Adults count too

While men perform slightly better than women, education level emerges as the strongest factor determining correct responses among the public. The research shows that those who leave education early are most likely to struggle with numeracy, and those who complete third level are most at ease. Questions asked include:

1. Percentage calculation: How much does an MP3 player cost including VAT at 21%.56% correct. 44% incorrect answer or didn’t know.
2. Area calculation: Participants were asked to calculate the area of a rectangular field – (multiple choice).56% correct. 44% incorrect or didn’t know.
3. Addition or multiplication: Participants were shown a picture of two trays of coke on top of each other and asked how many bottles were in the two trays. 83% correct. 17% incorrect answer or didn’t know.
4. Visual based calculation: Participants were shown a petrol gauge and asked to estimate how much petrol was left.73% correct. 27% incorrect answer or didn’t know.
5. Interpretation of a graph: Participants were shown a graph and were asked if a statement related to the graph was correct.32% correct. 68% incorrect answer or didn’t know.
6. Division: Participants were shown two value pack products and asked which they thought was better value.76% correct. 24% incorrect answer or didn’t know.

New TV campaign encourages adults to take the first step back to education

Today, in partnership with their long term sponsor An Post, the National Adult Literacy Agency will launched a major new TV advertising campaign with a view to encouraging and facilitating more adults improve their numeracy and literacy skills. Developed and funded by An Post, the advertisements profile three individuals who have overcome their problems with writing and maths and are intended to encourage people to make contact with adult education services by ringing the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) freephone support line.

The campaign is aimed at the one in four adults in Ireland who have literacy and numeracy difficulties – these include people who left school early, those who have got out of practise reading and writing, and those whom the education system failed. In Ireland almost 20% of the labour force have less than lower secondary level education and an additional 12% have only primary or below. This amounts to 400,000 people.

Taking the first steps on any difficult journey requires courage and commitment – and for those who have literacy or numeracy difficulties, the stigma attached can prove daunting and discouraging. This campaign aims to dispel this stigma by focusing on the benefits of returning to further education.

Inez Bailey, Director, National Adult Literacy Agency, said,  “We greatly welcome An Post’s continued commitment to supporting people with literacy and numeracy difficulties in Ireland and congratulate them on producing this campaign. Many adults over the years have left school early and have no qualifications. This can act as a barrier to accessing other educational opportunities. As low skilled jobs become less available, these people are now at the greatest risk of unemployment and already form the greatest group who are unemployed.Those with higher education and training levels can adapt their skills for new and emerging work. This is rarely an option for the very low skilled, who with less opportunities are forced into state dependency.”

“This research highlights once again that those who left school early have lower levels of numeracy skills overall and may require specific help and encouragement to allow them to function effectively when faced with everyday numerical challenges. We have no doubt that this campaign will encourage people throughout Ireland to take the first step into education and ultimately change people’s lives,” she said.

According to the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs[iii] (EGFSN), mathematical competence is an essential life skill required by all adults for participating in a modern society and recommend that a national approach is required to improve the level of mathematical achievement. This includes support for parents who have a key role to play in encouraging their children’s engagement in maths education. This role, however, can be limited by the fact that many parents do not feel proficient in the maths curriculum.

They advise that the mathematical knowledge of adults in the workplace is addressed. Mathematical proficiency is not limited to only high skilled jobs. Workers in low and medium skilled level jobs also require basic maths, for example, the ability of retail workers to function effectively when engaged in tasks involving numbers. They also recommend that the need for improved mathematics proficiency should be promoted along with other key generic skills such as knowledge of ICT and communications skills.

The new TV campaign follows An Post’s hugely successful TV, cinema and radio advertising campaign, which resulted in thousands of people contacting NALA for help with reading and writing since the start of the campaign in 2007. The TV campaign was researched, developed and funded by An Post, in association with the National Adult Literacy Agency. 

An Post Chief Executive Donal Connell said, “Literacy is a very important issue for this country, one which impinges on the quality of life of our customers and has the power to help themfulfiltheir true potential.  Equally, it is critical for the future development and growth of our society and our economy.  An Post is at the heart of Irish life, commercially and socially and we want to continue to play our part, by providing long-term support in a meaningful context, in conjunction with NALA”.

The campaign will be launched by the Minister for Lifelong learning, Sean Haughey, T.D, at 11am in the National Library of Ireland, Dublin to mark the start of National Adult Literacy Awareness Week (6 – 10 September).

The campaign will air on RTE, TV3, Sky, E4 and the Living channel throughout September.

Ends

For further information contact:

Clare McNally, National Adult Literacy Agency, 01 8509109 / 087 6486292

Anna McHugh, An Post, (01) 705 8832  /  086 2350697

Notes on numeracy survey

The main objective of this study was to ascertain how numerically literate the public is, by asking two primary school level maths questions and four real life maths scenarios taken from an OECD survey, in order to make the questions as life like as possible. 

Key findings

• Four in ten adults incorrectly answer at least half or all of the six maths questions asked of the general public in this study.
• Education level emerges as the strongest factor determining correct responses among the public. This research shows that those who leave formal education at primary level are most likely to struggle with numeracy, and those completing third level education are most at ease.
• Social grade also determines numerical ability, as ABC1 are much more likely than C2DE’s to get the answers right. Farmers score somewhere in between both groups.
• Men perform better than women overall, but age does not appear to be a strong factor determining numerical ability.
• Overall this research highlights that two distinct sub-groups of the population – those who left school at primary level and C2DE’s – have lower levels of numeracy skills overall and may require specific help and encouragement to allow them to function effectively when faced with everyday numerical challenges.

Research Method

• A questionnaire was developed by the National Adult Literacy Agency with assistance from Terry Maguire, Head of Lifelong Learning at the Institute of Technology Tallaght.
•  The questionnaire was included on the Millward Brown Lansdowne Omnibus Survey. 
• The Omnibus is a face-to-face, in-home survey asked of a representative sample of adults aged 15+ years living in the Republic of Ireland.
• The sample is quota controlled in terms of gender, age, social class and region, to reflect the actual demographics of the adult population.
• Interviews were conducted at 64 sampling, representative of the size and spread of urban and rural localities nationwide.
• Sample size: 1,010 
• Fieldwork dates:          23^rd July – 7^th August 2010

The National Adult Literacy Agency

The National Adult Literacy Agency is an independent membership organisation, concerned with developing policy, advocacy, research and offering advisory services in adult literacy work in Ireland. NALA was established in 1980 and has campaigned since then for the recognition of, and responses to, the adult literacy issue in Ireland. The VEC Adult Literacy Service is the largest provider of adult literacy tuition in Ireland. Currently there are an estimated 50,000 adults attending 130 VEC Adult Literacy Services in Ireland.

New course for unemployed

NALA have a free course for the unemployed that they can do from home. It’s a level 3 FETAC qualification (junior cert) and they can choose what they want to learn – from Preparation for Work to Computer Skills. Free phone 1800 20 20 65 or Free Text ‘Learn’ to 50050.

An Post

An Post is a major commercial organisation providing a wide range of services encompassing postal, communications, financial and retail facilities.  It is one of Ireland’s largest companies directly employing over 9,500 people across the state.  An Post handles more than three million items of mail each day, using a road fleet of 3,000 vehicles to ensure daily mail deliveries to 1.6 million business and residential addresses.   The company also operates an unrivalled national network of 1,300 post offices.

Attached Files: 

NALA Numerical Ability Study 2010.ppt