|
Skills: a question of life |
PDF |
| Print | |
|
Teresa La Marca
|
05.03.2008 |
Science -
Articles
[en]
|
|
International and national studies have shown that Italians aged between 16-65 are lacking in "life skills", essential because of the complex nature of society. Can the tools used to study literacy levels in the adult population provide the key to a kind of education which meets real training needs rather than virtual ones ? We asked one of Italy’s leading experts in adult education for his assessment.
"Life Skills" are essential in order to cope with the complexity of modern life. In Italy, with a very low level of instrumental literacy, (around 1.4% according to ISTAT data) paradoxically we are witnessing a regressive trend in the culture of the population. We find ourselves faced with a fairly high level of “functional literacy”, (around 30/40% of the population). The mastery of “life skills” - everyday problem solving, literacy and numeracy skills - is therefore not taken for granted nor directly connected with the ownership of formal qualifications. In other words, a high school diploma, or even a degree, does not give the whole picture in terms of life skills. By identifying the actual skills possessed by the population, it is possible to bridge the divide between the virtual cultural profile, on the basis of which educational activities are organised, and the real one. Comparative international studies on the skills of the population aged 16-65 (the OCSE IALS –SIALS 1996-2000 survey and the ALL study - Adult Literacy and Life Skills, 2005) have revealed significant differences in the levels of the functional alphabetic competencies of citizens in the various countries taking part. These studies highlighted that only 34.5% of the Italian population achieves the highest levels of functional alphabetic competence (levels 3, 4 and 5 on the IALS-SIALS scale), while 34.6% fails to pass level 1. However, “in order to identify solutions suited to the needs of each area and target group, it is essential to go beyond the international statistics and investigate further, by really getting to know the local areas” believes Vittoria Gallina, an expert in adult education, the Italian coordinator of the international studies named above, and also responsible for countless national studies. These studies include a diagnostic survey of functional skills launched in 2004 with the trial project SAPA (Instruments for the Study of Adult Literacy) promoted by the Ministry of Education and conducted by INValSI (National Institute for Assessment of the Education and Training System). What are the objectives and characteristics of SAPA? The term "functional skills" used in the SAPA study refers to the series of abilities needed to gather and produce information, using documents and technologies commonly found in the workplace, at home and in society, and to find solutions to everyday problems. The target of the study was the adult population resident in various parts of Italy facing a “literacy risk”. These areas appear to have serious difficulties in facing the changes in our society and the demands of the job market - unemployed people aged 20-29 who have not attended/are not attending further education; unemployed women aged between 40 and 50 who want to re-enter the world of work and/or training ; job holders aged 35-45 with skill regression; job holders aged 45-55 at risk of losing their jobs. The SAPA survey was conducted by directly observing the population's "cultural behaviour" at first hand, and by directly questioning those involved in adult education by means of focus groups. The main results to emerge from the study? 30% of those interviewed were unable to answer or provided an incorrect answer to the problem-solving questions ; this percentage falls to 25% for the younger population aged 20-29. By analysing the overall performances, we observe that the best results were obtained by women aged 40-50 and job holders aged 46-55.
“Regardless of the results, the SAPA survey was important as it generated a national methodology and specific tools for the local assessment of a population's skill levels" continues Vittoria Gallina. “This is the only way in which we can build training pathways suited to the local area and target population groups”. What are the basic needs which drive an adult to return to education? The results of the SAPA focus groups show that "work" is the primary motivation, apart from "the need to keep pace with the times". Older adults, already outside of the employment market, say that they attend training or cultural courses “to pass the time” or to “study something they hadn’t been able to learn before”. For example, many housewives attended IT courses so that they could “keep up with their grandchildren” or to obtain a qualification (middle school diploma) they had been unable (or unwilling) to gain in the past. An entertaining way to describe the context of lifelong learning is through the metaphor of the “pineapple culture”, whereby “if I never see a pineapple when I go to the market, I don’t feel the need for one because I don't know it”. Apart from the “lack of time”, one deterrent which keeps adults away from permanent education pathways, officially, is the “lack of information”. In reality, what seems to emerge is the problems which these individuals have in grasping their own needs for education, although they recognise the need to “improve skills in order to get in touch with the local community” and the “need for an adult to undergo ongoing training to keep pace with the times”. How can adult education really be helpful in developing life skills”? Vittoria Gallina believes that “The functional alphabetic competencies learned at school need regular practice if they are to be maintained. First of all, local opportunities need to be created – easier access to training at home, in the workplace, in social gathering places, and training must be made more attractive particularly to those groups which are harder to involve (the elderly or adults with a low level of education). In order to do this, there is most of all a need to focus on informal training and create learning environments other than schools”.
|
|
|
| Details: |
|
Topics/Keywords:
|
Science => Research
Science => Persons
Subjects / Target groups => Disadvantaged people
life skills;
research;
|
|
Hits:
|
1787 |
|
Related Links:
|
www.invalsi.it
|
|
