Abilities in the blind spot of testing regimes: Eliciting the benefits and the limitations of participatory research approaches for numeracy in adult basic education.
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| Title: | Abilities in the blind spot of testing regimes: Eliciting the benefits and the limitations of participatory research approaches for numeracy in adult basic education. |
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| Authors: | Curdt, Wiebke1 wiebke.curdt@uni-hamburg.de, Schreiber-Barsch, Silke1,2 |
| Source: | International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. Jun2020, Vol. 66 Issue 2/3, p387-413. 27p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Ability testing, *Adult literacy, *People with disabilities, *Adults, *Adult education, Community-based participatory research, Numeracy |
| Abstract (English): | In the past decade, the numeracy component in adult basic education has gained scholarly attention. The issue has been addressed by large-scale assessments of adults' skills and intergovernmental policy agendas, but also by qualitative research into numeracy from the perspective of social practice theory. However, some aspects of numeracy are still under-researched. This article argues that adults with learning difficulties (also referred to by some as intellectual disabilities) and their numeracy-related abilities are still hidden in the blind spot of large-scale testing regimes. To address this underrepresentation, the authors present an overview of the key paradigms of a global testing culture, outline their two areas of interest, disability and numeracy, and identify the blind spots of large-scale international surveys. They consider ways of extending the range of methodological approaches to investigating (literacy and) numeracy, and opt for a participatory research approach, for which they identify five guiding principles. They showcase and reflect on these guiding principles by presenting selected data from a small-scale qualitative study on numeracy practices of adults with learning difficulties. Their aim is to demonstrate the benefits and limitations of using participatory research approaches in the context of investigating numeracy among all members of a country's adult population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Abstract (French): | Résumé: Les aptitudes dans l'angle mort des procédures de tests : révéler les avantages et les limites des méthodes de recherche participative concernant la numératie dans l'éducation de base des adultes – Durant la décennie passée, la numératie, en tant qu'élément de l'éducation de base des adultes, a suscité l'attention des scientifiques. Des évaluations à vaste échelle des compétences des adultes et des programmes politiques intergouvernementaux se sont consacrés à cette question qui a également fait l'objet de recherches qualitatives du point de vue de la théorie de la pratique. Cependant, certains aspects de la numératie restent sous-documentés. Le présent article affirme que les adultes qui ont des difficultés d'apprentissage (que certaines personnes appellent aussi des déficiences intellectuelles) et leurs aptitudes en matière de numératie restent invisibles, demeurant encore dans l'angle mort des procédures de tests menées à vaste échelle. Pour se pencher sur cette sous-représentation, les auteures livrent une vue d'ensemble des paradigmes clés de la culture mondiale du test, exposent brièvement leurs deux champs d'intérêt, le handicap et la numératie, et font un relevé des angles morts des grandes enquêtes internationales. Elles envisagent des façons d'élargir l'éventail des approches méthodologique pour explorer (la littératie et) la numératie, et optent pour une approche par la recherche participative pour laquelle elles déterminent cinq principes directeurs. Elles les mettent en avant et réfléchissent à leur sujet en présentant des données sélectionnées, extraites d'une petite étude qualitative sur les pratiques de numératie d'adultes ayant des difficultés d'apprentissage. Elles se proposent ainsi de démontrer les avantages et les limites des méthodes de recherche participative dans le contexte de l'étude de la numératie chez tous les membres de la population adulte d'un pays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | In the past decade, the numeracy component in adult basic education has gained scholarly attention. The issue has been addressed by large-scale assessments of adults' skills and intergovernmental policy agendas, but also by qualitative research into numeracy from the perspective of social practice theory. However, some aspects of numeracy are still under-researched. This article argues that adults with learning difficulties (also referred to by some as intellectual disabilities) and their numeracy-related abilities are still hidden in the blind spot of large-scale testing regimes. To address this underrepresentation, the authors present an overview of the key paradigms of a global testing culture, outline their two areas of interest, disability and numeracy, and identify the blind spots of large-scale international surveys. They consider ways of extending the range of methodological approaches to investigating (literacy and) numeracy, and opt for a participatory research approach, for which they identify five guiding principles. They showcase and reflect on these guiding principles by presenting selected data from a small-scale qualitative study on numeracy practices of adults with learning difficulties. Their aim is to demonstrate the benefits and limitations of using participatory research approaches in the context of investigating numeracy among all members of a country's adult population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00208566 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11159-020-09848-9 |
