perceived as beneficial to adult literacy learners, policy has often deterred its promotion and, therefore, implementation. The paper identifies three block phases of adult literacy development: the seventies to mid-eighties, the mid-eighties to mid-nineties and the mid-nineties to the Moser Committees. The features of each of these phases are highlighted to map out convergences and divergences to the ethos of democratic learning spaces. The paper argues that, with the evolution of policy in adult literacy, the ethos of democratic learning space continuously diminished, such that as policy evolved year on year, the principle of democratic learning space found itself at counterpoint to policy. We draw on two theoretical frameworks, the NLS view of literacy and Bourdieu’s capital framework to explain these divergences and conclude that the dominant perception of literacy and the prioritised capital in the context of policy appear to limit the vestiges of democratic learning spaces
The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring socia... more The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring social practices as a frame to explore the narratives of two UK adult literacy learners who provide a description of the value or otherwise of their engagement with a transformative curriculum and pedagogical approach. Whilst one of the learners reveals his frustration at the lack of transformative opportunities in his learning programme, the other offers illustration of how transformative learning can be encouraged and how it can actually transform the life of its beneficiaries. In essence, both case studies highlight some requirements of transformative learning. Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capitals, and habitus are applied; the critical elements of these concepts essentially being tools for consciousness raising and increasing the flow of capitals, including linguistic capital, which challenge the notion of spoilt identities based on neoliberal individual accountability that fails to address the structures and hierarchies of power.
Journal of applied research in higher education, Feb 8, 2024
Purpose-The lack of physical contact and the absence of nonverbal clues could make some learners ... more Purpose-The lack of physical contact and the absence of nonverbal clues could make some learners uncomfortable interacting with others via online learning platforms. Hence, understanding the determinants of students' motivation and engagement in online learning platforms is crucial in harnessing digital technology as an enabler of unrestricted and quality learning experiences. Design/methodology/approach-Drawing on the self-determination theory (SDT), this study investigates the factors associated with student's motivation to learn (MOL) and their influence on online learning engagement (OLE). Data were collected from 228 university students from the Klang Valley region of Malaysia using the online survey method. Findings-The results of data analysis using the partial least squares structural equation modeling indicate that self-directed learning, computer and Internet self-efficacy and online communication self-efficacy significantly influence MOL. Besides, these factors indirectly influence OLE through MOL. Originality/value-This study adds to the SDT framework by demonstrating how students' perceptions of autonomy, competence and relatedness through online interaction relate to MOL and OLE.
Students and educators often challenge the effectiveness of traditional mentoring models and thei... more Students and educators often challenge the effectiveness of traditional mentoring models and their associated learning and teaching strategies applied in professional healthcare and education workplace environments. The traditional mentoring model in UK for nurses and midwives is formal mentor training, assessment and revalidation in accordance with Standards to support learning and assessment in practice (NMC 2008 whilst teaching uses, the formal mentor training, assessment of Practical Teaching, Target setting and guidance model in support of Ofsted, the Teaching Standards (2012) in schools and the Professional Standards (2014) in Further Education. Learning and teaching strategies traditionally consist of reflective practice, role modelling, coaching and guided participation with practice assessment and evaluation. These customary mentoring strategies need to be compared against contemporary mentoring models from other professional disciplines and also outside UK. It will be usef...
International journal of multidisciplinary comparative studies, 2021
This paper reports a study on the preparedness of Further Education (FE) teachers for educational... more This paper reports a study on the preparedness of Further Education (FE) teachers for educational change. Previous studies on changes in the FE sector (Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS 2010; Learning and Skills Council have shown that change, whether internally or externally induced, can impact on teachers, who are the main fulcrum of educational change. The study examined the extent to which teachers, who are increasingly described in the literature as leaders are equipped with change management (CM) skills and how this may have helped them prepare to cope with, manage and implement change. Essentially a case study, the study draws on a mixed method approach. Data were collected through a survey and interviews with selected teachers from the college which evolved as a result of a merger. A key finding from the study was that majority of teacher leaders had progressed onto leadership and management roles without relevant training in CM which could have enabled them cope with the challenges of change which is rampant in the sector. Furthermore, it was established that knowledge of CM was crucial for coping with, and implementing change. Based on its findings, the paper concludes that, as professionals working in a rapidly changing environment, teachers in the FE sector in the UK would benefit from acquiring 'new knowledge' in CM.
Background: Due to recent lockdown conditions, which restricted opportunities for face-to-face co... more Background: Due to recent lockdown conditions, which restricted opportunities for face-to-face contact and the ability to be physically in schools, the need for novel, safe ways to train pre-service teachers emerged even more pressingly. Whilst virtual simulation has received some attention in pedagogy and its benefits have been dem
This study reports the measured impact of attendance at after school science club (ASSC) on the p... more This study reports the measured impact of attendance at after school science club (ASSC) on the progress and attainment of Key stages 3 and 4 students in a coeducation academy in the UK. The research was experimental in design and collected data from both a control and an experimental group of participants, 17 and 140 respectively. Data were collected through observation, questionnaires, focus groups and test performance scores. The data were subjected to various statistical analyses using SPSS. The means of performance scores for students in both control and experimental groups were tested for significance at different time points using Welch's T-test, and the effect of the ASSC on science performance scores across the different time points for both groups was tested (pre and posttests) using the Kruskal Wallis test. The questionnaire was analyzed using thematic analysis with recurrent themes identified following a process of coding to establish the skills that students can gain from attending and participating in an ASSC. The study found that the experimental group, who attended ASSC showed improvements in their academic attainment although most participants identified the acquisition of non-academic skills as the more significant outcome of their engagement. These skills included collaboration and teamwork, leadership and communication skills, and confidence in learning. Drawing on the findings, the study provides evidence that discipline-specific after-school clubs can facilitate learning and recommends that discipline-informed extra-curricular activities should be promoted in facilitating learning in STEM subjects.
The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring socia... more The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring social practices as a frame to explore the narratives of two UK adult literacy learners who provide a description of their engagement with a transformative curriculum and pedagogical approach. One of the learners reveals his frustration at the lack of transformative opportunities in his learning programme. The other offers an illustration of how transformative learning can be encouraged and how it can actually transform the life of its beneficiaries. In essence, both case studies highlight some of the characteristics of transformative learning. Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capitals, and habitus are applied. The critical elements of these concepts include tools for consciousness raising and increasing the flow of capital, and linguistic capital. The notion of spoilt identities based on neoliberal individual accountability, that fails to address the structures and hierarchies of power, is chal...
... Three dimensional change? The relationship between theory, policy and adults' understand... more ... Three dimensional change? The relationship between theory, policy and adults' understanding of literacies. Research in Post‐Compulsory Education , 8(1): 123–36. [Taylor & Francis Online] View all references; Ade‐Ojo 20083. Ade‐Ojo, G. 2008. ...
The broad aim of this paper is to track the evolution of adult literacy
policy in the UK across t... more The broad aim of this paper is to track the evolution of adult literacy policy in the UK across three decades, highlighting convergences between policy phases and the promotion of democratic learning spaces. It is anchored onto the argument that, although it is generally accepted that democratic learning spaces are perceived as beneficial to adult literacy learners, policy has often deterred its promotion and, therefore, implementation. The paper identifies three block phases of adult literacy development: the seventies to mid-eighties, the mid-eighties to mid-nineties and the mid-nineties to the Moser Committees. The features of each of these phases are highlighted to map out convergences and divergences to the ethos of democratic learning spaces. The paper argues that, with the evolution of policy in adult literacy, the ethos of democratic learning space continuously diminished, such that as policy evolved year on year, the principle of democratic learning space found itself at counterpoint to policy. We draw on two theoretical frameworks, the NLS view of literacy and Bourdieu’s capital framework to explain these divergences and conclude that the dominant perception of literacy and the prioritised capital in the context of policy appear to limit the vestiges of democratic learning spaces
The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring socia... more The study draws on life history, literacy studies, and ethnographic approaches to exploring social practices as a frame to explore the narratives of two UK adult literacy learners who provide a description of the value or otherwise of their engagement with a transformative curriculum and pedagogical approach. Whilst one of the learners reveals his frustration at the lack of transformative opportunities in his learning programme, the other offers illustration of how transformative learning can be encouraged and how it can actually transform the life of its beneficiaries. In essence, both case studies highlight some requirements of transformative learning. Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capitals, and habitus are applied; the critical elements of these concepts essentially being tools for consciousness raising and increasing the flow of capitals, including linguistic capital, which challenge the notion of spoilt identities based on neoliberal individual accountability that fails to address the structures and hierarchies of power.
Chapter One
This chapter critically engages with philosophical drivers of education and considers... more Chapter One This chapter critically engages with philosophical drivers of education and considers how they inform and shape educational polices and specifically adult literacy. Value positions are exposed through the prism of two broad educational philosophical constructs of instrumentalism and libertarianism. In this context, specific attention is paid to differing conceptions of ethics, and the divergent ideas of human being that these generate. We relate this to ideas and debates within these areas for current issues in educational policy and practice. In specific terms, such libertarian values as intuitionism are held at counterpoint to the various strands of rationalist value in education. Emerging from this, policy manifestations such as progressive and child-centred education, liberalism, radical and libertarian educational traditions; equality are juxtaposed with instrumentalist values such as hedonism, solutionism and survivalism, which are usually manifested in privatization and marketization- centred policies. Following the exposition of these value positions, we explore the potential relationship between these positions and literacy policy and practice.
Drawing on philosophical, sociological and economic lenses, this chapter tracks the value positio... more Drawing on philosophical, sociological and economic lenses, this chapter tracks the value positions that could be associated with the changing policies and events in the field of adult literacy in the UK over the last four decades. We commence the analysis of policy evolution from the 1970s, largely because this was the period when adult literacy started filtering into policy discourse. The analysis will be constructed around three broad periods: the 70s to the early 80s, the early 80s to the mid 90s and the mid 90s through Moser to date. The blocks are not arbitrary, as they are informed by major policy events and pronouncements. In analysing each period, although there will be a recording of historical facts, the major focus will be on the perceived underpinning values informing policy direction, as well as the implication for practice which includes the vocationalisation and marketization of the literacy provision.
Adult Literacy, policy, philosophy, marketization, sociology of education
This chapter draws on empirical research, which includes rich data from interviews with members o... more This chapter draws on empirical research, which includes rich data from interviews with members of a policy development committee to identify the underpinning value positions that drove the Moser Report, one of the major policy initiatives in the field of adult literacy in the last decade. Moving from the central Skills for Life policy to previous and subsequent policies, we argue that this period saw the consolidation of the influence of the instrumental/human capital value position in adult literacy. Literacy being thus expressed for example as ‘functional’ skills and driven by the premise of a ‘knowledge economy’. Within this philosophical stance one of the most significant duties given to education is to provide a flexible, adaptable and skilled workforce to make countries competitive in the globalised economy. It focuses on education for work positions, education as a commodity, and pays no regard to issues of economic, political and social equality.
Adult Literacy, policy, empirical data, instrumental and human capital, value positions
This chapter explores potential alternatives to the dominant philosophy, policy and practice. Inf... more This chapter explores potential alternatives to the dominant philosophy, policy and practice. Informed by sociological and critical educational frames that recognise the political, social, and economic factors that conspire to marginalise learners, it offers a transformative approach to adult literacy whilst also locating the model in an underpinning philosophy. Rich empirical data from practice is probed to offer a justification to the recognition accorded the model. The analysis argues that a different value position to the dominant curriculum, could yield a different approach to practice. This is illustrated with transformative and emancipatory literacy, which derives its values from a libertarian, equality and justice base (as against an instrumentalist base). We expose how changes to policy and practice would inform and shape the literacy curriculum and indeed pedagogy; a central driver we suggest being adult education/literacy dis-entangling itself from neoliberal fusion and creating critical space for contextualised and emancipatory learning.
Introduction
This chapter will draw conclusions on the ways in which we must respond to the deman... more Introduction This chapter will draw conclusions on the ways in which we must respond to the demands of the twenty-first century, how we must position literacy through specific curricula in order to make it acceptable to funders and to enable it to meet the impending and emergent challenges. Drawing on the previous chapters the key theme will be ‘what’s next?’. The word ‘literacy’ can have many meanings and what is meant by the term is influenced by the words around it. Within this book we can see many meanings as ‘literacy’ is juxtaposed with several other terms. The book starts out from a basic question which has been at the heart of Literacy Studies for more than 20 years: What is literacy? The question can be constantly re-asked in the chapters of the book. At the same time the chapters go forwards by locating discussions around literacy in contemporary issues and by linking in with other areas.
The International Journal of Multidisciplinary Comparative Studies, Jul 1, 2014
This special issue of the International journal of multidisciplinary comparative studies (IJMCS) ... more This special issue of the International journal of multidisciplinary comparative studies (IJMCS) is drawn from the papers presented at the week-long Research Workshop, run by Literacy Research and Development Centre (LRDC) at the University of Greenwich. The papers were accompanied with a series of seminars sharing research informed teaching and learning strategies in adult literacy to promote employability. Playing host to adult literacy teachers and researchers from a variety of different education settings in Europe, the Workshop aimed to facilitate a discussion on how to design literacy curricula to meet the needs of both learners and employers. As highlighted by Ade-Ojo and Duckworth (2014), the notion of what constitutes literacy (that being the ideologies interpolated into it) is not static; it has a changing ideological historical thread which has encompassed an embodiment of a trinity; perceptions/theory, policy and practice. Each aspect of the trinity has in some way fed into the emergence of the other parts of the trinity. However, with the changing of time and political landscapes, the relationship between the three components of this trinity has not necessarily been consistent. In recent times, nonetheless, we would suggest that the relationship amongst the components of the trinity has become more evident following the seminal contribution Street (1984, 1993) made on the autonomous and ideological models of literacy, and similar voices on perceptions and models of literacy which have persistently echoed across the globe. Contributions from Barton (1994) on the ecology of language, Barton and Hamilton (2000) on social literacy, Gee (1998a and 1998b), Lankshear (1999) Luke (1992) and indeed the New Literacies group, have been consistent with the injunction that observations of literacy must take into account the social nature of literacy which must, therefore, be seen as a social practice. Literacy for learners, therefore, must be situated in the learners’ real life and everyday practices. Illustrating how this has been enacted in the classroom, products such as teaching and learning resources developed by learners have been used in several instances to capture and give meaning to their experience, motivation and aspirations. In other instances, these products have been co-produced with the teacher (see McNamara 2007; Duckworth 2008; 2013) to the same end. This has promoted what might amount to a paradigmatic departure from learning outcomes that arise purely from a prescriptive pre-set curriculum that echoes Freire’s (1974) banking education concept.
More importantly, however, Literacy education has been shown to enhance confidence, contribute to personal development, promote health, social and political participation and lead to benefits in the public and private domains of learners’ lives (Duckworth 2013, 14). In the context of the trinity at paly in the field of literacy, we would suggest that the dominant component of the trinity at this stage has remained ideologically-driven policy. Practice has continued to be controlled by policy which is perhaps even more entrenched because of the funding associated to it and perhaps because of the different perceptions of literacy held by policy makers. Globally we are now faced with radical challenges with fundamental changes to society and economies particularly with the rise of the knowledge economy, which is attendant to development and globalization. Indeed, in an age of globalisation and neoliberalism, theliteracy curriculum may be viewed as a product of market driven changes. Illustrating this alliance to market driven initiative, the hitherto dominant Skills for Life agenda in the UK has now evolved into a functional Literacy approach, which reflects the roles that have now been ascribed to literacy, and a changing perception of literacy as the cause rather than the symptom of a range of social malaises (Ade-Ojo, 2011). Consequently, the Functional Skills agenda is defined by its social purposes, in which there is an alignment between individual skills, the performance and needs of society, the global economy and economic productivity. There is no doubt that a varied range of responses and strategies will continue to emerge in response to these compelling social settings. Perhaps as a part of one such response, this special issue asks what ways the curriculum can be developed and implemented to promote Employability through Specific Literacies. This is crucial in the current post-depression era and the drive towards using employment to drive the desired economic recovery. The goal, therefore, is to explore the concept of specific literacy in the context of developing employability skills. In essence, each paper develops the specific literacy they are associated with (academic, information, assessment of prior learning etc) and discusses how these literacies might help to promote employability skills. As an overarching position, we would argue that literacies matter, and helping individuals increase their literacy is important for improving their choices both in the private and public domains of people’s lives, which includes opening labour market opportunities and more importantly, providing choices in terms of what is available and desired by learners. The six different papers that are collected in this issue all draw on and respond to different elements of what can be seen as a broad debate around Employability through Specific Literacies and draw on a range of contexts from the public sector, local and wider workforce, further and higher education, and from different national contexts.
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Papers by Prof Gordon O Ade-ojo
policy in the UK across three decades, highlighting convergences
between policy phases and the promotion of democratic learning
spaces. It is anchored onto the argument that, although it is generally
accepted that democratic learning spaces are perceived as beneficial
to adult literacy learners, policy has often deterred its promotion
and, therefore, implementation. The paper identifies three block
phases of adult literacy development: the seventies to mid-eighties,
the mid-eighties to mid-nineties and the mid-nineties to the Moser
Committees. The features of each of these phases are highlighted to
map out convergences and divergences to the ethos of democratic
learning spaces. The paper argues that, with the evolution of policy
in adult literacy, the ethos of democratic learning space continuously
diminished, such that as policy evolved year on year, the principle
of democratic learning space found itself at counterpoint to policy.
We draw on two theoretical frameworks, the NLS view of literacy
and Bourdieu’s capital framework to explain these divergences
and conclude that the dominant perception of literacy and the
prioritised capital in the context of policy appear to limit the vestiges
of democratic learning spaces
policy in the UK across three decades, highlighting convergences
between policy phases and the promotion of democratic learning
spaces. It is anchored onto the argument that, although it is generally
accepted that democratic learning spaces are perceived as beneficial
to adult literacy learners, policy has often deterred its promotion
and, therefore, implementation. The paper identifies three block
phases of adult literacy development: the seventies to mid-eighties,
the mid-eighties to mid-nineties and the mid-nineties to the Moser
Committees. The features of each of these phases are highlighted to
map out convergences and divergences to the ethos of democratic
learning spaces. The paper argues that, with the evolution of policy
in adult literacy, the ethos of democratic learning space continuously
diminished, such that as policy evolved year on year, the principle
of democratic learning space found itself at counterpoint to policy.
We draw on two theoretical frameworks, the NLS view of literacy
and Bourdieu’s capital framework to explain these divergences
and conclude that the dominant perception of literacy and the
prioritised capital in the context of policy appear to limit the vestiges
of democratic learning spaces
This chapter critically engages with philosophical drivers of education and considers how they inform and shape educational polices and specifically adult literacy. Value positions are exposed through the prism of two broad educational philosophical constructs of instrumentalism and libertarianism. In this context, specific attention is paid to differing conceptions of ethics, and the divergent ideas of human being that these generate. We relate this to ideas and debates within these areas for current issues in educational policy and practice. In specific terms, such libertarian values as intuitionism are held at counterpoint to the various strands of rationalist value in education. Emerging from this, policy manifestations such as progressive and child-centred education, liberalism, radical and libertarian educational traditions; equality are juxtaposed with instrumentalist values such as hedonism, solutionism and survivalism, which are usually manifested in privatization and marketization- centred policies. Following the exposition of these value positions, we explore the potential relationship between these positions and literacy policy and practice.
Philosophy, ideology, adult literacy, instrumentalism, libertarianism, policy
Adult Literacy, policy, philosophy, marketization, sociology of education
Adult Literacy, policy, empirical data, instrumental and human capital, value positions
Transformative literacy, empirical research, sociology of education, literacy practice, emancipatory learning
This chapter will draw conclusions on the ways in which we must respond to the demands of the twenty-first century, how we must position literacy through specific curricula in order to make it acceptable to funders and to enable it to meet the impending and emergent challenges. Drawing on the previous chapters the key theme will be ‘what’s next?’.
The word ‘literacy’ can have many meanings and what is meant by the term is influenced by the words around it. Within this book we can see many meanings as ‘literacy’ is juxtaposed with several other terms. The book starts out from a basic question which has been at the heart of Literacy Studies for more than 20 years: What is literacy? The question can be constantly re-asked in the chapters of the book. At the same time the chapters go forwards by locating discussions around literacy in contemporary issues and by linking in with other areas.
More importantly, however, Literacy education has been shown to enhance confidence, contribute to personal development, promote health, social and political participation and lead to benefits in the public and private domains of learners’ lives (Duckworth 2013, 14). In the context of the trinity at paly in the field of literacy, we would suggest that the dominant component of the trinity at this stage has remained ideologically-driven policy. Practice has continued to be controlled by policy which is perhaps even more entrenched because of the funding associated to it and perhaps because of the different perceptions of literacy held by policy makers. Globally we are now faced with radical challenges with fundamental changes to society and economies particularly with the rise of the knowledge economy, which is attendant to development and globalization. Indeed, in an age of globalisation and neoliberalism, theliteracy curriculum may be viewed as a product of market driven changes. Illustrating this alliance to market driven initiative, the hitherto dominant Skills for Life agenda in the UK has now evolved into a functional Literacy approach, which reflects the roles that have now been ascribed to literacy, and a changing perception of literacy as the cause rather than the symptom of a range of social malaises (Ade-Ojo, 2011). Consequently, the Functional Skills agenda is defined by its social purposes, in which there is an alignment between individual skills, the performance and needs of society, the global economy and economic productivity. There is no doubt that a varied range of responses and strategies will continue to emerge in response to these compelling social settings. Perhaps as a part of one such response, this special issue asks what ways the curriculum can be developed and implemented to promote Employability through Specific Literacies. This is crucial in the current post-depression era and the drive towards using employment to drive the desired economic recovery. The goal, therefore, is to explore the concept of specific literacy in the context of developing employability skills. In essence, each paper develops the specific literacy they are associated with (academic, information, assessment of prior learning etc) and discusses how these literacies might help to promote employability skills. As an overarching position, we would argue that literacies matter, and helping individuals increase their literacy is important for improving their choices both in the private and public domains of people’s lives, which includes opening labour market opportunities and more importantly, providing choices in terms of what is available and desired by learners. The six different papers that are collected in this issue all draw on and respond to different elements of what can be seen as a broad debate around Employability through Specific Literacies and draw on a range of contexts from the public sector, local and wider workforce, further and higher education, and from different national contexts.