Web version ACAL

February 2017

In this issue

1. From the President

2. ACAL Conference - call for papers now open

3. State Conferences

4. Working in a remote community

5. The Strategic Priority Project on LLN gets a boost

6. Foundation Skills Literature Review Project

7. New issue Literacy & Numeracy Studies

8. Resilience: Stories of Adult Learning

9. Membership renewal

10. AWPN professional networking meeting in Newcastle

11. The Evolution and Impact of Literacy Campaigns and Programmes 2000–2014

12. Seeing this newsletter for the first time?

1. From the President

1977 fireworksHi all,

ACAL is looking forward to an exciting 40th Anniversary year in 2017. We will recognise the history of ACAL at events throughout the year, at the 2017 ACAL Conference in Darwin, and on social media.

Therefore, we would like to collect historical stories and information to share and store centrally before this history becomes lost. ACAL would like to explore our history to inform us as we move forward with a clear purpose.

In this New Year ACAL would especially like to acknowledge the work of Nancy Veale, who was a tireless advocate for social justice and empowerment through adult literacy and numeracy. She passed away in Canberra in December 2016. We do not want to lose the knowledge of ACAL that people like Nancy held. Please let us know if you have important documents or information about the organisation including a list of previous Life Members that should be recorded for posterity. Forward to info@acal.edu.au

In continuing the work of ACAL this year we are developing position statements on the need for a comprehensive Australian literacy and numeracy policy that recognises the value of creating and funding accessible pathways to lifelong literacy and numeracy development through local communities, including Indigenous communities, and workplaces as well as the education sector for all Australians. If you have any input please email info@acal.edu.au

Remember to submit your presentations for the 2017 ACAL Conference in Darwin. As well as exploring history, advocacy, practice and research this year will be another year of change for those working within the SEE and AMEP programs. Prepare to share knowledge around the programs and the ACSF in September. Conference planning is proceeding well and I can’t wait to get my own ACAL 40th Anniversary T-Shirt designed by a famous local Darwin artist!

Please email me at info@acal.edu.au if you have any queries or suggestions for ACAL’s work this year.

Jenni Anderson

ACAL President

2. ACAL Conference- call for papers now open

2017 ACAL ConferenceTraders, Neighbours and Intruders: Points of Contact

In 2017, ACAL celebrates 40 years actively promoting language, literacy, numeracy, and communication advocacy and research. We are delighted to host next year’s conference in tropical Darwin, Australia’s northern gateway. The Conference will offer delegates a unique opportunity to explore the conditions required for more critically engaged debates about local, regional and global adult literacy and numeracy provision. Northern Australia provides a rich location in which to challenge stereotypes, reinvigorate relationships and provoke new conceptualisations of participation.

Dates for your diary:

Conference strands will include:

Call for papers

3. State Conferences

WAALC ConferenceWAALC Conference - Building digital capabilities in the adult learning environment

April 10, 2017

Call for Presentations for WAALC conference

Interested in a visit to Perth in April?

Western Australian Adult Literacy Council is seeking presenters to address the theme 'Building digital capabilities in the adult learning environment'

If you are a Perth local with ideas to share, please submit a proposal as soon as possible. If you live elsewhere, why not think about whether you might want to be there too? Perth’s accommodation is cheaper this year and the weather in April is pleasant.

More details and proposal form

SACAL Conference - The Domino Effect and adult education

August 18, 2017

SACAL will hold it's state conference on Friday 18th August at the Education Development Centre, Hindmarsh. 8.30 - 4.00

The title; The Domino Effect and adult education promises to be thought provoking.

VALBEC ConferenceVALBEC Conference - Teaching and Learning: Reflection on practice

May 19, 2017

Call for Presentations

As teachers, we are continually learning from our students and working to improve our practice and learner outcomes. At the same time, we seek to expand our knowledge about teaching and learning in adult language, literacy and numeracy.

This conference will explore how and what we learn as teachers and how this is transferred into the classroom.

More details

4. Working in a remote community

NT and mapAre you dynamic adult educator, interested in living and working in a remote Aboriginal community?

Apply today to join Batchelor Institute's Remote Learning Centre Team as the Lajamanu Learning Centre Coordinator.

More

5. The Strategic Priority Project on LLN gets a boost

In the last ACAL newsletter you may have read about a project on Indigenous adult LLN in the NT. The Whole of Community Engagement (WCE) initiative has received a clear message from Indigenous leaders and six remote NT communities over the past 2.5 years. Being able to speak, read, write, learn and communicate in English and to apply these skills in life is viewed as essential by those who have educational aspirations for self, family and community. However, there are broad systemic factors at play which constitute a major barrier to educational, workplace and societal access for Indigenous adults. The good news is that the project, funded by the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) has been granted an extension until August 2017. This funding will enable us to:

  1. Organise broad networking and focused strategic consultations which include high levels of Indigenous involvement

  2. Implement and/or document and evaluate a number of innovative delivery models

  3. Build and support momentum for system-wide strategic change within government, non-government, academia, business and RTO sectors;

  4. Investigate the broad impacts of low ACSF levels in the NT

  5. Lay foundations for an Indigenous adult LLN strategy for the NT

Contact: Allison.Stewart@cdu.edu.au

6. Foundation Skills Literature Review Project

stack of bindersIn the rush to the end of 2016, some of you may have missed the release of the Foundation Skills Literature Review Project shared by ACAL, UTS and NCVER. This involved a group of four practitioners developing their research skills through focusing on key topics relating to foundation skills. Keiko Yasukawa did a fantastic job coordinating this project on behalf of ACAL.

The finished products can be found in the following links:

7. New issue Literacy & Numeracy Studies

Litracy and Numeracy StudiesVol 24, No 2 (2016) Free download

EDITORIAL

Editorial by Keiko Yasukawa

ARTICLES (PEER REVIEWED)

What happened to our community of practice? The early development of Adult Basic Education in NSW through the lens of professional practice theory by Pamela Osmond

Adult reading teachers’ beliefs about how less-skilled adult readers can be taught to read by Janet McHardy, Elaine Chapman

Write like a visual artist: Tracing the textually mediated art world by Janna Klostermann

BOOK REVIEW

Beyond Economic Interests: Critical Perspectives on Adult Literacy and Numeracy in a Globalised World by Tannis Atkinson, Nancy S Jackson

ISSN: 1839-2903

8. Resilience: Stories of Adult Learning

Resilience front coverResilience: Stories of Adult Learning is an anthology of adult learner stories, a testament to the resilience of human lives, the critical role of lifelong learning, and how adult literacies weave through our journeys, visibly and invisibly.

This is a project of RaPAL (UK), ACAL and Festival of Learning.

The editors gathered the authentic voices of learners across many different adult learning environments in Australia and the UK, collecting over a hundred stories and publishing them in a collection in multiple formats, including paperback, e-book and PDF.

If you're working in adult education, you'll be very familiar with the themes of this publication. Some of the themes are challenging and disturbing, and will resonate strongly for adult learners you're working with. These stories could be used in class as models of personal narrative; they could also be used as potential inspiration for adult learners creating their own recount of overcoming adversity, or looking for reasons to persevere with their own learning

Free download

It's available as a PDF, ebook or Kindle version.

You can download and use 'Resilience: stories of adult learning' in any way you choose. We simply ask you acknowledge if you take extracts.

Download it here

9. Membership renewal

Fees for 2017 have been set at

Join or renew online (pay too if you wish)

Download a membership form

Request an invoice (tell us your name and organisation)

10. AWPN professional networking meeting in Newcastle

Australian Workplace Practitioners’ Network (AWPN), Friday, 24 February 2017 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm (AEDT)

1.PwC Skills for Australia - An overview of their role as a Skills Service Organisation and consultation for the review of FSK Foundation Skills Training Package.

2. TAFE NSW, Newcastle Campus - Local Councils – diverse strategies for developing workplace foundation skills

More details

11. The Evolution and Impact of Literacy Campaigns and Programmes 2000–2014

UNESCO ReportThis UNESCO paper analyses the status and characteristics of adult literacy campaigns and programmes since 2000. Global trends are analysed in terms of the ten key aspects of the suggested framework for successful literacy campaigns and programmes.

Four case studies on major literacy campaigns in Brazil, India, South Africa and Indonesia are used to expand on these global trends in greater depth, particularly with regard to their specific features, challenges, success factors and results.

More

12. Seeing this newsletter for the first time?

In addition to the usual list, this newsletter is being sent to participants in the ACAL-ACTA 2016 Conference 'Diversity: Changing ways of being'.

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