literacy link

December 2000

NEWSLETTER OF THE AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR ADULT LITERACY ISSN 0158-3026 Vol 20 No 6

L i te racy and communi ty deve lopment

Reading the Community

—lessons for development . . . . . . . . .2

Literacy and the Tasmanian

Aboriginal community . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Review

—Going for your Ls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Best Practice

—QCAL’s ‘Tutors Tips no. 1’ . . . . . . . .7

Stardale Centre

—learning and healing for women . . .11

The Sailing Program

—literacy for youth at risk . . . . . . . . .13

ACAL Youth Literacy Project

—the final in the series . . . . . . . . . . .14

Adult literacy contact details . . . . . . . . . .16

c o n t e n t s :

A C A L

In ‘Reading the Community’ (page 2), SusanBlack writes that ‘because we (in Australia)have such strong service delivery, (that

meets our needs with health, for example, orwater and electricity) we have not had to put somuch energy into the skill of developing ourcommunities’. Susan offers three importantlessons for community development workersbased on her experiences both within Australiaand overseas.

The article (page 11) describing the StardaleCentre in Saskatchewan, Canada presents amodel for community development programsremarkable for its strong sense of purpose.

In Stardale’s commitment to holistic education(that is education of the whole self: mind, body,and spirit) it shows clear parallels withAdelaide’s Tauondi College described in theprevious issue of Literacy Link. It also points tothe future and the considerable energy thatneeds to go into the marketing of communityprograms if they are to be successful.

ACAL Youth Literacy ProjectThe ACAL Youth Literacy Project concludes inthis issue and researcher, Carolyn Ovens,draws together her findings in the final of herthree articles. Please find time to read it—it pre-sents our profession with some importantchallenges and it offers, too, some possiblecourses of action.

2001—Year of the VolunteerNext year is the International Year of theVolunteer and Literacy Link will devote an earlyissue to the work of volunteer literacy practi-tioners. Adult l iteracy in Australia had itsearliest beginnings with volunteering and it wasone of ACAL’s priorities to dismantle percep-tions of the field as the preserve of amateurs.ACAL worked to present the field as a profes-sion with a real career path. Practitioners wereto be full-t ime workers who were notexploitable—respected possessors of a body ofknowledge acquired through research.

Literacy Link spoke to a volunteer literacyworker last week who told of her frustration andsense of isolation in her work with Melbourne’spoor. She did not know ACAL existed. Perhapsthe wheel has turned a full circle and the rela-tionship of ACAL towards literacy volunteersnow needs re-examination. Literacy Link wouldwelcome your contributions to this area.

‘The Sailing Program’ for youth at risk (see page 13)

of the AboriginalChildcare services inMt Isa who providedmobile services to thesurrounding remotecommunities, heard ofthis and offered tocome in and run it,

bringing the mobile van, worker & resources.Within six months, not only did the local peoplenot have control over their own playgroup, butalso the service had been withdrawn due tofunding cuts, so the playgroup no longerexisted. This is not an uncommon story wherepeople who begin to take initiative are over-runby well meaning services. Instead of empower-ment of people, there is activedisempowerment. This was a good example of aproject being imposed upon people without con-sideration of their view of the world.

In Australia, we predominantly have a systemthat is based on social development ensuringan effective service delivery mechanism. This issomething for which I am very thankful, forinstance, when I have health problems or needa reliable supply of running water and electrici-ty. However, because we have such strongservice delivery, we have not had to put somuch energy into the skill of developing ourcommunities. The loss of community-minded-ness or neighbourliness is something whichmany people decry around Australia.

Lesson 1:Service delivery is very like banking educationwhere the issues are named by the educatorand not the people concerned.

In comparison, community development workson the principles of liberation education asdefined by Freire, where people act, reflect ontheir action and name the world for the purposeof changing it.

Listen to the community - read it.In India, there is a strong tradition of communi-ty development, in part because the servicedelivery, for poor people, is practically non-existent. This strong tradition has beendeveloping over many years, learning fromexperience and gaining insights into best devel-opmental practice.

When I was in India, in Maharashtra, we livednot far from SNDT, the Women’s University inPune. This University has a School of AdultEducation and people from this school werekeen to take education out to the rag pickers inPune. The rag pickers are the people whocollect rubbish from the streets and sort thematerial for recycling, selling various bits to

Reading the community

2 Literacy Link December 2000

by Susan Black

continued on page 4

What I would like to do this afternoon isto share three stories of how differentgroups have responded successfully

to working developmentally with a community,both overseas and here in Australia. Then Iwould like to draw out some of the commonthreads.

These threads relate to some of the lessons Ihave learnt:• Recognise the difference between service

delivery and community development • Listen to the community - read it, as best you

can• Learn to hold your agenda lightlyThe stories I am drawing on are from my time inCommunity Aid Abroad and my experienceworking on the community sector at Sandgate.

Recognise the differencebetween service delivery andcommunity development.In Australian society what we usually seehappen in our communities is that people comein with a program: it may be health, economicdevelopment or jobs, domestic violence or liter-acy and numeracy. That agenda is then sold tothe people, and if it doesn’t work, well it’s oftendescribed as the fault of the community, in thatthey failed the test in some way. Sometimes inthe process of foisting the agenda or service onpeople, it leaves people with less confidence intheir own abilities.

This certainly is similar to Paulo Freire’s modelof “banking education” where people are seenas empty vessels to be filled. Freire describesthe banking line of planning a program as being‘top down’. “They approach peasants or urbanmasses with projects which may respond totheir own view of the world, but not to that ofthe people.”

When I was working for Community Aid AbroadI visited a (primarily) indigenous community innorthwest Queensland, and heard the story ofhow some people in this little township had gottogether and started their own playgroup. One

Susan Black spent 6 years as the State Director and Project Officer for CommunityAid Abroad’s Aboriginal program in Queensland and is currently the coordinatorfor the Sandgate and Bracken Ridge Action Group (SANDBAG)The following article is from a paper Susan presented at the ALNARC Forum 11thMay, 2000 and is reprinted with permission from the Queensland Council for AdultLiteracy. It first appeared in QCAL’s ‘Write On’ June 2000 vol 17 no 4.

In Australia... because we have such strong service delivery, we have not had to put

so much energy into the skill of developing our communities.

Literacy Link December 2000 3

Literacy Link (ISSN 0158-3026) isthe newsletter of the AustralianCouncil for Adult Literacy. The Council is a voluntary organisa-tion set up in 1976 to support thedevelopment of adult literacy, numer-acy and basic education in Australia.

ACAL promotes co-operation amonginterested organisations and individ-uals, both government andnon-government, by undertaking andencouraging appropriate study,research and action.

Literacy Link is distributed free toACAL members. Articles are avail-able online on the ACAL Homepage:http://www.acal.edu.auYou are invited to discuss issuesraised in Literacy Link through con-tributions to the ACAL Discussionlist. Subscribe by email to : majordomo@edna.edu.au with message

subscribe acal-discussion end.

The email address is:acal-discussion@edna edu.au

Editorial Committee:Jim Thompson (editor), GeraldineCastleton, Ann Kelly, Liz Cooper,Tess Were, Ruth Trenerry, ClaireGardnerProduction by David DicksonCopy should be sent to email: dicksond@labyrinth.net.au

Correspondence for ACAL includingmembership should be addressed to:PO Box 2283, Canberra ACT 2601Ph: 03 9326 8369 Fx: 03 9326 8670Email: acal@mira.net

Aboriginal Training Programs is a commu-nity oriented education program situatedin TAFE Tasmania. The program is

funded, primarily, under the IndigenousEducation Strategic Initiative Program adminis-tered through DETYA. While the program’sfocus is widespread one of our aims is toincrease literacy standards within the communi-ty. This becomes particularly important with theimplementation of the National Training pack-ages in Vocational Education and Training asthere are requirements for underpinning abili-ties in literacy that could beexclusive.

The Commonwealth fundingwe receive is currently usedto purchase programs fromTAFE Tasmania and toemploy support persons in theform of Aboriginal VETOfficers. The programs thatare delivered are chosen onthe basis of community needbased on feedback from gov-ernment departments,employment agencies, theindustry sector and the com-munity. The programs aredeveloped with regard tofuture employment opportuni-ties.

Among our numerous initia-tives has been thedevelopment of a tele-tutoring course calledTunapi, which was developed to provide anavenue for isolated communities and individualsto access relevant literacy based education.The word Tunapi means ‘to know’ and comesfrom the language of the SoutheasternTasmanian people. During its lifetime the initial

course underwent a process of evolution thatwas participant driven.

Tunapi began, in 1991, as a ten week non-accredited program and developed into a 22week program with an accredited element. Oneof the physical outcomes was the publication, ina number of volumes, of collections of students’work. The course is currently under revision asa possible online/tele-tutoring undertaking andthe inherent flexibility of the initial program isone of the aspects of Tunapi that we hope to

maintain. Information aboutthe Tunapi program was con-tributed to the recentlyconducted national survey intoaccess and equity online butwe are yet to see any outcomefrom this. Tunapi was alsoused as a prison educationcourse as part of our contribu-tion to the Mabbyle Largennerproject.

Mabbyle Largenner is a prisoneducation program thatAboriginal Training Programsassists with in association withThe Department ofCorrections, DEWRSB andPrison staff. AboriginalTraining Programs involve-ment includes financialassistance, cultural support,resources and support in an

advisory capacity by participation on the com-mittee.

The program is also involved in promoting part-nerships with Government departments.Working relationships have been developedwith DETYA, DEWRSB, OVET, ANTA and

Literacy and the TasmanianAboriginal community by Casandra Jefferson

ca

se

stu

dy

Janice Ross (left) and KimBishop—Tasmanian studentsnominated for Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Student ofthe Year.

ATSIC on a common-wealth level and theOffice of AboriginalAffairs, DPIWE, TheEducation Department,Department ofCorrections and theDepartment of Healthat a state level. Inaddition we haveworked in partnershipwith the majority ofTasmanian AboriginalOrganisations includ-

ing the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre,Tasmanian Aboriginal Education Associationand South Eastern Tasmanian AboriginalCorporation.

We have a close involvement with a number ofcolleges working to ensure that young peoplehave options in terms of educational pathways.This involves focussing on developing transi-

tional programs thatare comfortable andaccessible. TheUniversity of Tasmaniais another pathwaythat we encouragestudents to undertake,if viable, and weprovide support forthem to access thisavenue. In short ourrole involves commu-nication, negotiationand the developmentof partnerships withCommonwealth, State

4 Literacy Link October 2000

Students working in the Aboriginal TrainingPrograms classroom.

Students having an afternoon nap during afield trip to the west coast. They travelledon the Wanderer II out of Strahan.

scrap merchants. The thinking of the Universitystaff was that by offering education and literacyto these people they could better themselvesand find alternative work.

As I am sure many of you are aware, India hasa very powerful caste system, and rag pickersare the lowest in the caste structure, if not out-casts. They are also mostly women. Theeducators, whilst also mostly women, had verydifferent life experiences and more importantlycame from a much higher caste.

The attempts to start literacy and numeracyclasses were unsuccessful. The educators wereoutsiders to this community and could notunderstand the realities of the lives of the ragpickers, nor could they see the world as the ragpickers saw it. Literacy and numeracy was not ahigh priority for the rag picking women.

To their credit, the teachers did not give upbecause of the failure. They did not blame the

rag pickers, but instead decided to learn moreabout the lives of the rag-picking women. Theywent back to the community and took part intheir daily lives. Donning rubber gloves, theywent from bin to bin with the women, talked tothem about their realities and saw for them-selves what was most important in the lives ofthese women. The real issues facing thesewomen related to how alone and vulnerable toabuse they were in their work and the ongoingpoverty.

The Women’s University people realised thebasic need for collective strength to ensure thatthe women would be confident and able tostand up for their rights. The women wereencouraged and supported to form a union,which allowed them to legitimately press theirclaims for a safe work environment free fromharassment by police or scrap merchants. Theunion also helped to raise the status and profileof the rag pickers by highlighting the essentialservice they provided to the city in waste man-agement and recycling. This was achieved

Reading the community

and Local Government as well as communityorganisations.

Aboriginal Training Programs has an integralrole in involving Aboriginal Tasmanians in main-stream education and employment. It also aimsto involve our smaller community group with thegreater Tasmanian community by enablingopportunities for community awareness of theprogram, its successes and by the provision ofreference materials of interest to the wider com-munity.

One of the methods we have used to bring thecourse to the community’s attention was by par-ticipation in the making of the video, We’re notlost which aired on the ABC’s Message Stickprogram in May this year. Students from thecourse contributed to the making of themessage stick video while on a field trip to theFurneaux Islands. While the focus wasIndigenous Tasmanians there was an emphasison our contribution to the Tasmanian communi-ty and education through TAFE Tasmania.Aboriginal Training Programs hopes to continueour involvement in film making under the guid-ance of Jim Everett who was the driving forcebehind We’re not Lost.

In all of these undertakings, including those stillin the planning stages, the team at AboriginalTraining Programs hopes to provide concreteassistance to ensure that the Aboriginal com-munity is fully equipped to play a viable andsuccessful part in the wider community at alllevels.Thanks to Michelle Purdy, for her assis-tance with this article.

Casandra JeffersonAboriginal VET Officer

Aboriginal Training Programs, Tasmania

through issuing workers with badges, lobbyinglocal government and demonstrating outsidethe police station. Through this process, womenwho had felt alone, fearful and powerless hadbegun to take their private concerns into thepublic world, successfully.

The work of SNDT Women’s University had, atthat stage, little to do with education in the tra-ditional sense. It was not a long time before therag-pickers began to ask for literacy and numer-acy as they saw the need to be able to signforms, check weights and payments from scrapmerchants and middlemen. It was as they tookcontrol of their own lives that literacy andnumeracy became a part of their journey.

The Women’s University proved itself a learningorganisation, committed and willing to take risksin journeying with people.

Lesson 2:This lesson shows how SNDT came in with anagenda of delivering a service but was respon-sive enough to stop to listen to the community.The university built a developmental relation-ship with people and worked on the issues thatwere relevant to them. “Without dialogue there is no communicationand without communication there can be no trueeducation.” Freire

Carry your agenda lightlyAn example from SANDBAG’s work is the devel-opment of relationships with the indigenouscommunity.

When I started at SANDBAG in 1997, I beganwith establishing a Reconciliation group. I alsofelt strongly that on indigenous issues it wasprimarily up to indigenous people to take thelead. All too often processes had been badlydamaged by interfering whites.

Gradually the reconciliation group began toconnect with the local indigenous communityand to support initiatives coming from theindigenous community. One of the early con-nections occurred when the local indigenoushealth worker organised a celebration inSandgate around National Aboriginal andIslander Day of Commemoration (NAIDOC). Weprovided some practical support with transport,and tables and moral support in being there. Iremember clearly a conversation on that daywhen one of the Aboriginal men asked whetherwe had considered employing an indigenousworker. I replied quite simply “No” as my expe-rience had been that there were too manynon-indigenous organisations doing a bad job oftrying to provide services, with indigenousmoney, to Aboriginal people. Whilst it was quitesome time before there was any follow-up onthat conversation, it certainly got me thinkingabout whose agenda I was carrying. I needed tothink about what was being asked of my organ-isation, i.e. how I was to respond to the

expressed needs of the community, rather thanworking from an ideological perspective.

Over the next 18 months, we began to do morethings collaboratively and build relationshipswith local indigenous people. On some issuesthe initiative came from the ReconciliationGroup (such as organising a Sorry Day) whilstother times the initiative was the IndigenousNetwork’s (l ike the NAIDOC celebrations).Some joint actions were in response to issuesof racism in the local community. Several of theindigenous people have come onto SANDBAG’sManagement committee over the last 18months.

SANDBAG is now auspicing the indigenousnetwork in some successful funding applica-tions as well as exploring funding to employ anindigenous worker. Currently there is an indige-nous playgroup operating, some cultural eventsand men’s outings with the possibility of adultliteracy and numeracy to be explored. Thethought of auspicing the network and employingan indigenous worker was something that whenfirst approached I had not even considered. Myanalysis had been that indigenous servicesneeded to be run through indigenous organisa-tions and yet the local community requested adifferent approach.

Lesson 3: For SANDBAG the lesson learnt related toresponding to requests that were unusual. Aswe build relationships and hear people’sstories, we will need to be prepared to chal-lenge our own rigidities so that we can respondin appropriate and developmental ways.

Conclusion:1. Our role is to encourage people’s own devel-opment, not just to provide a service to them.

2. To listen and hear the community’s need iscritical to building a developmental relationshipand this may take us on a journey different fromwhat we expect.

3. To recognise that we will most definitely havean agenda and what that agenda is, will dependon where we come from and who funds us. Weneed to acknowledge our agenda but hold thatagenda lightly if we are to respond to the realneeds of people in their everyday lives.

This is a fundamental challenge for all who areworking in a society where, increasingly, com-munity organisations are accountable to fundingbodies and authorities rather than the communi-ties we serve.

Literacy Link December 2000 5

...my experience had been that there were too many non-indigenous organisations doing a bad job of trying toprovide services, with indigenous money, to Aboriginalpeople.

6 Literacy Link June 2000

Going for your Ls($59.95)Central West Community College 2000

If you are a high school teacher looking for anew way to teach literacy skills or a CGEA lec-turer looking for an alternative GeneralCurriculum Option (GCO), then Going for yourLs could be the resource you need.

In 1988, the Literacy Programs team at CentralWest Community College in Bathurst, NSWrecognised a demand for help from peoplepreparing for their RTA driver knowledge test.In response, they designed a 16-hour courseaimed at helping people with language barriers,literacy problems or simply a fear of testsand/or computers.

This resource kit was originally developed in1991 and since then has been regularly addedto and updated. The result is a flexible, user-friendly package which caters for a wide rangeof students and complies with competency-based training requirements. Consequently, itcan also be delivered as a 30-hour GCO. Adetailed guide showing how the lesson contentrelates to GCO level 1 and 2 learning outcomesis included.

The course itself consists of ten modules whichcover every aspect of road safety for cars,motorbikes and heavy vehicles. Each has adetailed lesson plan and ready-made work-sheets. Extension activities, practice tests anda list of additional resources are also included.

The strength of this package is that there areplenty of short, practical activities built intoeach module to keep students motivated. Forexample, in Module 6 ‘Intersections, round-abouts and turns’, students brainstorm therules, checking their results in the Motor TrafficHandbook and various RTA leaflets. They thenpractise the rules using toy cars followed by awalk to a local roundabout to survey road users.Through these activities, the students cover awide range of GCO learning outcomes such asanalysing information, problem solving andteam work. They also practise their literacy

skills through reading, comprehension, note-taking and summarising.

As a teaching resource, I found the material tobe clearly presented and easy to use. Thepackage is in loose-leaf form for convenientfiling and photocopying. The lesson plans arethorough yet flexible and simple to negotiate.The only problem could be keeping up with newlegislation. However, this package is designedto be used in conjunction with the current RTAhandbook and computer test, so discrepanciesshould be minimal.

Whether you choose to deliver the wholecourse or use individual modules to supplementan existing program, this package is well worthadding to your collection.

Christine SparhamLecturer in Communications and English

Challenger TAFE WA

re

vie

w

“Literacy for sale”VALBEC Conference

22-23 March 2001 Melbourne (venue to be confirmed)

Call for papers

contact Don MacDowallphone 03 9546 6892email valbec@vicnet.net.au

Literacy Link December 2000 7

Tutors’ Tips firstappeared as a series

of inserts in theQCAL newsletter

‘Write On’

8 Literacy Link December 2000

Literacy Link December 2000 9

Stardale is a learning and healing centrefor Aboriginal women and women ofpoverty, serving the communities in

Northern Saskatchewan.

Our mission in Stardale is to provide life skillsand literacy education, as well as advocacy towomen living in poverty and abusive situations,towards empowering their lives, their families,and their communities, thus overcoming sys-temic barriers.

We strive to provide, in our centre in Melfort, aspecial place which safeguards the clients’’safety and comfort in expressing their feelings,past experiences, traumas and hurts within theconfines of a friendly and caring environmentthat respects their individuality and freedom ofthought.

The four components of the holistic StardaleModel encompass the physical, emotional,mental and spiritual aspects of life. As buildingblocks to a journey of awakening, healing, self-respect and empowerment, the Stardale Modelencourages development of skills and enlight-enment by healing with compassion.

Our Learning and Healing Centre opened inJanuary 1998. There is now a great demand forthe current programs we offer, and long waitinglists already for some of the programs.

Activities & accomplishmentsOur inaugural program, Honouring Ourselves,was a 24-week program - which began with a14-week Life Skills program, coupled with a 4-week literacy component, followed by a 5-weekdelivery of a child care worker certif icateprogram. This first program was based on theresults of the needs assessment that identifiedthe lack of training in the day care area.

A needs assessment entitled Aboriginal Womenand Women of Poverty identified high degreesof reported abuse/violence among aboriginaland women of poverty, and situations wherewomen are placed at risk. As a result, the LifeSkills component of the program concentratedon the healing and empowerment of women toovercome the barriers and the marginalisationwithin which they subsisted. Thus, we initiated aLife Skil ls program, which is specificallydesigned to include self, family, job/education,community, and leisure. All of these elementscombined are critical first steps toward self-empowerment.

The second very important component of theLife Skills program vital to the women’s healing,growth, and transformation is literacy. Women

who have been abused and neglected (as in thecase of all of our participant clients), severelylack literacy skills. This factor, teamed with thelow self-esteem that has been generated fromlife-long abuse, as well as their lack of person-al skills, has kept these women oppressed andunemployed with no hope. As we all know, liter-acy opens doors to the world, and theknowledge gained begins to create access topositive alternatives for women. As a result,learning and knowledge encompassed in thedevelopment of literacy skills is a critical part ofour Life Skills Program.

Renewal of the Spirit was an 8-week Life Skil ls program with1-week collective kitchen leader-ship component. This programwas initiated through the monthsof May and June 1998. The partic-ipants were all poor women whoreceive social assistance.Community groups in our area hadidentified that community kitchensare a positive method of address-ing poverty and hunger. Propernutrition on a shoestring budget isa challenge for our participantclients. Food, safety and nutritionare constant struggles that arebeing addressed in the collectivekitchens. A manual has beendeveloped and is now being usedalso by the Health District for theirprojects in developing food securi-ty initiatives.

Women in the surrounding com-munity hearing about theHonouring Ourselves program byword of mouth, requested a similarprogram again within which theycould participate. Upon thisrequest, a second program in theseries, entitled, Illumination FromWithin, commenced in September1998, with a Life Skills compo-nent, followed by a literacycomponent, and concluding with acertification as an office workerwith computer skills. On June 5,1999, the first group of talentedwomen graduated from thisprogram very successfully indeed.

Our next endeavor was the com-mencement of another programentitled, Transcendence To TheFuture, which was based upon the

Literacy Link December 2000 11

Stardale—learning and healing for womenin Saskatchewan, Canada by Helen McPhaden

Breaking the Cyclesby

Creating the Circles

Stardale Holistic Model

We believe in:• Each woman heals in her

own time and place

• Say what you mean, meanwhat you say, and do it

• No one person is better thanthe next

• Being respectful of theexperience of each woman

• Experiential learning &healing

• Releasing the victim’sconscience

• Wisdom is shared instorytelling

• Embracing ourselves &embracing each other

• Self-discovery process ofthe woman making art

• Support & unconditionallove

• The warrior woman whobattles her own destructivepatterns & tendencies

• Tears are healing

• Laughter is enriching

12 Literacy Link December 2000

overwhelming numbers of poor women whohave been on our waiting lists, or who werereferred to our organisation by other serviceproviders. In this program, the women who pre-viously had suffered many atrocities in theirl ives, started to transform themselves byacknowledging their pain with honesty and acommitment to change. They began to achieveharmony, balance and freedom of thought. Itwas slow process rebuilding their lives. Yet,they were willing to conquer life’s challengesand heal their past. One of the women from thisgroup has started a new business at JamesSmith Cree Nation, which is a greenhouse oper-ation.

To meet the needs of many of our youth,Stardale also has undertaken a 3-phaseprogram entitled, Exploring Our Options. Thiswas a cooperative project in collaboration withthe East Side L.I.M.B., Human Resources ofCanada, Melfort Ministerial, James Smith CreeNation and Stardale. This project focused oneducation and community development.

In September, Stardale offered anotherprogram entitled, Rediscovery of Self, whichcommenced with a 14-week Life Skills program.The format of the program concentrated on nur-turing the women and dealing with manysensitive topics. This program ended onDecember 17, 1999, as the women moved intotwo other programs entitled, Framework ForChange–ALAPS, an Aboriginal Family LiteracyProgram and Harmonious Learning – an individ-ual one on one and group literacy/GEDprogram. We are enthusiastic about the endlesspossibilities for the women as they begin thisnew course in their lives.

The Talking QuiltIn order to address the emotional and personalneeds of our women, Stardale designed a pilotproject utilizing various personal and emotionalhealing methods, and implemented a programentitled, The Talking Quilt. This endeavorencompassed the medium of color, texture,pattern, touchability and artistry, with visualand mental stimulation. It provided a spark thatignited the flame of reconciliation for all thewomen and youth who participated in thedesigning and the stitching of the Quilt.

As the Quilt was stitched, group counsellingsessions were held and videotaped; oral andwritten life stories were logged from the begin-ning to the completion, in order to record thefull intensity of the momentum of healing,growth and change in each participant. At theconclusion of the project, a video productionwas developed incorporating the quilt ingprocess, the counselling sessions/discussionsand the eventual celebration together with anarrative telling their stories.

The method of approach in the Quilt project

focused on the element of “council sharing” thatis a traditional way. Thus, the council of womenformed a circle and discussed their lives’ hurts,joys, traumas and experiences giving way toindividual awakening, emotional healing anddevelopment that manifested itself through theQuilt as the speakers of truth.

At Stardale, we focus on individual expressionof the self in all art forms whether in pictures,paintings, sculpture, weaving or quilt making.We feel that the expression of thought of eachparticipant in these projects manifests itself inan expression of artistry, skil lfulness andimmense talent, which all women have. Theirunique talents also have been exhibited on TheTalking Quilt.

Community supports, partner-ships and linkagesPartners, associates and sponsors of theStardale Centre include: Human ResourcesDevelopment Canada, CanSask, CumberlandRegional College, James Smith Cree Nation,Aboriginal Women’s Council of Saskatchewan(PA), The Aboriginal Healing Foundation,Pasquia Health District, Melfort MinisterialAssociation, & Porcupine Opportunities For theDisabled. Stardale also represents the commu-nity organisations of the North East sector onthe Provincial LINKS board.

Stardale also works closely with Victim’sServices, North Central Health District, EastSide L.I.M.B., Prince Albert Against FamilyViolence, Prince Albert Grand Council Women’sCommission, Sask Energy (Aboriginal Affairs),Melfort Food Bank, N.E. intersectorial; and isassociated with Sask Native Housing(Saskatoon), Alberta Life Skills & Literacy Ltd.,Y.W.C.A (Calgary)

Where to from here?Our team of partners are continuously search-ing for funding for the undertaking of thesuccessful programs at Stardale. Recently,(March 2-5, 2000), the Canadian Congress forLearning Opportunities for Women held a con-ference in Toronto with 110 women inattendance. The Stardale program coordinatorwas invited to present a paper on the impacts oftrauma and violence on women’s learning: aprogram model.

As a direct result of these presentations, moreand more discussions are taking place withother NGO’s from across Canada wanting touse Stardale as the hub and an exemplarymodel in structuring their programs. Thisprocess is now being strategized.

Ms. Helen McPhaden Program Coordinator, Stardale Women’s

Group Inc. Foundation.

Box 1752 Melfort, Saskatchewan S0E 1A0 -Email: stardale@sk.sympatico.ca

In Melbourne’s northern suburbs, PrestonReservoir Adult and Community Education(PRACE) has worked with the Darebin Youth

Resource Centre Bay over the last year to runtwo courses for young people combining litera-cy with sailing an old schooner, the Zephyr, onPort Phillip.

The first program involved kids who respondedto notices placed in local community agencies.The second group of a dozen young peoplewere each referred to the program and were allin the ‘at risk’ category—marginalised by familybreakdown, truancy, substance abuse and pettycrime.

This second group is the focus of this article.These young people were typically referred bytheir case managers from the Department ofJustice. Twelve young people agreed to putdown their names for the Sailing Program.

Some attended only sporadically, drifting in andout of the program in between bouts of home-lessness. But the attendance of three girls andfive boys was ‘fairly regular’.

‘None of these kids had been at school for along time,’ said Stella Avram, Coordinator of theDarebin Youth Resource Centre. ‘TheEducation Department often refers youngpeople to PRACE-five 14 year olds werereferred in October alone.

‘Their literacy levels are really, really low.Together with PRACE we noted their resistanceto filling in the forms at the beginning of theprogram, and decided to cut back on literacyand to focus instead on engaging them. Forthese kids, aged 14 to 17, just having them getup early and attend on time can be regarded asa success,’ said Ms Avram.

The focus of the ten week program was activitybased. Participants attended two days a week.There were built-in incentives to attend such asswimming (you have to be able to swim beforegoing on the boat).

Four questions aimed at increasing knowledgeabout Port Phillip Bay formed the basis of dis-cussion: • Who were the original owners of the Bay?• What can be found in the Bay? • What is the Bay used for? • What dangers threaten the Bay?

The program started off with the young people

addressing these questions through a drawingexercise. Eventually participants were findinganswers from researching the Internet. Theprogram made these activities fun by coming upwith a quiz game along the lines of ‘Who Wantsto be a Millionaire?’

On completion of the course participantsreceived a certificate from PRACE and a level 1First Aid Certificate.

Ms Avram, whose background is in criminologyand corrections, offered the following rationalefor the cutting back of the literacy component inthe program: ‘These kids really are margin-alised: our first priority is to secure their healthand safety.

‘But, if we can successfully engage with thesekids, over time we hope to introduce them tomore intensive literacy programs, such as theone we run for 16 year olds going for theirlearner’s permit. This is totally literacy basedand supports the kids right through to the testfor their learner’s permit.’

Not all the pro-grams the DarebinYouth ResourceCentre run in part-nership with PRACEare intended foryoung people whoare at risk and mar-ginalised. They runa range of commu-nity literacy-basedprograms for verydifferent targetgroups in the 12 to24 age group.

There is a Somaliangroup. There areYoung Achieversprograms run inpartnership withlocal schools.

There is a YoungMums group whichhas five weekprogram of intensiveliteracy for women aged 18 to 23. This involvesvocational training and personal developmentarising from encouraging the participants’playing with and reading to their children.

The young women produce a story book fortheir children and this involves computer skillsdevelopment, looking ahead to the time whenthe women are seeking work.

David Dickson

Literacy Link December 2000 13

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14 Literacy Link September 1999

This is the final article in the series ofthree arising from commissionedresearch undertaken for ACAL into “The

Relevance of Literacy: How can our respectivepolicy responsibil it ies be realised throughcommon concern for young people and thecause and effect role of literacy in their lives".

There has been a recent call by theOrganisation of Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD) for policy cohesion inrelation to the exclusion from effective partici-pation in society of increasing numbers ofyoung people in its member states. Ministers atthe OECD Conference in London (8-9 February2000) called for discussion and best practiceexamples for policy cohesion around the socialinclusion of young people. This year’s confer-ence followed the "Preparing Youth for 21stCentury" Conference held in Washington in1999. Discussion was directed around the following:

• Is there agreement that early and sustainedintervention can ensure social inclusion fordisadvantaged youths?

• Are there lessons to be drawn from integrat-ed and individualised local deliverymechanisms?

• How important is the involvement of publicauthorities, employers, trade unions, localcommunities and other actors in greatercoherence?

• What sorts of arrangements are needed tobring them together in a sustained and effec-tive manner?

These discussion points strike a chord for thisproject. They provide the researcher with away of drawing together themes which areemerging with ACAL’s goal to position itself inthis policy arena. The topic of social inclusionfigures prominently in recent publications onyouth issues (Svendsen, 2000, McCelland et al,1999, Melbourne City Mission, 1999).

Youth Policy reaches to the essential profes-sionalism in the field of adult l iteracy.Australian practitioners are increasingly impli-cated in what has become a chain ofsurveillance of young people’s educationalachievement and citizen rights. As profession-al educators, they may have becomeunwittingly involved in the exclusion rather thanthe inclusion and empowerment of young people.

A sense of alarm pervadesresearchThe Dusseldorp Skil ls Forum producedAustralia’s Youth: Reality and Risks in 1998and, in the following year, Australia’s youngadults: The deepening divide (Spiering, 1999)

providing commissioned research from leadingresearch agencies and community organisa-tions with histories of service delivery tomarginalised young people. Comparativestudies are beginning to emerge with findingswhich should alert the Australian government tothe fact that other countries are doing better inlevels of post-school qualifications (Curtain,1999, Lamb et al, 1999).

Discussions around early school leaving foryoung people necessarily involve adult literacy.A received wisdom suggests that limited litera-cy is part of a cluster of deficits that typicallydescribe early school leavers as those who are“at risk”. This is a theme taken up by Australianresearch (King, 1998; Sweet,1998; McClellandet al, 1998; Kellock, 2000; and Kelly, 2000)identifying that the record here as regardsyoung people without apparent means ofsupport is alarming and intransigent when com-pared with other OECD countries. The level ofyoung people “at risk” in Australia is beyondsustainability from an economic point of view,as well as being a social tragedy.

The research is missing themarginsTo understand more accurately what lies infront of today’s fifteen year olds, an internation-al assessment is currently under way inAustralia. This follows on from northern hemi-sphere testing. The Performance InternationalStudent Assessment authorised by the OECDhas been enhanced by a detailed survey of 15years olds known as Youth in TransitionSurvey. It seeks to research performance on arange of school subjects, and also to under-stand aspirations and background as well asparental expectations of schooling. This isschool-based research, consequently manyAustralian young people will be excluded (inVictoria, for example). School-based researchwill also fail to recognise adequately thoseyoung people whose attendance is irregular.(Gray, Hunter & Schwab, 1998). Other coun-tries such as Canada are putting an enormousamount of resources into this survey, especial-ly for regions where levels of social exclusion isknown to be high (Canada, Statistics, 2000).

In Australia the ACER has been selected by theOECD, and is conducting the research forDETYA. For marginalised groups the choice ofthe ACER is problematic since the advisorybody steering the research consists of systemspersonnel (ACER, 1999)—this does not meetthe OECD benchmark for social inclusion(OECD, 1999). Other stakeholders need to beincluded in decision making in such a survey.ACAL, for example, should be involved. Written

The ACAL youth research project by Carolyn Ovens

text and telephone interviews (ACER researchmethodology) are not suited for uncovering theneeds and views of marginalised people(McClelland et al, 1999).

The cost of missing the markThere is recognition that more must be done iftoday’s 15 year olds are not to meet the samefate as their older counterparts. Research indi-cates that funds released by the Commonwealthin the past, which were targeted to involve earlyschool leavers in vocational education to atleast international levels, have completelymissed the mark. The targeting of funding couldbe improved at minimum cost (Sweet, 1998).The most recent policy changes to addressinclusion of 15 - 19 year olds in VET have yet tobe captured by data. Past policy failed to iden-tify clear lines of activity and accountability atall levels (Ball & Robinson, 1998) and indications arethat recent innovations will meet the same fate.

Research indicates that youth development, notyouth management, would improve policynationally (Sweet, 1999, Kellock, 2000). Lately,strategies in the youth area have been identi-fied as youth development. There is, however,no consensus about what this actually means.AUSYOUTH has been contracted by DETYA toconsult nationally in this area, and is challengedto reach agencies working with excluded youngpeople and in the most disadvantaged neighbour-hoods. The observation that districts are beingfurther marginalised by each new youth in tran-sition strategy is of further concern (Sweet,1999; Kelly, 2000; Pocock, 1997).

A youth friendly labour marketSome writers conclude that lower wages andhigher wage subsidies will stimulate demand byemployers for early school leavers (Wooden,1998; Sweet, 1999) even though the income of15 - 19 year olds has fallen by 30% since 1982.On the other hand, detailed analysis suggeststhat the industry sector and its economic perfor-mance, and the nature of that particular labourmarket in relation to young people, has moreimpact than youth wage levels and subsidies toemployers (Belchamber et al, 1999). Anotherarea of concern is the negative effect onemployers of the complexity of arrangementsaround employing teenagers (Wooden, 1998).

Neighbourhood and PathwaysThe Jobs Pathways Program (JPP) has recentlybeen evaluated by the Dusseldorp Skills Forum(August, 2000). This evaluation has much tooffer literacy practitioners within schools andalso those working with youth agencies andcommunity based organisations. Kellock (2000)is the most recent researcher who has enteredinto the issue of literacy and numeracy andsocial exclusion of young people. His conclu-sion is that there is much potential in the JPP tobring neighbourhood participants together,

especially if they are not impeded by bureau-cratic barriers, and if they are provided with theskills and resources to collaborate (Nicholson,2000). Others across business, industry andeducation research identify a number of playerswho suggest that involvement of stakeholdershas been minimal and inadequately focused(Dusseldorp Skills Forum, 1999). There is con-sensus that more must be done. Sweet (1996)suggests federalism, over-bureaucratisationand employers having little say, have all com-promised the outcomes of the reports intovocational training of the 80s and 90s.

A plethora of agenciesThe sheer number of agencies involved withyoung people in any one region (education,health, taxation, social welfare, juvenile justiceand employment) is a major inhibitor to the localintegration which the OECD indicates is centralto good advocacy and delivery. This hasprompted the term “networks of safety” (Raffo etal, 2000). In southern Queensland a suburbsuch as Inala has fifty-eight organisations rep-resented at its regular interagency meetings forprograms for non-English speaking and indige-nous people. Initial research in regard to anearby suburb suggests that there are morethan 1,400 agencies working across threelevels of government with some programresponsibility for young people. In the past fiveyears, Queensland has registered over 1,400training providers for a state with a populationof 3.5 million. The privatisation of the job seekernetwork further compounds the number of deliv-ery points and dilution of skills in a workforce,which of necessity is engaged on short termcontracts. An unstable and transient supply ofassistance for young people takes its toll on theyoung people and the agencies involved.

Examples of ‘Good Practice’Recent youth policy has a total lack of literacypractitioner input. Mudaly (1999) describes apilot project within a particular migrant commu-nity in outer Melbourne dealing with healthissues. Effective practice would have thisproject underpinned by a language and literacyprogram. Mapstone (1999) also describes anintervention program for young people in Perth,facilitating off-campus access and outreach.Literacy practitioners attached to such initia-tives could gauge whether the school refusalwas based on lack of educational skills or inad-equate curriculum. Mudaly (1999) identifies alack of documentation of models where youthservices link with schools to deal with a rangeof issues effecting young people, consequentlylittle is known of their efficacy. Flowers (1998)discusses the difficulties which may arise fromworking with youth workers who in their dis-course reveal strong optimism about outcomes,but belie their actions in ambiguous and vaguerhetoric.

Literacy Link December 2000 15

16 Literacy Link December 2000

AUSTRALIAN COUNCILFOR ADULT LITERACY

President: Geraldine CastletonGriffith UniversityCentre of Literacy and LanguageEducation ResearchNathan QLD 4111ph 07 3875 5925G.Castleton@mailbox.gu.edu.au

Vice Pres: Judy HarwoodAust Student TraineeshipFoundationlevel 9, 76-80 Clarence StSydney NSW 2000Ph: 02 9299 5899judy_harwood@astf.com.au

Immediate Past Pres: Rosa McKenna65 James Street, Northcote VIC 3070Ph: 03 9326 8369 fx: 03 9326 8670Ph (a.h): 03 9481 5319mckoz@bigpond.com

Secretary: Erica Daymond18 Waraker Way, Leeming WA 6149Ph: 09 9458 9644 edaymond@canningcollege.wa.edu.au

Treas: Suzanne Bozorth BainesPO Box 137, Belmont VIC 3216ph 03 5229 0663 kesnsuz@pipeline.com.au

VIC Rep: Michael ChalkFax: 03 9462 6077michalk@vicnet.net.au

NSW Rep: Pat Hazell7 Bickell Road Mosman NSW 2088ph (02) 9969 5436hazefive@acay.com.au

ACT Rep: Christine O'Callaghan16 Brunswick St, Kaleen ACT 2617Ph: 02 6207 4054 Fx: 02 6207 3139christine.o'callaghan@cit.act.edu.au

TAS Rep: Liz CooperAdult Literacy TAFEGPO Box 1477Hobart TAS 7001Ph: 03 6233 6676 coopere@tafe.tas.edu.au

QLD Rep: Jean SearleSchool of Vocational, Technology &Arts EducationGriffith UniversityNathan QLD 4111Ph: 07 3875 5712 j.searle@mailbox.gu.edu.au

NT Rep: Rae Flanagan

NTUCasuarina NT 0810Ph: 08 8946 6571 Fx: 08 8946 6345rae.flanagan@ntu.edu.au

WA Rep: Jim ThompsonSouth Metropolitan College of TAFE15 Grosvenor StreetBeaconsfield WA 6160Ph: 08 9239 8271 thompj@fremantle.training.wa.gov.au

SA Rep: Tess WereLiteracy and Numeracy ProfessionalDevelopment ProgrammesPO Box 1872Adelaide SA 5001Ph: 08 8207 8246Tesswere@tafe.sa.edu.au

ACAL Executive Support: Alex TsakmakisPO Box 2283, Canberra ACT 2601Ph: 03 9326 8369 Fx: 03 9326 8670Mob: 0411 283 163acal@mira.net

• STATE AFFILIATE COUNCILS

ACTCALPO Box 778Jamison ACT 2614Helen.cotter@cit.act.edu.au

NSWALNCc/o Leslie Steinemail: leslie.stein@uts.edu.au

NTCALCo-Presidents Pat BeattieRae Flanagan,ph 08 89 4666rflanagan@ntu.edu.au

QCALPO Box 301Red Hill Qld 4059Ph: 07 3369 8422www.slq.qld.gov.au/cwpp/qcal/

SACALPO Box 610, Magill SA 5072were@olis.net.auwww.acal.edu.au/sacal/

TCALGPO Box 1477Hobart Tas. 7001

VALBECvalbec@vicnet.net.auwww.vicnet.net.au/~valbec

WAALC19 Brittain StComo WA 6152grimsh@midland.training.wa.gov.au

ADULT LITERACY ANDNUMERACY AUSTRALIANRESEARCH CONSORTIUM(ALNARC)National ManagerDr Jill SanguinettiPO Box 14428 MCMC VIC 8001Ph: 03 9688 5086jill.sanguinetti@vu.edu.au

l i te racy contact l is ts

While the examples above are from the coal-face, so to speak, it begs the question ofwhether one can judge if this is ‘good practice’.The critical literature would rather look for‘effective’ practice and reflect aspects whichcould be taken up more broadly. It must beaccepted, however, that the diversity of regionsin Australia, the inconsistency of provisioncaused by three levels of government, as wellas the condition of the local economy, all effectyoung people.

Where to next?OECD discussion (see previous two issues ofLiteracy Link) centres around emulating goodpractice. Research into practice is longoverdue to inform policy. The OECD suggeststhat the bottom line is a ‘network of safety’, thatis, policy cohesion for each young person untilaged twenty years at least. Australia has a longway to go to meet that vision, but that does notmean we cannot lever our considerablesystems, their programs and good will toachieve this within a five year timeframe.

Australia can and must improve its performancein regard to inclusiveness for young people.

Literacy practitioners, youth workers and theirorganisations must begin to work together moreclosely. In the past decade a number of youthagencies and organisations have disappeared,at the same time as the number of service deliv-ery agencies have increased.

ACAL might consider focusing on local net-works, and documenting effective practicewhich clearly involves literacy practitioners.Some activities are already emerging amongstliteracy practitioners and youth agencies whichbuild ‘networks of safety’. Such networks canidentify and track young people for the purposeof support, not surveillance. ACAL researchinto emerging local networks and identificationof agencies likely to cooperate with ACAL mayprovide an opportunity for shared approachesto government.

Carolyn Ovens

The writer wishes to acknowledge, with appre-ciation, the support and assistance from Dr.Geraldine Castleton in reviewing early drafts.

Bibliography available on the web at http://www.acal.edu.au!3

30

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