Basic skills
Our institute works to improve basic skills in the adult population in the areas of literacy, numeracy and the use of ICT.
Norway has taken part in two large international surveys concerning
basic skills in the adult population; International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and Adult Literacy and Life Skill Survey (ALL).
Groups at risk
Although Norway had a high score compared to other countries, there are still a large number of adults whose basic skills need to be addressed. Depending on how the statistics are interpreted, at least 400 000 are at risk. Some facts about the scores:
- In general, the number of people with low basic skills increases with age
- Every fifth person between 16 and 20 is at risk
- Immigrants, especially from non-western countries, have a low score
- Among people with low scores, these factors occur more frequently: low levels of education, unemployment, social benefits as main income
Towards a more flexible education system
The education that has been on offer for adults with low basic skills so far is a full (condensed) primary school course. For some this will meet their needs, but for many this will be neither useful nor necessary. What many adults need, is a possibility to attend flexible education geared specifically towards the basic skills.
The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research assigned to Vox the responsibility to develop a
Framework for Basic Skills for Adults, i.e. descriptions of levels of competence for each of the basic skills that the programme comprises. All the sets of competence goals, i.e. for literacy, numeracy, ICT skills and oral communication, have now been approved by the Ministry of Education and Research.
Guidelines, tools and teacher training
In 2008, Vox is working to further develop the content of the Framework for Basic Skills for Adults, with the level descriptions as a starting point. The development is funded through the programme
Basic Competence in Working Life. Currently Vox is developing guidelines for providers, mapping tools, tests and didactic models.
In addition Vox has been assigned the responsibility to design a model for teacher training customized to the needs of teachers who teach basic skills to adults. We work in close co-operation with pedagogical experts from training seminars. Taking part in a wide range of international networks in this field, Vox will be able to draw on experiences, resources and examples from other countries in this work.
Objective
The main objective of this work is to increase the quality of teaching and ensure that individuals can get education adapted to their needs, so that every adult can attain the level of basic competence that enables him/her to meet the increased demands of today’s work and everyday life.
