Literacy and literacy standards

This third issue of Australian Style continues the theme of language standards with an article by Paul Brock, Special Adviser to the Australian Language and Literacy Council of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training. He highlights the definition of literacy and literacy standards formulated in extracts from the Commonwealth Government's Australia's Language: The Australian Language and Literacy Policy (ALLP). Aspects of literacy are also raised in an article on the teaching of writing skills by Sue Spinks.

The standards or concepts of literacy which are explicated in the Australian Language and Literacy Policy (ALLP) are surprisingly little known. This brief contribution seeks to redress that situation, as well as to draw attention to some of those behind-the-school factors that impede the teaching of literacy (and everything else!) in Australian schools.

What is literacy?
The ALLP describes literacy as follows:

The value of literacy
The centrality of the acquisition of literacy in English to the personal, social, cultural and economic goals of all Australians individually, and the national good collectively, is the very foundation of the Policy. It states inter alia that:

Contexts, forms and types of literacy
The Policy is careful to stress the different contexts, forms and types of literacy:

Different types of literacy exist. Indeed, literacy can be said to be a continuum of skills. At one end of the spectrum, literacy could be limited to minimal reading ability without writing ability or the ability only to write one's own name. These capacities are often referred to as basic literacy.

The concept of functional literacy has gained recognition in recent years. It is commonly used by international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and the UNESCO. A distinction is made between basic literacy and functional literacy UNESCO gives the following explanation:

"People are functionally literate who can engage in those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning in their group and community and also for enabling them to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for their own and their community's development." (1978)

The notion of what it means to be literate will vary, therefore, from one society to another and within societies. Literacy is certainly not just a set of static, isolated skills through which people can decode and encode printed words. The concept of functional (or "social") literacy highlights the uses which are made of literacy skills in a particular society. It has gained momentum because of awareness of the increasing everyday demands which modern society and the modern workforce place on the literacy capacities of individuals.

However, use of the term "functional literacy" is not universally supported. Some argue that literacy is functional and, therefore, that setting levels for functional literacy is not possible. Some maintain that the concept implies a tighter link between literacy skills and functional competence than actually exists. Others observe that the term suggests a high value placed on conformity to specific functional contexts when generalizable literacy and learning skills which contribute to problem-solving and adaptability are required. Nevertheless, the term is used internationally and is a useful way of explaining that literacy exists in context.

The Policy Directions Paper for the 1990 International Literacy Year Program in Australia referred not only to basic literacy and to functional literacy but also to the concept of active literacy. It stated, "For an advanced technological society such as Australia , our goal must be an active literacy which allows people to use language to enhance their capacity to think, create and question, which helps them to participate more effectively in society."

Along its continuum, literacy also indudes the cultural enrichment which comes from immersion in and responsive reading of the body of Australian and world literature. It involves recognition of oral literatures, such as those of Aboriginal people. Literacy also includes the acquisition of strategies for writing, not only for pragmatic purposes, but also for personal development.

Development of individuals' literacy capacities as far as possible has always been a goal of Australian education. The first-ever National Goals for Schooling in Australia , as set down by Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers of Education in 1989, identify as a goal "the skills of English literacy, including skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing."

Literacy in Australia is both a means and a goal. Effective literacy in the broadest sense is the goal of all levels of education and training, and society more generally. As a means, the ability to read and write English effectively in Australia is an essential tool for education and training and for participation in all aspects of Australian life. Both aspects require national attention.
(Australia's Language, 1991, Companion Volume, pp. 34-35)

What are some of the obstacles to school students acquiring satisfactory achievement in literacy?
While acknowledging that we must do all we can to improve the teaching of literacy in our schools, the Policy points out that:

In her national survey of adult literacy No Single Measure (Wickert, 1989, p.39) Australian Language and Literacy Council member Rosie Wickert reported that 23 per cent of adults indicated that their schooling and literacy performance had been adversely affected by the following factors, in priority order: health problems (with associated lengthy absences from school), socio-economic problems, and absence from or negative attitudes towards school.

In its recently released In the Middle: Schooling for Young Adolescents, the Schools Council of the National Board of Employment, Education and Training revealed that "there is a group of some 7 per cent of fifteen year olds who are not in the regular school system". The Schools Council report also revealed that a "binge pattern of alcohol consumption is exhibited by as many as 30 per cent of 15 year old school pupils" (p.24). It also noted that a "unique feature of Australian adolescent drug use is the extremely high consumption of simple analgesics. This involves the weekly use of drugs by 30-49 per cent of boys and 40-50 per cent of girls aged 14-16 years. To our knowledge such frequent analgesic use is not mirrored anywhere else in the western world." (p.25). Approximately one-quarter of students have tried marijuana and inhalants (p.25).

Observations such as these should counter that teacher-bashing syndrome which so frequently masquerades as educational debate concerning the perennially vexed issue of literacy standards in schools.

Click here to read the lead article from the previous edition (April 1993), or back to the list of articles.