Writing on the wall for literacy

The first national adult literacy survey, published in 1997, revealed that one in four of the Irish adult population - at least 500,000 people - scored at the lowest level of literacy on a scale of one to five. So, seven years on, what are the challenges facing the sector today?

Ann Ryle, a 47-year-old mother of one from Kerry who left school at the age of 14, cannot make up her mind what she wants to study next. Having recently completed her first certificate in communications, she has also studied reading, writing, spelling, maths and computers as an adult learner.

Ryle, who will be featured in an upcoming programme in the Read Write Now literacy series broadcast on RTÉ2, says there were a number of reasons why she left school early, but the resulting impact on her life was enormous. Since enrolling on a literacy course two years ago, she is now confident enough to write a letter, read the Golden Pages, look at the catalogue in Argos and sit down and read a book. These were all things which intimidated her before she walked through the door of her local adult education centre.

But making the decision to return to education was not an easy one. "There must be a lot of people out there that would have had a literacy problem and still have one. . . It was a daunting experience going through the front door, because I was an adult and I never thought I would go back to education," she says. "But once I went through that door, that was the hardest step."

And therein lies one of the major problems in encouraging adult learners to return to education, says Inez Bailey, director of the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA). "Every year a significant number of people leave school without a qualification and take a job. In many cases they lose their literacy and numeracy skills," she says. "We need to help people who leave school early, have gone into a job and ask 10 years later 'is this my life now?'."

Much of the progress in the adult-education sector since the publication of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in 1997 can rightly be attributed to a recognition in government circles of the social and economic importance of improving adult literacy and numeracy levels. Since the publication of this survey, funding has increased 18-fold and participation in literacy services has increased six-fold. Provision for adult literacy increased from €1 million in 1997 to €18.5 million in 2004.

Also, in 2000, the Department of Education and Science (DES) published the first White Paper on Adult Education - "Learning for Life" - which contained a national adult literacy strategy.

But while progress has been made, Bailey points out that the sector was starting from a very low base. Although innovations such as Read Write Now have succeeded in attracting significant numbers of "non-traditional learners" - of the 35,000-odd members of the general public applying for the accompanying learner pack, about half are new learners who are not associated with existing adult-education initiatives - it is not enough in its own right, she believes. The sector still suffers from inadequate funding. For example, for every €1,000 spent on education, only €3 goes to adult literacy, according to NALA. This indicates that there is a need for a fundamental shift in the attitudes attached to adult learning, Bailey believes.

While much of the debate around the creation of a so-called "knowledge economy" revolves around increased funding for third-level research, this tends to ignore the importance to the Irish economy of having a highly literate general workforce. It also gives rise to a "the more you have the more you get" mentality when it comes to education provision,Bailey believes.

One key way in which adult literacy can be addressed is through workplace literacy programmes. But again, the Government has been slow to encourage employers to get on board through the provision of paid leave to people with basic education levels.

"We have been successful in terms of increasing the resources and programmes available, but really only in a narrow way. We have expanded existing provision and come up with some innovations,"Bailey maintains. "But adults are largely motivated to engage in workplace literacy programmes if they are relevant to their career. It is a very effective way of delivering tuition to employees.

"The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment should ringfence resources for workplace-based education . . . A lot of people in unskilled work are vulnerable if the economy turns. For the jobs of the future they are going to need a basic education."

In NALA, they also believe that byencouraging parents and children to learn together, family-based initiatives can also go a long way to combating low literacy and numeracy levels among children and parents alike. This is something with which Ann Ryle readily agrees. She says the support of her family has been invaluable to her. But she still has a lot to learn. "I said to myself you've come over this huge hurdle. But I still have a long way to go. You're learning all the time."

Read Write Now: Learning from TV

Read Write Now was broadcast for the first time in 2000 on RTÉ1 and achieved an average share of 19 per cent or 136,000 viewers.

In 2001 it attracted an audience of 188,000 (16 per cent). Women over 15 were most likely to watch it, with 30 per cent of women viewers over 55.

In 2002 it had an average audience share of 11 per cent among adults aged 15 and over. It remained most popular with older people, particularly men aged 55 or over.

In 2003, the share was 10 per cent among adults aged 15 or over. The repeat series of Read Write Now has attracted 30,000 viewers. It is still most popular in Munster.

The move to RTÉ2 this year appears to have had an impact on viewing figures. The first episode of the 2004 series, broadcast last week, attracted an audience of 57,000 - a 5 per cent share.

Read Write Now is on RTÉ2 at 7.30 p.m. on Mondays (except bank holiday).

The International Adult Literacy Survey

The International Adult Literacy Survey, conducted in 1995 and published in 1997, provided Ireland with its first profile of the literacy skills of adults aged 16 to 64. There has been no similar survey conducted here since, although the Government has committed to do one by 2007. The survey found:

Approximately 25 per cent of the population - at least 500,000 adults - scored at the lowest level (level one).

A further 30 per cent of the population was at level two.

Older people had poorer performance than those in the younger age groups.

Three out of five early school leavers were at level one and only 2 to 3 per cent at levels four and five. Only 1 to 2 per cent of college graduates were at level one.

One out of five people never read a book, and needed most help in filling out forms and dealing with information from government agencies.