German Institute for Adult Education The TRAIN project and its relevance for the professional development of basic skills trainers EBSN’s Annual Conference 2012 Focus on Basic Skills Teachers and Trainers 30. May – 01. June 2012, Prague EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1 Monika Tröster

German Institute for Adult Education Rationale and Background Professionalization within literacy and basic skills is a difficult subject: Teacher and trainer have to deal with adults who are marginalized or disadvantaged. In addition to their reading and writing difficulties the students have learning problems. Teacher and trainer have to improve their knowledge about psychological and social aspects. It is necessary to develop innovative methods of teaching and learning, including interactive technologies. EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education Project Coordinator: DIE Project Partners Slovenian Institute for Adult Education, SIAE, (Slovenia) National Agency to Fight Illiteracy, ANLCI, (France) Waterford Institute for Technology, WIT, (Ireland) Cyprus Adult Education Association, CAEA, (Cyprus) Swiss Federation for Adult Learning, SVEB, (Switzerland) EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education Aims and objectives Provide the state of the art of current teacher training approaches and concepts in the participating countries Provide the state of the art in other European countries like Belgium, Great Britain and the Netherlands Explore what competences/skills do literacy/ basic education teachers need Development and implementation of five basic modules for literacy and basic education EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education Impact of the project Improving the qualification of adult education trainers in Europe (literacy and basic education) Contribution to quality improvement Promoting professionalization of practitioners Elevating the quality of literacy and basic education courses Awareness raising for new aspects and findings in the practice of training Getting an overview on current teacher training approaches and different frameworks and conditions across Europe. EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education Outputs I.Compendium: State of the Art Reports Professional Development in the Field of Literacy and Basic Education Content and Structure Development of literacy and basic education Concept for teaching literacy and basic education Review of literacy teacher competencies Good practice in the field of teacher training Prevailing problems and challenges Conclusions and recommendations Countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Scotland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Wales EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education II. Handbook: Qualification Concept for Literacy Practitioners Module 1: Social Marketing Communications (Ireland) Module 2: Principles of Adult Learning in the Field of Literacy and Basic Education – an Introduction (Cyprus) Module 3: Project Work in Literacy and Basic Education(Slovenia) Module 4: Individual Learning and ICT Skills in Literacy and Basic Education (France) Module 5: Counselling in Literacy and Basic Education (Germany ) EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education Content and Structure: Description of the target group Aims and objectives Rationale Description of content Methodological and didactical aspects/considerations Key learning points and recommendations Timed agenda Detailed work plan EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education We see increased efforts towards professionalization in all countries we have looked at Professionalization is seen as a key towards the improvement and future assurance of quality in the literacy field Professionalization rarely initiated or required by policy, but by the literacy community itself Literacy teacher courses vary substantially concerning goals, duration, qualification levels, standards, accreditation Trends EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education There are rarely any full time permanent positions for literacy teachers across Europe and there are still a lot of volunteers working in the field. Unstable working conditions for practitioners is a prevailing problem as long as there is no sustainable funding to support high level of demand for literacy courses Trends EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1

German Institute for Adult Education Monika Tröster Deutsches Institut für Erwachsenenbildung (DIE) Leibniz-Zentrum für Lebenslanges Lernen German Institute for Adult Education (DIE) Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning T: M: Contact EU Project TRAIN: CP DE-GRUNDTVIG-G1