BEST PRACTICE

A report looking at how Blackburn and Darwin Borough Council, with help from the LSC and ERDF/SRB cash, set up a Neighbourhood Learning Centre in the Queens Park and Audley areas of Blackburn and how the centre developed over its first 18 months.

This review was undertaken as part of NRDC’s work in support of experiences of adult learners who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities and who also need English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) provision. A range of theoretical, practical and research materials were collected and reviewed and a practitioner seminar held. Only very limited research has previously been undertaken in this field.

NRDC needs valid, reliable and manageable assessment instruments for its own research and development programmes in support of Life such instruments. This report was therefore commissioned to provide a review of existing instruments for assessing adult literacy and numeracy. About 15 instruments were analysed. The overall conclusion was that none was fully suitable for NRDC’s research programme.

This report reviews UK and international research and related literature on adult numeracy. It first considers conceptual issues in adult numeracy in the context of education as a research domain, reviews of research and the survey evidence of adults' numeracy skills.

It then examines numeracy in context, which includes its context and transfer, the investigation of the use of athematics in everyday life, mathematics and employment and financial literacy.

A review of research, an annotated bibliography and recommendations for future research.

Systematic reviews of controlled trials relevant to adult literacy and numeracy, plus an ‘expert’ review, were undertaken by NRDC as part of its work in support of complementary answers to the question ‘What is known from research about effective pedagogy?’ The scoping and systematic reviews provide rigorously derived answers to the question ‘What factors in teaching cause adult learners to make progress in adult literacy and numeracy?’

This research examines relationships between rurality and the interest of employers in adult literacy and numeracy training for employees, in small businesses in rural areas of Lincolnshire and Rutland.

This is a report of the scoping and pilot studies conducted between September 2002 and June 2003 as part of a longitudinal study that aims to examine the effectiveness of workplace linked literacy, language and numeracy programmes.

This review of the literature suggests that individuals benefit significantly from improving their levels of literacy and numeracy. The evidence on the benefits to employers of investing in basic skills training is very sparse, although some studies have indicated that such benefits may include increases in productivity, reductions in costs and enhanced customer satisfaction.

This project set out to obtain a picture of present teaching practice in the use of ICT in adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL within formal provision. Working closely with tutor-researchers, we drew up procedures for carrying out classroom observations and then carried out detailed observations of classrooms using ICT in adult literacy, numeracy or ESOL.

This review describes UK and international research on ESOL in the workplace. It first outlines some of the distinctive characteristics of this research. It then examines current research theories and methodologies. Finally, it considers future directions in research and ways in which they need to reflect the changing and widening role of ESOL in the workplace.

This exploratory study of adult learners’ difficulties with reading was carried out by NRDC as part of the Centre’s work in support of 53 learners were assessed, sessions in which they participated were observed, and tutors were interviewed. The findings showed a wide range of strategies being used to address reading difficulties, but less than a perfect match between learners’ difficulties and pedagogy.

This was a six-month study which investigated community-focused provision for the teaching of adult literacy, numeracy and language, a form of provision that may complement traditional provision and that may be particularly useful for reaching priority groups of learners identified in the for Life relevant previous research by conducting case studies of providers in England thought to be taking a community-focused approach.

This exploratory project was designed to gain a detailed picture of literacy and numeracy provision for physically disabled adults with learning and communication difficulties.

This paper summarises a wide-ranging review of literature on adult learning, drawing out the different models of adult learning in existence and the significance of this work for research and development in adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL.

First Year Results - March 2004

This Executive Summary is based on the First Year Report from the project produced by Dr Emma Wallis and Dr Mark Stuart of the University of Leeds Business School. The full report may be accessed on the Campaign’s website at www.campaignforlearning.org.uk\equal.