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Adult Literacy
Who we are?
Adult Literacy Team sits within the Curriculum Development and Research Branch in the VET Teaching and Learning Directorate.
The Adult Literacy Team represents the interests of the individuals who may need or want to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. This work involves:
- monitoring national policy and initiatives that impact on the delivery of language literacy and numeracy programs;
- working with teachers to identify opportunities for improving student outcomes from literacy and numeracy provision;
- offering a professional development program;
- directly supporting the accredited and non-accredited literacy and numeracy courses; and
- developing new resources for teaching and learning.
The Adult Literacy Team promote an understanding of the nature and causes of adults' problems with literacy. This understanding begins with an awareness that, for many adult students, their early learning experiences may have left them with a legacy of self-doubt and unhappiness. An explanation of why some people do not do well at school is needed. The explanation is not to do with an individual failure of the learner - it is most often to do with interruptions to schooling (that were beyond the control of the child) and the lack of resources in the school to understand and meet the needs of the child whatever their situation. Many people have these experiences and when a teacher, tutor, lecturer, advisor or counsellor acknowledges this to a student, the student feels that their own lived experience is validated, and realises that their experience is not unique: it is part of a bigger social pattern.
National research indicates that around 45% of the adult population in Australia have 'poor' or 'very poor' literacy skills (Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey, ABS, 2007)
Good teaching in adult literacy is founded on an understanding of language and literacy as social practice. The student should be regarded as a user of language rather than a learner of language. Teaching should be organised around the student's needs to use language in particular ways, but will nevertheless also involve teaching the technicalities of reading, writing and maths. Reading and writing can also include the ability to access and understand information that is availabile digitally and keyboarding skills.
Programs and Services
Contact detailsLevel 2, 151 Royal St
East Perth WA 6004
Tel: (08) 9238 2434
Fax: (08) 9238 2613
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