Adult Literacy Providers and Lifelong Learning: Challenges of Delivering the Promise in New Zealand

By:
Niki Murray,
Margie Comrie,
Dr. Franco Vaccarino,
Frank Sligo
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New Zealand’s Labour Government has developed tertiary education policies which subscribe to notions of lifelong learning as part of building a 'knowledge economy'.

This paper reports on surveys and interview data from adult literacy providers, community members and employers in Wanganui city. We argue that the findings show a gap between policy and practice in two areas. First there is a low awareness among employers and the community of the importance of fundamental skills and of adult literacy providers. Second there is a gap between the ideology of fundamental skills as a pathway to lifelong learning, and funding and delivery practice focusing on employment outcomes for those with limited education.


Keywords: Lifelong Learning, Policy, Adult Literacy, Adult Learning, Adult Literacy Providers, Community, Employers
Stream: Community, Culture, Globalisation, Adult, Vocational, Tertiary and Professional Learning, Literacy, Language, Multiliteracies
Presentation Type: 30 minute Paper Presentation in English
Paper: Adult Literacy Providers and Lifelong Learning

Niki Murray

Project Manager/Research Officer, Department of Communication and Journalism, Massey University
New Zealand

My background is mainly in Psychology where I obtained my Masters in 2002. My MA research looked at the effect of glucose, protein, and fat on the memory and reasoning abilities of young and mature men. After my Masters, I worked for two years with a mental health organisation where I mainly worked with Department of Corrections clients. Here, I was inovlved with community reintegration work, and also spent some of my time working with troubled youth. I am currently the Project Manager for a study investigating the needs of literacy participants, and the barriers to both literacy and employment that they face. This work also looks at the needs and barriers of those not participating in literacy programmes, and the perceptions of the wider community and employers in the area. This research has now begun to lead us into practical interventions and trials of ideas through action research processes.

Margie Comrie

Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, Massey University
New Zealand

Dr. Franco Vaccarino

Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Communication and Journalism, Massey University
New Zealand

Frank Sligo

Head of Department/Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, Massey University
New Zealand

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Ref: L06P0115