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Learning for Living Strategy

In early 2004, the government released its Learning for Living Strategy, which builds on the TES, the New Zealand Adult Literacy Strategy and the Adult English as a Second or Other Language Strategy.

Over the next two years, the focus of the Learning for Living Strategy will be on building an evidence base about what works in foundation learning in order to improve the effectiveness of foundation learning across the tertiary education sector. The second phase, starting in early 2006, will involve expanding the provision of foundation education to new learners, particularly to those who need it most.

Leading work in adult literacy

Work in adult literacy will shortly put in place some of the infrastructure necessary to raise the quality of foundation learning provision. The adult literacy quality standard — the Adult Literacy Quality Mark — will provide a method of defining and ensuring quality in provision, while the new qualification for adult literacy tutors will be an important part of lifting professional capability.

Building the evidence base

An active research programme is underway to build a strong evidence base to support and inform the continued development of the quality of provision of foundation education across the tertiary sector. One aspect of the research programme is ‘exploratory projects’ that examine effective literacy, numeracy and language provision to see what works in helping adults to develop the skills they need to meet the demands of everyday life. These projects will help to identify the essential components of programmes successful in delivering foundation learning; what shifts in practice need to occur in foundation education provision; and how these shifts can be encouraged, supported and sustained.

Developing professional resources

Work is underway to prepare the ground for effective resources to be used by educators in planning, developing and delivering teaching. Descriptive standards are being drafted to provide descriptions of what adults know and can do when they are successfully meeting the language, literacy and numeracy demands in their everyday lives. These standards aim to clarify expectations about the knowledge and skills that adults must have to participate effectively in everyday life.

The descriptive standards will also form the basis of learning progressions, which are under development. These progressions will be important in communicating to educators the steps that adults take in developing their language, literacy and numeracy competencies.

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• Table of Contents

• The State of Play

• Cross Strategy Indicators

• Raise foundation skills

• Skills for our knowledge society

• Strengthen research and knowledge creation

• Te rautaki mātauranga Māori

• Pacific people’s development and success

• Capability and quality

• Technical and Data Definitions