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Discussion

EPALE discussion: Basic skills learning provision

Basic skills are transversal. Not only are they relevant to educational policy, but also to employment, health, social and environmental policies. Building cohesive policy measures which support people with basic skills needs is necessary to help build more resilient and inclusive societies. Take part to the online discussion that will take place on this page on 16 and 17 September between 10:00 and 16:00 CET. The discussion will be moderated by EPALE Thematic Coordinators of EBSN.

Online discussion basic skills.

Ensuring basic skills for all is a necessary step to enable societies to combat current and future social, health, environmental and economic challenges, and to implement policies effectively in order to support the sustainability of European societies and economies and promote a healthier planet. 

Basic skills are transversal. Not only are they relevant to educational policy, but also to employment, health, social and environmental policies. Building cohesive policy measures which support people with basic skills needs is necessary not only to make Upskilling Pathways a success, but also to help build more resilient and inclusive societies.

The online discussion will take place on this page on 16-17 September between 10:00 and 16:00 CET and will be moderated by EPALE Thematic Coordinators of EBSN Graciela Sbertoli (Secretary General of EBSN) and Tamás Harangozó.

The discussion on 16 and 17 September will include the following topics:

  • critical literacy
  • health literacy
  • financial literacy
  • numeracy
  • basic digital skills for the future.

Please join our online discussion on Basic skills learning provision on 16-17 September 2020!

Comments will be open on 7 September so participants can introduce themselves or post their comments in advance.

Likeme (27)
Themes addressed
Basic skills
Digital inclusion
Financial literacy
Health literacy

Comments

Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:47

I just lost what I was writing because the system suddenly auto-refreshed... I think it  is a good idea to disable that function.You find the button at the top of the discussion.
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:39

 The discussion on basic skills and the role ob basic skills in confrontation with pressing social, health, health and environmental challenges is very relevant in necessary. I am grateful that you open and support this discussion. The topics proposed for the discussion touch the terminological and conceptual questions, basic skills & literacy, numeracy skills & financial literacy, basic skills & key competences … 
The topics proposed for discussion can be regarded as independent concepts (critical literacy, health literacy, financial literacy ….) since they are relevant not only for those who lack basic skills but for all. On the other hand the topics can be linked to adult (also youth) basic skills education / provision (if basic skills are taken as literacy, numeracy, digital skills) as relevant topics or urgent every day needs. In Slovenia we have been promoting the concept of adult basic skills education that is linking the basic skills acquisition with relevant topics such as health, finances, family literacy, etc. 
I would also like to point out another angle of the proposed discussion topics, the life skills perspective. Slovenian Institute for Adult Education was involved in E+ project Life Skills for Europe 2017-2018 (lead by EAEA), which in my opinion made a significant contribution to understanding different concepts and relation among them, and may have significant potential in clarifying what are life skills. In the summary of the report on Life Skills for Europe (see EAEA webpage), it was stated that ‘’Life skills are closely related to the key challenges adults are faced with in the modern world. This means, for example, taking care of their physical and mental health, actively contributing to their wellbeing, mastering financial matters, and coping with the digital environment.’’ Better life skills contribute to social and civic engagement, self-efficacy and employability of an individual. There are eight areas of life skills (defined as capabilities) that are incorporated in the definition of life skills. 
There could be numerous combinations of these areas (capabilities) in real life. The combination of capabilities that an adult needs for a successful life depends on the concrete circumstances and real needs. Very useful and concrete project output is also a Framework for Life Skills Curriculum (see EAEA webpage), a useful tool for planing the life skills instruction in adult education. The project also made an attempt to clarify key terms, knowledge, capabilities, competence and skills (see the summary).    
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 13:49

I have reread your posting, Estera, and I want to applaud what you present as the Slovenian approach: learning provision that " links the basic skills acquisition with relevant topics such as health, finances and family literacy". 
If we want basic skills training to contribute to welfare, inclusion, sustainability and resilience in our societies, that is indeed the way to go!
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:35

Hello. 
My name is Hüseyin KAYGIN. I work as a director and instructor at Bartin University Continuing Education Center in Turkey. I am also a faculty member of the Department of Lifelong Learning and Adult Education at the University's Faculty of Education.
It is clear that online environments are the main tool of adult education in today's conditions. In order to equip adults with critical literacy, health literacy, numeracy and financial literacy skills, it is essential that adults first have basic digital skills. In today's conditions, it has become difficult for older adults to acquire basic digital skills, and we need new methods to teach them basic digital skills. Young adults living with older adults in the same house can be encouraged and supported online to teach them these skills. But how can we help older adults who live alone in their homes to teach basic digital skills online?
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:58

Thank you, Hüseyin, and welcome to the discussion!
I totally agree with you. Digital skills have become essential and seniors should absolutely not be left behind.

Many countries in Europe have recognize this problem and are running specific initiatives. The Portuguese literacy campaign Letras pra Vida (Letters for Life) has created a strategy called Teclas pra Vida (Keyboards for Life). I will try to find some info in English. 

Norway has been running Seniornett for several years. It is a non-profit national network of centers that help seniors with both skills acquisition and technical assistance. Information in Norwegian here. 

I hope you will get more examples during these two days. This is indeed an issue where we could set up an Erasmus+ project!
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 12:20

To help in this situation (although  I am not sure about Corona), in Hamburg we set up a cooperation between the Adult Education ORganisation and a school nearby, the youngsters taught the elder persons digital skills (exactly what they wanted and needed and always with a view to find a solution for real problems), and the youngsters got a certificate about the acquisition of social skills they improved, and they definitly did improve them: listening, helping, explaining, schowing patience. It was part of their school curriculum and lasted 4 weeks, with 2 hours per week. Was  a great experience! 
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 18:24

Hi, Hüseyin and Graciela and other participants of this great discussion, greetings from Coimbra, Portugal!

I totally agree with you both! 

I work with older learners in the project Letters for Life, which promotes literacy, empowerment, and social inclusion through adult literacy workshops. Focused on digital skills, we promote Keys for life workshops. We usually work with small groups in diverse communities and care homes. Our approach is participatory and personalized, based on the needs of the participants. Although this information is not really updated, you can have an idea about the project: https://uil.unesco.org/case-study/effective-practices-database-litbase-…;
and you can visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/letraspravida   

In this pandemic crisis, the workshops are suspended! Safety and health measures are very restricted, especially for older people.  

If promoting basic digital skills is usually difficult, now it is even harder. As long as there are no safety conditions to develop face to face workshops, we will try to continue to work online on a regular and systematic base and ask professionals in care homes to help.

Intergenerational learning is very useful! 
We also asked family members to help the elderly and we support participants in their functional digital needs, with a helpdesk line, but our intervention now it is clearly insufficient! In Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp we work with groups that were created before this crisis, to fight disinformation, fake news, promote healthy recommendations from our health authorities... 

We also have a formal Program Portugal InCode2030 that created a support line "we are all digital", with teams of volunteer mentors recruited from higher education institutions. https://www.incode2030.gov.pt/en/

Now, with our Letters for Life Community of Practice, that I invite you to join, we are discussing how to continue, the challenges, and sharing strategies. We have a lot of questions, no miracle answers! We are sailing in sight, managing this uncertainty, trying to overcome the storm, but we are together! There are great learning, sharing, and collaboration dynamics, like this discussion. Thanks for the sharing opportunity!   
Thu, 09/17/2020 - 10:07

Thank you for your very good description of your activities. I particularly like this: "In Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp we work with groups that were created before this crisis, to fight disinformation, fake news, promote healthy recommendations from our health authorities... " There is such a need for this type of work... Well done!
Thu, 09/17/2020 - 10:22

Dear Dina, depending on the regulations you still have in place in your country regarding the visits in care homes, maybe you can try out if small walks OUTSIDE with little learning bits can be a temporary measure. I know of one example where the participants went out and took fotos with written information and then exchange these pictures in order to read them. That way they train their digital skills at the same time. But of course the situation you are in determines what you can do right now. 
Fri, 09/18/2020 - 12:28

Dear Heike, thanks for your inspiring example. 
Before Covid 19 we use photovoice and it is a empowering tool! But for now, we have the great help of the professionals inside the care homes. We are not allowed to enter and the elderly cannot leave the institution. Fortunately many of the facilities have a garden, where people can go and experience socioeducational activities, but with only internal professionals.  
Your example is also useful for online interaction. The elderly can take pictures and share them in social media.
Thanks a lot for your sharing!  
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:32

The challenges are many and complex. They are related to governance - in Bulgaria there is no separate institution that has direct functions related to lifelong learning policies, adult learning and skills. Much depends on the transversal nature of governance, sustainability and stakeholder coordination. The formal system is strong and conservative. It carefully allows innovation. Recently, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy has also been working in this direction, but it increases the challenges of separation and does not encourage an integrated approach.
In Bulgaria we have opportunities for a lot of work in terms of managing the common policy for lifelong learning, adult learning and skills. A good opportunity is for the formal system to open up to cultural institutions. The Bulgarian government finances national programs related to libraries, museums and others. cultural institutions.
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:14

Sorry the reply button doesn't seem to be working Heike!
In the UK the new NHS directive is to teach all NHS staff that they must check patient understanding and they also need to be mindful of written communication - brochures, signs in hospitals etc
The nurse we saw was a cancer co-ordinator ie she brought together all the members of a team that would be involved in the aftercare of a patient. But I know that GPs for example are now told if they give a patient a prescription for drugs to take twice a day they are supposed to check with the patient to tell them exactly when they will take them, how they will remember and how the rest of their family will understand what they have to do. It is a fantastic change and applies to EVERYONE ! to see it actually working was so satisfying
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:11

The formal education and training system in Bulgaria has strong traditions. This is a chance to connect the complex challenges of basic skills: literacy, numeracy and digital literacy with those skills that are highly transferable and integrated: critical literacy, health literacy, creative thinking and more.
The Bulgarian government is taking the first steps in an integrated approach to providing basic skills: hardware for digital literacy, financial literacy and others.
A great challenge for institutions, organizers and trainers is the added value of education, training and learning, both for life and work.
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:06

I wish that the UK school curriculum contained more teaching and learning about essentail life skills. Mostly these fall into areas that are not compulsory because there is no examination and so these lessons are not taken seriously and are often skipped for other catch up work or events. Citizenship which is examined is only opted for by a minority of students and yet contains much of what we are talking about here - but it is not accepted as part of the core exam English baccalaureate. Our knowledge based curriculum means students leave school ill prepared for the adult world and need adult education services. There is such an opportunity missed here to engage the home and school is teaching and learning skills for life
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:17

Dear Sarah, I do agree with your wish for more school focus on some of the issues we are treating here, but I feel I must make an important distinction. Essentially, basic skills refers to functional literacy, numeracy, digital skills and second language acquisition for immigrants. The related themes we are discussing (health literacy, information and media literacy, financial literacy, etc...) are impossible to deal with without a functional level of the really basic skills.

So yes, the UK school curricula DO focus on essential skills because they focus on literacy, numeracy and digital skills. I only hope they continue focusing on these skills beyond the initial school years. The main problem with basic skills all through Europe seems to be that schools and teachers consider "the job is done" when the youngster manages to read a text aloud well enough for the teacher to understand it. That simply means the pupil has completed the phase of initial literacy acquisition. A functional level of literacy means reading without effort, reading as a completely automatized process. And that, unfortunately, is a level many youngsters never get to, and a level adults may have lost if they ever had it. And THAT is the core of the basic skills issue!
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:58

I was quite impressed by the changes in health literacy for the NHS here in the UK. They too have had an initiative running to ensure patient understanding. I heard about this in a keynote at the LILAC conference last year and then during the COVID lockdown my husband had an emergency op for bowel cancer. Interestingly the consultant gave us the results (all fine - no further treatment needed) but then afterwards we had a chat with the nurse practitioner and she was very careful to get my husband to tell her exactly what he had understood from the consultation in practical terms. I thought this was a great example of stakeholder engagement working in practice.
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:02

Dear Sarah, do you know whether the nurse was specifically trained in patient communication? Or as a "mediator"? In Germany, we have (esp. in the health sector) so called communication mediators, but only for persons with a different language background (and of course, not everywhere!). But not for just everyone, I think that is needed. 
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:54

In Bulgaria there are many strategies on various topics for education, training and learning. They are well-written documents, but the challenge remains their implementation and mobilization of various stakeholders. The Bulgarian government is doing a lot for local authorities and all educational institutions. But the results still require a lot of work. A broad approach is possible to promote the acquisition of basic skills for economic and health benefits.
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:59

Yes, the problem is always with the implementation. We all agree that we need a broad stakeholder cooperation, but the more stakeholders you involve the more difficult and complex the process becomes. The challenge is to find the ideal balance between broad participation of relevant authorities and feasibility. 
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:40

Basic skills as transversal skills.  The great strength of basic skills as transversal skills is in their flexibility. Their essence is in sustainability. On the one hand, they are sustainable because they are acquired by the person, and on the other hand, they are sustainable because they can adapt to different situations in the life of that person. A significant challenge in Bulgaria is that basic skills, including for adults, are considered only in the formal education system. Employers, non-governmental organizations and others are less interested in this. stakeholders. In Bulgaria it is considered that the basic skills should be acquired only in school.
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:51

Thank you for your contribution, Zhuliyan! That sounds very challenging indeed... 

How could you awake the interest of civil society in these issues, do you think? Is there anything European colleagues can contribute with? I guess you will first need to find a stakeholder, governmental or not, who is willing to start a campaign or find financing for a project. Maybe an Erasmus + one?

I guess Bulgaria has not been involved in PIAAC, has it? It seems incredible to still insist that basic skills are learnt at school and do not need to be focused on as part of life long learning... Don't your VET teachers find that many adults lack the basic skills they need to engage in further learning?
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 22:31

The Education and Training Service Center in Iceland https://frae.is/um-fa/about-us/ has defined what they call general competence which are personal competence important to cope with life and the labour market meaning they are transferrable skills that can be used in different context and transferred from one sector to another. It‘s highlighted within the AE in Iceland that there is always a need for enhancing those general competence and/or maintain what people learned in school of basic skills. The VISKA project,  a KA3 project, had the aim of making skills and competences of adults more visible through validation of informal and non-formal learning. In Iceland the target group was immigrants with a load of skills and competences but without formal accreditation from the formal educational system. Thus the process of validating formal learning draws out those skills. Homepage of VISKA is https://viskaproject.eu/

Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:31

At Adult education centre Jesenice we are working a lot on healt literacy mainly for women with immigrant background and elders.

This year we issue a basic healt dictionary in 6 languages.

We are wery interested to simmilar practicies in EU.


 


Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:56

Thank you for raising this important issue, Maja!
health literacy for the immigrant population has always been important but has become all the more so in these Covid times! When we talk about resilience in our societies we cannot forget that lack of understanding of the national language is a major obstacle for many adults.

The idea of a basic health dictionary is wonderful! I am sure there are many other countries in Europe that could be interested in doing the same. This is actually a wonderful theme for a European project!

An example: In Norway, where I live, health authorities have issued information about the pandemia in several languages. You find it on this page.
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 11:19

Dear Maja,

This is a very good idea! This topic needs a lot more attention. It is certainly also important for the care context. I do research on multilingualism and dementia. There it is always noticed that there are language-related problems!

Which languages have you considered so far?

Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:13

To establish a "structure" and platform for research regarding literacy and numeracy in everyday life (lebensweltorientiert in German), the German Ministry of Education has set up a funding period of 10 years to enhance research and good practice in the field. Currently, more that 15 projects, lead by universitiies, adult education centers and others are running and they cover a wide field of topics, different target groups and approaches. An overview is given at: https://www.bmbf.de/de/nationale-strategie-fuer-alphabetisierung-und-gr….
(unfortunately only in German)
The decade is accompagnied by visual campaign material and other service. 180000000 € will be spent at the end of that period. 
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:23

Thank you for this contribution, Heike! Yes, the german Literacy Decade is indeed a very interesting initiative, and one that the EBSN focused on in our Berlin conference in 2018. (You will find information in English under the link).
Can you tell us more about the stakeholder coordination for the Decade? To what extent do the current projects contribute to the transversal approach for basic skills learning provision?
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:35

Hi, Gabriela, I can do that via an example I know better:
The project "ELBBrücken" of Hamburger Volkshochschule has at its core literacy in everyday life, with an approach to learn in your "natural habitat". The skill literacy is helping you to cope with everyday challenges, such as finding a job, managing a family etc. The transversal approach is to be found in the topics: reading prescriptions, applying for a job, seeking help in the school of my children, those are possible topics for which many people (6,8 Mio in Germany!) are lacking the appropriate skills, They need learning how to read and write, but so much more. Find and evaluate information, maintain a communication, plan for my financial future, care for my children....In the case of this project, the target group is persons with psychogical problems such as depression etc. Soon there will be a blog article on EPALE, in German, I guess next week. Search under my name. 
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:42

Yes, it is this relevance to the "natural habitat" we must look for. That approach sounds really good. I hope that both the project and its results are in the current agenda of health authorities. I am convinced that the sustainability and efficiency of this kind of approaches depends to a great extent on creating synergies with all the relevant stakeholders, so that the good examples do not remain in their own "pockets of creativity and innovation", but are reproduced in new locations, are evaluated and adapted and go from project to sustainable practice. 

We will make sure we read your blog! Thanks!
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:42

Gabriela, you asked about the stakeholders.
There a different levels of stakeholder cooperation:
1. The set up of the national decade has been agreed upon by ALL mayor players in AE, the Volkshochschulen, the Ministries of Education in the states of GErmany and of course on federal level, the churches, the labour unions and so on.
2. Each project has to have a cooperation with at least one other organisation functioning as a stakeholder, e.g. in counselling, or a home for elderly, or a school. And on top, each project is required to inform the stakeholders in their region through different measures.
3. Annual conferences, newsletters, online events (due to Corona!) and other measures help to involve stakeholders on regional and national and even international level. 
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 10:46

Thank you, Heike! That is exactly what I was looking for, yes!

I particularly like the idea about demanding that each project has at least one cooperating stakeholder. That seems feasible enough and it is a step towards involving all the relevant sectors. 
Wed, 09/16/2020 - 09:56

Our theme today is wide and ambitious. The theme is basic skills as transversal skills that relate to almost any sector of government: education, health, welfare, inclusion, employment, and economy - and which are essential to foster sustainability and resilience. 

 (RESILIENCE = the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.) 

 What we want to focus on today is 

- how to create national, regional and local strategies that foster this very wide concept of basic skills 
- how to include all the different approaches (critical literacy, information literacy, health literacy, financial literacy) without losing sight of the fundamental basic skills (literacy, numeracy, digital skills) 
- what are the challenges and possibilities involved in creating cohesive and all-encompassing policies 
- what are the examples of good practice we can contribute to the general discussion. 

Numeracy is an often forgotten basic skill, and it is at the heart (together with literacy!) of Financial Literacy, a skill participants in this discussion have already shown great interest in (read the comments written before the start of the discussion). We welcome your comments on Financial Literacy at any time during this discussion, but would like to announce at this point that 

Dr. Kees Hoogland, Associate professor of Numeracy and Mathematics in Vocational and Adult Education at the Research Center on Learning and Innovation of the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht , the Netherlands, will be joining us on Day 2 at 13:00 CET to present his current work towards the creation of a European Numeracy Framework. 

 Some practical rules for this discussion 

 - Please introduce yourself briefly in your first posting. 
 - Please write in English - or use Google Translate to provide us with a translation from your own language. 
 - Please make sure that you use the "Reply" function if you are commenting on another participant's posting. 
 - Please help us structure the conversation by writing informative titles to your posting.
 - Please add links wherever possible to add documentation to your contributions. 

 Thank you in advance! 

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