Adult literacy, the discourse of deficit and social inclusion Lyn Tett, University of Edinburgh

Methodology Two-phase study interviewing literacy learners from 9 geographical areas of Scotland near the beginning of their programmes and then again a year later using a structured questionnaire ( Paper draws on analysis of qualitative data from 200 learners. It focuses on the impact that participation had on people’s personal, work, family and community lives.

Adult Literacy and the discourse of deficit Being literate is seen as significant as a means of human capital development and as a key to unlocking the benefits of globalisation. At the individual level being literate is equated with success in life and having access to the goods and trappings that are valued highly in society. Literacy is treated as if it was a set of unproblematic information-processing cognitive skills independent of context. Literacy skills are seen as neutral and objective within a discourse that takes no account of the ways in which they are used in specific communities.

Adult Literacy and the discourse of deficit Policy discourses position literacy learners as people with deficiencies that have an adverse impact on the nation’s economic development. Describe adults’ literacy in terms of children’s reading ages. Experiences of school ‘failure’ are internalised and seen as an individual problem. Natural attitudes of policy makers, the media etc perpetuate the discourse of deficit.

Developing a different discourse Respondents reported a negative sense of themselves as learners as a result of their school experiences. People need to have a positive educational experience where their issues and concerns are valued and their everyday literacy activities are drawn on. Tutors should draw on the technologies of reading and writing, the functions of these activities and the social meanings carried by them.

A social practice approach to learning Learners are diverse in their learning preferences and in how these are expressed through different technologies. Literacy is employed for a purpose and in a particular context. Literacy is a communal resource integral to the social interactions, relationships in which it is used and developed. So reading and writing are complex activities that integrate feelings, values, routines, skills, understandings, and activities and depend on a great deal of contextual (i.e. social) knowledge and intention.

Impact of participation Learners reported increased self-confidence as a key to opening up a wide range of other changes. These included psychological changes such as increased self-esteem and a sense of their greater potential, ability and achievements. Changes in skills led to the confidence to do things such as talking, filling in forms, using computers

Impact of participation Changes in the range of activities that learners were able to undertake were reported including starting new leisure activities and not being afraid of meeting new people. Literacy learning had an impact on relationships and activities within the family especially between parents and children. There was also an impact on people’s ability to gain and retain employment. Finally people reported that they had higher educational aspirations.

Conclusion Adults with low literacy skills are more likely to be unemployed, living on low incomes in socio- economically-excluded geographical areas, experiencing poor health and early morbidity so literacy is a social justice issue. Social justice requires an approach that goes beyond providing opportunities to making provision that prioritises equality of outcomes. This would involve emphasising learners’ strengths rather than their weaknesses through an accessible and appropriate curriculum that is delivered by tutors who take learners’ backgrounds into account.

Conclusion (cont) People need to be engaged in reflexively thinking about the social construction of their knowledge so that the experiences and stories that have been excluded can be included. It involves rejecting individually-based, deficit views of learners and instead focusing on people’s ability to do what they want in their lives. It is about education that moves away from inequitable, individualized, deficit models of learning and brings about change in understanding both self and society that leads on to a more democratic, equitable life and hence to greater social justice.