International Perspectives on Adult Literacy Education
Adult Literacy Education in Industrialized Countries
Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Below are a few sample
articles from the OECD web pages
Recognition
of Non-formal and Informal Learning
19-July-2006
Formal learning: Refers to learning through a programme
of instruction in an educational institution, adult training centre or in
the workplace, which is generally recognised in a qualification or a certificate.
Non-formal learning: Refers to learning through a programme but it is not
usually evaluated and does not lead to certification.
Informal learning: Refers to learning resulting from daily work-related, family
or leisure activities. In 1996, the OECD education ministers agreed to develop
strategies for 'lifelong learning for all'.
The approach has been endorsed by ministers of labour, ministers of social
affairs and the OECD Council at ministerial level.
The concept of ‘from cradle to grave’ includes formal, non-formal,
and informal learning. It is an approach whose importance may now be clearer
than ever.
How far have we come? Typically, learning that occurs outside formal education
is not well understood, made visible or appropriately valued. This hinders
overall benefits of ‘lifelong learning for all’ by focusing only
on learning outcomes from formal education, instead of valuing all types of
learning outcomes or allowing portability of such outcomes between formal,
non-formal and informal learning.
The recognition of non-formal and informal learning is an important means
for making the ‘lifelong learning for all’ agenda a reality and,
subsequently, for reshaping learning to better match the needs of the 21st
century knowledge economies and open societies.
Many countries face
the problem of establishing standards for teaching, curriculum, and for reporting
outcomes. Below are links to some sites which describe these standards by
country.
Thematic
Review on Adult Learning - Germany: Country Note
24-Mar-2006
The main purpose of the thematic review on adult learning is to understand
adults’ access and participation in education and training and to enhance
policies and approaches to increase incentives for adults to undertake learning
activities in OECD countries
Governments
should do more to help adults retain, develop skills
12/05/2005 "... surveys showed that parents’ levels of
education had a significant impact on the literacy scores of their children,
with young people aged 16 to 25 whose parents had low levels of education
performing less well than their counterparts whose parents had higher educational
attainments. "
International
Standards
Australia
National Reporting System
Canada
Canadian Language Benchmarks (ESL)
New Zealand
Key Competencies and Draft Descriptive Standards
United Kingdom
(UK)
Basic Skills
National Standards for Adult Literacy, Numeracy, and ICT
United States
In the United States, there are many sets of standards at the state level. Some states have chosen
a set of curriculum standards developed by the National Institute for Literacy
called Equipped For the Future.
Content Standards
in Adult ESL
Content Standards
WareHouse: The Adult Education
Content Standards Warehouse project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education's
Office of Vocational and Adult Education, was designed to help states progress
in the development, and alignment of state content standards. Users can
search and retrieve standards documents, explore specific content within
any given set of standards, and generate reports to show multiple standards
within a discipline. The Warehouse includes content standards in English
language acquisition (ELA), mathematics, and reading.Although the project
has ended, the warehouse continues to be updated as new states develop standards
in the above disciplines.
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