E-learning for adult literacy, language and numeracy: a case study of a polytechnic

2. Introduction

This case study is one of the few descriptions of the many recent innovations with e-learning for adults with literacy, language and numeracy (LLN) needs underway in New Zealand. This research informed the accompanying final report (Davis and Fletcher, 2010) and literature review (Davis, Fletcher, Everatt, Mackey, Morrow, Brooker and Gillon, 2010) (available on the Education Counts website).  

The 2006 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey showed that over a million adult New Zealanders are missing some of the skills they need to successfully accomplish the literacy and numeracy tasks common in today’s society and economy. Many of these adults are people who speak English as a second language (Satherley, Lawes and Sok, 2008). Lack of literacy and numeracy skills can adversely affect adults’ chances of being employed, earning a good income and helping their children succeed in education (Earle, 2009). In this case study we use the Adult Literacy and Life Skills survey levels of literacy, particularly Level 2 of the ALLS. In this review we refer to this level as an intermediate level of literacy, which often appears to be a threshold for becoming less dependent on a tutor.

In this case study, “e-learning” refers to the use of digital technologies to support learning and teaching. E-learning is an ever-evolving process because it emerges from the possibilities afforded by continually developing digital technologies. These technologies can be in the hands of tutors, learners and those who support them. These individuals create and recreate e-learning applications and resources, through evolving behaviour as individuals and across groups and society. E-learning offers educators new ways to structure and support the learning of their students. Activities that draw on these technologies not only aid access to learning but can also be made relevant to everyday life and work contexts, where literacy and numeracy skills are becoming more important, as shown in our summary report (Davis and Fletcher, 2010).

Our consultation with the Ministry of Education and stakeholders made us aware of how little e-learning has been employed with adults with LLN needs. It became apparent to us that the polytechnic is probably the only tertiary organisation in New Zealand to have been using e-learning in this way for a sustained period of time (just over nine years). We therefore selected it as the focus of this case study.

The study is part of a larger body of research (commissioned by the Ministry of Education) on the applicability of e-learning for adults with LLN needs. The other components of the research include the aforementioned literature review, online seminars conducted by international experts in the area of LLN, and stakeholder interviews on the same topic (Davis and Fletcher, 2010).

The institution at the heart of this present report is a large urban polytechnic, known for its innovative efforts to provide quality education for second-chance learners, including blending of ICT. The case study describes the polytechnic in 2008. Over time, the polytechnic has successfully embedded literacy and numeracy in many of its programmes, in line with the recommendations of the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and with reference to the TEC numeracy and literacy progressions. Online and distance education are not a main priority for the polytechnic, and it does not have a distance education unit. Instead, e-learning coordination and support are part of the institution’s Learning Services division.

The polytechnic is one of the largest tertiary institutions in New  Zealand. It educates over 15,000 students per annum and employs around 2,000 staff. Applied learning is emphasised on the polytechnic’s public website, which details offerings in many qualifications, some of which are local and some of which are national and which range from foundation programmes through to degree and graduate qualifications. A job advertisement issued by the polytechnic states that its “staff profile encompasses foci on students, learning and teaching, innovation, flexibility and continual learning, research, biculturalism, internationalisation, disability awareness, environmental awareness and sustainability, health and safety and [ICT] literacy”. All the polytechnic leaders we interviewed during the study agreed with the following statement made by the institution’s chief executive officer during our interview with him: “This institution sees itself as having a key role in providing second-chance opportunities for adults to achieve their vocational objectives, and one of the things that they need to do that is a certain level of literacy, numeracy and study skills.”

The use of e-learning within the polytechnic is most prevalent in courses for international students and at higher levels of learning. However, we identified five of the polytechnic’s programmes as particularly pertinent to our investigation because they provide e-learning-based activities for adults seeking to improve their LLN skills at foundation level. The features of these programmes that we thought merited close examination included the use of computers in classrooms, distance learning, and mixed mode (ie some learning activities carried out in the workplace or at home, but most situated in the polytechnic).  We also endeavoured to describe the range of initiatives underpinning the development and delivery of these programmes so that we could better understand how e-learning can be used to embed LLN within programmes for second-chance learners.

We begin our report by describing the characteristics of the five programmes. This section is followed by a description of the wide range of initiatives that support the polytechnic’s sustained development of e-learning. To understand the processes that resulted in implementation of e-learning practice, we conducted another analysis, using change models. Our case study ends with a brief description of the outcomes of this analysis against each of the findings of our comprehensive review of the international literature on e-learning for adults with LLN needs (Davis et al., 2010).

We describe, in Appendix A, the approach we took when conducting the case study. Appendix B contains a brief description of the innovation models that we used as a reference point when conducting our investigation.