Politiken der Grundbildung im internationalen Vergleich

This article investigates the internationally-comparative question how basic education policy is understood at the national level of policy formulation (policy), and how this basic education policy is – taking into account the institutional rules and responsibilities of the multi-level-system (polity) – implemented by a constellation of actors into national education policy (politics). On the basis of empirical data from the project “EU-Alpha”, the interplay of policy, polity and politics in basic education policy in England, the Netherlands, Austria and Turkey is examined. The article identifies different governance structures in the respective countries and describes differences from policy formulation to implementation for a deepening understanding. In addition, the article provides suggestions for further research questions dealing with conditions of “successful” policies and possibly explaining effects of governance structures on the level and distribution of basic skills in the adult population.

Adult education increasingly occupies the center of education policy and hence the corresponding governance aspirations on the national, supra- and international level. Large-scale-assessment studies, like PIAAC, further raised public attention for adult education with a focus on the low educated. This study analyzes overall and spatial participation in adult education in the national context using multi-level modeling. Using data from the European Labour Force Survey 2013 it shows that (1) the amount of national educational expenditure is positively correlated with participation in adult education, (2) the disadvantage of low qualified decreases with increasing educational expenditure.

This paper draws on three data sources – a national survey from Germany of adult literacy and numeracy skills (leo. – Level-One Study), the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC), and case studies of workplaces in England – to argue for a greater focus by policymakers and researchers on the literacy demand experienced by adults.
We consider the heterogeneity of the population of adults deemed functionally illiterate by large-scale national and international surveys and question how such a large group of adults are indeed able to function in society. We draw on concepts of literacy practices and the literate environment to try to understand the demands on adults’ reading and writing and suggest that adults with poor literacy skills may be reluctant to engage in learning because they experience very low demand. Engagement in literate practices is an important mechanism through which literacy is improved and developed. If the demands on many adults’ literacy are so low, their skills may decline/fail to develop, leaving a large sub-class excluded from the literate environment and relying on others for interpretation and access to information. This vicious circle of underuse and consequent loss of skills should be a major concern for policy makers.

The article focuses the question whether workforce literacy strategies in research and policies may tend to exclude relevant fields of literacy, which have emancipatory chances for participants, but which regularly fail in including low qualified or literate adults, namely the area of basic civic education. The relevance of basic civic education will be discussed using contemporary theories, which point at a crisis of democracy and explain this by the spread of income and capital and its legitimation. Further detail is provided by using Rosanvallons criticism on the term “equality of chances”. The everyday unfairness, covered by the narrative of equal chances, leads to peoples’ disengagement with reciprocal relations and solidarity within a society. This theoretical approach will be underpinned with empirical data from the PIAAC dataset which relate literacy on the one hand with variables on political efficacy, social trust and volunteering on the other hand. Results will be compared with volunteer and youth surveys. Furthermore, the connection of a nouveau droite and peoples’ low feelings of political efficacy will be reflected in order to fight back the stereotype, marginalized groups would automatically become voters of right-wing populists.

The JDC (Defence and Citizenship Day) has become an essential element in the fight against illiteracy in France. It not only furnishes annual statistics for national, regional and local policy evaluation, but also identifies those young adults within a entire cohort (mostly 17–19) who need help with their literacy skills, so that they can be referred to by support organisations.
It is difficult to assess very precisely the impact of post-JDC actions carried out by JDC partners. Neither the JDC tests nor the post-JDC actions are perfect, but through growing cooperation between the numerous stakeholders federated with the JDC the efficiency of each partner increases, and the global effort becomes more productive. The JDC impact is far more than literacy test results. It is also the discovery of other partners, the exchange of points of view and practices, the research into coordination of action to increase global effectiveness.
The JDC experience shows that it is possible to investigate literacy problems, and to identify instances of illiteracy in a nationwide programme that is not principally literacy-oriented. This is a way to make public investment more efficient and to create support for synergies between organizations working in the literacy field.

The author discusses the influence of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) on the literacy education field in Canada. Methodology is holistic and centred around critical policy analysis. Finds Canada invested heavily in the surveys and has not yet changed policy or practice in response to the findings. Two reasons for lack of influence are suggested: the difficulty of comparing literacy survey results over time, and the lack of federal investment in the organisations capable of putting the results into practice. Concludes with suggestions for bringing PIAAC and practice closer together.

This contribution deals with the definition of adult basic education and its entanglement with interests and power relations in the field of public education administration of the German Laender. As the New Literacy Studies view literacy as a social practice that is related to interests and power relations, guided interviews concerning the definition of adult basic education as well as legitimising rationales from the perspective of education administration were illustrated. The interviews are based on a subject-logical approach and interpretations are linked to Neo-Institutionalism and Bourdieu’s theory on the state as a field of power. The findings show that the definition of adult basic education is not only grounded in general objectives such as participation and learning, but also responsibilities and financial rationales play a significant role in shaping the concept of adult basic education. Thus, dominant concepts of adult basic education are – in contrast to broader definitions – limited to reading, writing and numeracy.

Literacy as specified in the recent PIAAC survey (OECD 2013) is separated into competence levels. This allows a comparison of adults performing on literacy Level I and below versus those performing on Level IV and above. The PIAAC survey also contains variables on participation in adult education. Core findings confirm the Matthew effect for participation rates, but not for training hours.