Setting the Context Dr Steve O’Brien (ALOA Conference, Ambassador Hotel, Cork, 13-14 October, 2016)

How is the Adult Literacy service funded? Department of Education and Skills SOLAS Education and Training Board Adult Literacy and Basic Education

ETBs provide classes in… Read, Write, Spell Numeracy e.g. Money and budgeting Learning e.g. Helping with Homework Technology e.g. Beginners computers Personal Development e.g. Time for Me English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) Workplace Education Themed Literacy e.g. Learning through Gardening Volunteer Tutor Training Literacy Awareness Training Refugee Resettlement Programme

The IALS,1997 and the OECD, 2013 Reports 25% of adults score at Level 1 60% of adults who leave school without Junior Certificate score at Level 1 20% of people never read a book 60% of people never use a library OECD, 2013 – The OECD Adult Skills Survey shows that 1 in 6 Irish adults are at or below level 1 Ireland ranks 15th out of 24 participating countries Just over 25% (763,969) of Irish adults score at or below Level 1 for numeracy Ireland ranks 18th out of 24 countries

DES figures relating to AL learner cohorts (2016) Literacy students in group tuition – 37,928 Literacy students in 1:1 tuition – 2,625 ITABE (Intensive tuition) – 2,960 ESOL – 13,232 Refugee Resettlement – 559 Skills for Work – 3,053 [The OECD Adult Skills Survey, 2013 confirms the consistent findings from other studies that people with lowest skill levels also have experienced low educational attainment, earn less income, are more likely to be unemployed and have poorer health].

My own ‘learning about learning’ context…

On becoming innovative leaders in education… Learning from you and with you over the next two days… ‘Capturing’ our own experiences can: Be most affirming, rewarding, collegial and educational Enable a common language to form, an educational philosophy to advance Be creative and imaginative, be disseminated in democratic and dynamic ways Facilitate new (‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’) networks of support Give qualitative ‘substance’ to the important work we do Provide qualitative avenues of assessment, ‘accountability’, ‘performance’ Advance pedagogical repertoire and standing

On becoming innovative leaders in education… Learning from you and with you over the next two days… ‘Capturing’ our own experiences can still present significant challenges not least in the areas of: Communication (to ourselves and others) Power structures (e.g. funding, regional distribution of ‘access’) Competing sector values (e.g. education-economy relations) Priorities (e.g. individual, social or national ‘interests’) Measuring ‘accountability’ and ‘performativity’ (how can ‘outcomes’ be best measured?, what is learning ‘success’ for our learner cohorts) CPD and infrastructural needs Developing an integrated approach to FET - a ‘unity of diversity’ approach both within FET and beyond (e.g. Budget 2017) The strategic direction of the ALOA (an inclusive approach to AL provision with ‘horizontal’ partners much like and unlike the Apprenticeship Council?; online and face-to-face teaching?; a unique vision for educating for basic literacy and numeracy needs?; clear statements on ‘what makes one an innovative leader in Adult Literacy and Basic Education?’)

What are your priority areas for a L&N strategy 2016-2020? Key to that last point on the strategic direction of the ALOA and towards a national FET plan… Over to you… What are your priority areas for a L&N strategy 2016-2020?

The importance of Cathy’s, Alison’s, Maria’s and Mary’s grounded perspectives