Alphabetisierung

International stimuli. More than 25 years of literacy and basic education

A look back at the history of literacy discussions as a debate starting in the 1970s and heavily influenced by international organisations. The urgency of the subject is demonstrated at the start by international figures on the extent of illiteracy. The author sees today’s questions and issues as rooted in the 1980s and 1990s; in his overview of the German government's current funding focus he points out that there is no need to constantly reinvent the wheel. The analysis focuses particularly on the UNESCO, the OECD and national NGOs.

Literacy as a social practice in a district. An ethnographic theory for basic education practice

In German-speaking countries, the theoretical discussion on literacy work is characterised far more by a focus on deficits than is the Anglo-Saxon debate. This article narrows this theoretical gap by adopting Barton & Hamilton’s ethnographic research approach to local literacies for an empirical investigation into literacy practices. The project presented here studies how and why reading and writing are used, based on a district of Hamburg. As well as observations of writing in public spaces, there are also interviews and discussions with multipliers. The investigation creates a theoretical framework for literacy work based on people’s life-world; a type of work which has long been on the agenda in practice.

More lower rungs for the ladder. A proposal for new literacy levels

This article asks whether international models can be applied as a means of finding well-differentiated literacy levels to map skills acquired during the literacy process. To this effect, the article examines the American “component approach”, the English “entry levels” and the “lower rungs approach”. One result is that the article leans towards the means of educational diagnosis known as “formative assessment”. Based on this, the project develops “workforce literacy development” (Literalitätsentwicklung von Arbeitskräften, “lea”) literacy levels a1 to a5 and puts them up here for discussion.

The scope of literacy courses. Results of a representative survey among adult education centres

As part of the EQUALS project, the German Adult Education Association (DVV) collected statistical data on literacy courses at adult education centres; this article presents the data and compares it with figures from 1994. The number of courses has risen, as has the number of participants, but fewer institutions than before provide this service. Compared with 1994, the participants are older and there are more women. The survey, which is representative of the adult education centre sector, also determined reasons for people to drop out of courses – something which happens in eleven percent of all cases.

Educational focus group surveys. Practical experiences from the Wesermarsch district

When planning educational measures, education providers in structurally weak areas need to take into account regional peculiarities and potential course participants. For this reason, in a project in the district of Wesermarsch, the instrument of a focus group survey was used to determine people’s educational needs. This article describes the method used and experiences gained, and how the results were implemented.