Joan

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Review and evaluate a piece of literacies work with which you are familiar. Discuss the ways in which it illustrates the various theories of literacies that you have studied and, in particular, how it does or does not exemplify a social practices model; Identify the ways in which this piece of work responds to past and/or current policy and international policy and practice in adult literacies; In your evaluation reflect on how your perspective on this piece of work has formed and/or changed. This may be in the light of recent developments in the field, your study and association with other practitioners and communities of practice; Identify implications for your own further professional learning and for the development of literacies work in which you have an involvement.

I will answer this question by describing the chosen piece of literacy work. I will then discuss 2 literacy theories ( the deficit model and the social practice theory) and relate how my work includes elements of both. I will then go on and compare English and Scottish policy and demonstrate that whilst there are differences, that the differences are getting smaller in terms of accreditation. Any thoughts on how my perspective has been formed/changed will be spread throughout the essay. Finally,I will suggest implications for professional development that relate to how we define literacy,how we relate it to ICT and how we need better training in listening and talking to learners.

I have decided to use my work with an individual learner as a way of answering this assignment. The learner in question suffered a stroke and, as a result of brain trauma, lost the ability to read. Originally self employed, his stroke meant that he could no longer play a part in running his business and depended entirely on his wife for many things such dealing with the mail. He was forced to give up the business and find alternative employment. It was at this point that my learner realised that he had to address his problems with reading and writing and asked for help from the Essential Skills team in Moray.

After an initial meeting,an individual learning plan was drawn up. This identified both his long term goals, his short term goals and the most immediate priorities – relearning to read. Discussion led to him agreeing to try a phonics-based reading programme. At the time of the meeting I had no real experience of phonics but was aware that another tutor had experienced some success with this approach when working with a learner who had also suffered brain trauma. My learner differed from other learners in that he had lost most of the skills, knowledge and understanding that he would have normally brought to reading. I reasoned that phonics, with its building block approach might be a way of tackling the problem. A discussion ensued. I was honest about my lack of experience with phonics and explained that it would be a learning curve for both of us. I explained how it had been successfully used with another learner and asked if he would consider using it. I explained that, if he felt it didn’t work, that we would review the situation and change our strategy. He agreed and so we’ve been meeting once a week on a 1;1 basis for the past few months.

During this time, he has managed to find part-time cleaning work in a bakery. His employers are aware of his reading difficulties and have been supportive. So far, the sessions have gone well and my learner has made good progress in what will be a long journey. At the end of each session, time is set aside for us both to reflect on what happened and what the next session will focus on. This is still difficult for my learner. I feel that he is not used to thinking and giving opinions about his learning. Answers are short and repetitive. I hope that over time he will get better at this. For both of us, it is a learning curve. He is relearning how to read. I am learning how to use phonics and work with someone with a brain trauma. We are both setting out on uncharted territory. Soon, we will do a review which will help us determine how much progress is being made and if the goals in the individual learning plan are being realised. It is an opportunity for the learner to look back and compare ‘then’ with ‘now’ and to identify the progress he has made, how he has done this, what has caused him problems and how he has used what he has learned in his individual, family, community or work life.

Before this assignment, I would have said that many features of this literacy work exemplify a social practice model of literacy in that the aforementioned practices identify literacy goals situated in the social contexts of individual motivation, family life, community engagement and work. The learner is not working towards formal accreditation. There has been discussion and negotiation and there are no time constraints on his learning. However, I am aware that phonics is more closely related to the deficit model theory of literacy in that it uses artificially constructed text.

Before I can relate different literacy theories to this piece of work, it would be helpful to examine what is meant by both the deficit model and the social practice model of literacy. Given the restrictions regarding the length of this assignment, I will concentrate on some but not all aspects of the social practice model of literacy.

Crowther, J, Hamilton, M. et al point out that, at the beginning of the 21st century, the deficit model predominated. ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001) This theory sees humans as ‘empty vessels’. Individuals are defined by what they don’t know rather than what they bring to the learning experience. Barton ( 2002) suggests that powerful institutions such as school and church believe that ‘some literacies are more dominant, visible and influential than others. (Barton 2002, p2) They define what literacy is, in other words. The deficit model theory is situated within and modelled on the practices of school where individuals are defined by where they are placed on the educational ladder. Bernstein’s Performance Model relates how literacy is formal and graded with specific ‘competence criteria where the learner has ‘little control over selection, sequence and pace of learning while the teacher has positional control’. Learning takes place in ‘clearly marked’ learning sites and larger classes produce ‘economies of external control’. The focus is on a deficit rather than on the ‘presences of difference.’ ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001, p99) Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al suggest that it is a theory of literacy influenced more by literacy league tables rather than ‘research and practice into the meanings of literacy and what it means to work with literacy students’( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001, p1)

In contrast, the social practice theory of literacy suggests that literacy is rooted in social context and that we circumnavigate daily events using a range of communciation resources including language and text.( Barton 2002). Street suggests that it is important to take into account the fact that learning can be a mixture of language and non-linguistic elements.The traditional linking of literacy to grammar, for example, has got to be re-examined given the importance of ICT in today’s world. ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001, p14) Literacy is a social practice shaped by both the internal response that individuals bring and the external influences of ideologies and social identities. Literacy events or everyday activities take place in both formal and informal settings such as school or home. Learning, by extension, occurs both formally and informally. Barton ( 2002) further proposes that ‘within a given culture, there are different literacies associated with different domains of life’. Barton suggests that literacy practices are influenced by powerful social institutions and the rules that go with them. He further suggest that there is a hierarchy of literacy practices and that ‘some literacies are more dominant, visible and influential than others’. ( Barton 2002, p2). For example, formal institutions such as school will favour ‘dominant literacy practices’ over informal or vernacular literacies. (Barton 2002, p 4) However, how does /does not my work exemplify a social practices model? Since undertaking this assignment, I am aware that my work does both. For example, I am now aware that some people may link phonics to the ‘deficit model’ of literacy and that it has little to do with reading for meaning. However, it is a medical fact that my learner has lost most ( but not all) of the skills and knowledge needed for reading. It is also a fact that this approach has been successful with another learner with a similar brain injury. It’s important to remain open to different methods and to acknowledge other practitioners’ experiences and to remember that all learners are different and need different strategies. I realise that the text in phonics material is artificial and limited in terms of social context. However, it does allow him to slowly build up skills and move on to texts that are situated in the real world. As time goes on, he may incorporate numeracy and ICT into the learning sessions – all things which link into Barton’s idea of literacy as drawing on a range of communication resources. I know that reading is not a set of technical aptitudes but simply one means whereby my learner can navigate different life events. I am aware that literacy is about complex capabilities and that learners now have to ‘read’ a range of semiotic ‘languages.’ I just feel that, given his individual circumstances, phonics is the first step towards using the social practice theory.

Moving on from this, I feel that the discussion and negotiation that takes place in the learning session and which includes the filling in of individual learning plans, learner record sheets and reviews, are ways in which my work __aspires__ to the social practice theory. All of the above are ways in which both tutor and learner identify and document the informal practices that my learner brings with him.They should help learner and tutor work towards getting rid of ‘power over’ relationships and establishing ones that are about ‘power with’. ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001, p168) Norton’s chapter in Powerful Literacies makes the point that empowerment involves consultation with the learner and active participation in the learning process. It involves listening to what is both said/unsaid. ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001) Discussion, negotiation and consultation involve participation from both the tutor and learner. Norton suggests that they are a means whereby power is shared and whereby learners gain the skills, knowledge and confidence to be empowered.

The reality often falls short of the aspiration. At present, my learner relies on me to fill in the record sheets. He relies on me to copy down his words, to read them back to him and to record any changes without my having interpreted them in my own words.This is a process open to danger. All of the above need time and developing expertise if change is to happen. Learners often find it difficult or are unused to voicing opinions. However, the opportunity for doing so is there to make the process more likely.

Before I can relate this piece of literacy work to past and/or current policy and international policy and practice, it would be useful to look at similarities and compare differences regarding the policies and practices of both Scotland and England.

New educational initiatives were seen in both countries and concepts of ‘lifelong learning, the knowledge economy and the knowledge society’( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001, p23) were shared. Policies in both countries were influenced by the findings of the International Adult Literacy Survey ( Scottish Executive, 2001).

However, how are they different from each other?

Recently, the Further and Higher Education Act of 1992 and the adoption of an accreditation framework for Adult Basic Education in England has brought about a move towards policies linked to ‘national vocational qualifications’ and national training objectives. ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001,p250.) In contrast to the 1:1 and small group tuition of the 70’s, two thirds of delivery now takes place in further education colleges by paid professionally trained staff. The 1999 National Literacy Strategy for England focusses on formal accreditation with a core curriculum and national qualifications. Street ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001, p14 ) argues that the National Literacy Strategy in England emphasises rules and grammar. Learner involvement is more likely to be passive. Finally, Hamilton, J, Hamilton, M et al point out that government policy seeks to integrate rather than isolate adult basic education by linking it to other providers such as the University for Industry and a central funding agency( the Learning and Skills Council). ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001).

What about Scotland? Previously, literacy agencies such as the Scottish Adult Literacy Agency and SABEU sought to situate learning in a social and political context by extending the definition of literacy to include skills such as life management and learning for democratic participation. Recent Scottish policy wording still encompasses a broader definition of literacy. The Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland Report 2001 provides guidelines for literacy policy influenced by Barton’s social practices account of adult literacy and numeracy.(Scottish Executive 2001) Linked to a curriculum framework that is ‘negotiable and ‘open’ to the needs and aims of learners, this strategy document links learning to ‘the contexts they experience in their private, community and working lives’.(Scottish Executive 2001, p11) Learning will utilise the existing skills, knowledge and understanding of learners. Hamilton points out that, in contrast to England, Scottish delivery relied heavily on volunteer tutors working with individual students and that centres rather than homes were where learning took place. ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001).

In Scotland, adult literacy provision is still very much the responsibility of local authorities and funding levels are now at their discretion__.__ The gentleman’s agreement that previously existed in relation to funding adult literacy delivery no longer exists. Moray Council’s recent Single Outcome Agreement acknowledges that some outcomes will be affected by the availability of funding.( Moray Council 2009) However, the duty of local authorities to deliver adult literacy has been very generally defined.This,coupled with the broader Scottish definition of adult literacy and a series of funding cuts in the 80’s and 90’s, has made it possible for local authorities to interpret their remit differently. For example, Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al point out that in some local authorities,the profile of adult literacy disappeared or played a lesser role alongside mainstream community education. Some local authorities used the broader definition to prioritise programmes that included ICT. Crowther,J., Hamilton, M. et al further point out that only a minority of councils increased their commitment to adult literacy. ( Crowther, J., Hamilton, M. et al. 2001). They point out that the different approaches taken by local authorities has resulted in negative criticism from the National Development Project’s 2000 Survey of Programmes. They also point to the COSLA 1998 report which suggests a 40% reduction in the number of adult literacy and numeracy learners between 1992 and 1998. With the removal of separate funding streams to local authorities, adult literacy provision is now more vulnerable than ever.

However, how does my work respond to current policy? I work on a 1:1 basis with my learner. As an Adult Learning Co-ordinator in Moray, most but not all of the delivery is done by myself, with the rest carried out by volunteer tutors. Although volunteer tutors play a larger role in delivery in other parts of Moray, paid professionals nevertheless play a large part in delivery. In my area, the work patterns and geographic isolation make it more difficult to establish group work. As a result, most of the provision is on a 1:1 basis.However, learners are given the option of whether they want to learn in a group or not. In Moray, Essential Skills funding levels have been maintained and have not been affected by the removal of the gentleman’s agreement. Recent suggestions to move the Essential Skills team away from Educational Services have been abandoned.Setting adult literacy within a curriculum framework has seen several developments.The Essential Skills team now offers accreditation to its learners. I currently am working with 2 learners who are working at SCVQ level 3 in Communication. All of the Essential Skills team are now training to be A1 assessors. They have also taken part in a number of SQA training sessions so that they are better informed about accreditation.The implication is clear to me that delivery in Moray will be more accreditation-focussed. However, learners still have choice regarding their learning goals. They don’t have to take on accredited learning goals. There is no indication that that will change.

At present, my learner is working towards his individual learning goals. It is true to say that, as time goes on, I may offer him accreditation as I am now expected to look for accreditation opportunities. Although core skills are supposed to use texts situated in the learner’s own interests and experiences, there may well be conflict between the learner’s needs and what the curriculum dictates.

What are the implications for my further professional development and for the work in which I am involved?

This assignment has made me realise that those involved in delivery must themselves rethink what the word ‘literacy’ means to them. If learning occurs within a range of semiotic languages that includes both linguistic and non-linguistic elements, then there are implications in terms of ICT training. I am very aware that ICT training must be made available to tutors ( myself definitely included!) and that they themselves should perceive it to be an integral part of delivery. I also realise that I need to have more opportunities for learning about how to listen and about how to encourage learners how to express themselves. This does come up in the PDA ITALL course but in a very minimal way. Personal experience with learners has let me see that this is a long process and that any extra training would really help. If the social practice theory is to have a real impact, this must be focussed more and in a better way than at present.

Finally, I have already mentioned the way in which the curriculum framework has already affected my professional development in terms of accreditation. Future professional development may well be linked to the need for the Essential Skills team to produce evidence of learner progression by the production of statistics relating to accreditation.