Using PIAAC data to learn more about the literacy practices of adults

ABSTRACT

The present article connects a secondary analysis of quantitative data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) with the theoretical approach of ‘literacy practices’ and related research results from the so-called New Literacy Studies (NLS) tradition, which follows a cultural practices paradigm.

According to the literacy as social practice approach, the analysis of adults’ literacy and numeracy practices could provide relevant policy information about how to address target groups in adult literacy and basic education. Thus, a Latent Class Analysis was carried out with the German PIAAC dataset in order to differentiate the adult population by their uses of literacy, numeracy and ICT.

As a result of this procedure, three subgroups of adults can be distinguished by the frequency in which they use selected skill-related activities. Surprisingly, an adult’s individual literacy level does not clearly predict group membership. A further interesting result is that participants in one of the groups seem to compensate for the few chances they have to use their skills at work by using them more often in their everyday life. Both results contribute to the need to draw a more differentiated picture of adults with lower literacy skills.

KEYWORDS:

• literacy practices
• numeracy practices
• PIAAC
• literacy skills
• adult basic education
• new literacy studies
• lower literacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The term ‘cases’ designates the persons in the sample population.

2. By the variable C_Q07: subjective status.

3. The Chi-square test for group differences was highly significant (p-value< 0.01).

4. The Chi-square test for group differences was highly significant (p-value< 0.01).

5. The Chi-square test for group differences was highly significant (p-value< 0.01).

Additional information

Funding

The research conducted was part of the project ‘Reading Components and lower competencies – a better understanding of adults with lower competence’. The project is funded by the German Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung [PIAACRC2]. Sole responsibility for content lies with the authors of the publication.

Notes on contributors

Barbara Nienkemper

Barbara Nienkemper holds a PhD in Adult Education. She is currently employed as a project leader at the Hamburger Volkshochschule, the municipal centre for continuing education. Before that, she was a researcher at the Department of Vocational Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of Hamburg in Germany. Barbara is interested in learning theories, literacy research and adult basic education. Her research has resulted in the exploration of strategies to cope with testing situations in cases of functional illiteracy. Central to most of her arguments is the consideration of the learners’ perspectives. Barbara’s research has recently focused on the description of target groups for adult basic education course offerings in Germany. Barbara can be contacted at the Hamburger Volkshochschule.

Anke Grotlüschen

Anke Grotlüschen is Professor of Lifelong Learning at the Faculty of Education at the University of Hamburg. Her work focuses on digital media and learning theory, adult education target group and interest research, literacy and basic education research, citizenship and cultural adult education. Anke is responsible for the National Level One Survey (LEO) and is the speaker of a co-operative research project on Adult Numeracy with UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, the University of the Armed Forces and the University of the Applied Sciences (Hamburg Numeracy Project). She is a member of ESREA, ECER and DGfE.