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Last updated: 28 November 2006
Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in collaboration with the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), have agreed to engage in the second wave of the data collection for the international Adult Literacy and Lifeskills survey (ALLS). To date, seven countries – Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Mexico (Nuevo Leon),Norway, Switzerland, and USA, have participated in the first wave of ALLS data collection. Although a large number of countries have indicated an interest in participating in the second wave of data collection, at present only Australia,Hungary, Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea are firmly engaged in the process. Other countries interested in conducting ALLS are the Czech Republic, Japan and Russia. The international co-ordination of ALLS rests with the international consortium based in Statistics Canada, supported by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) of Princeton, New Jersey (USA).
The ALLS will be the second survey of its type conducted in Australia. Its predecessor, the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), was conducted in Australia in 1996 as the Survey of Aspects of Literacy (SAL). The ALLS will allow comparison of 2006 literacy skill levels to those reported in 1996, and comparison of Australians’ literacy skills with those of other countries. The data collection for ALLS in Australia will be conducted in the second half of 2006. This survey will measure elements of adult Australians’ literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills at the national and state/territory levels.
The aims of the survey are to assess the levels of literacy skills in Australia, and to analyse the relationship between literacy skills and social and economic status.
Survey Objectives
The international objectives of conducting the 2006 ALLS in Australia are to:
- assess the skills of adult Australians in prose and document literacy, numeracy, and problem solving/analytical reasoning;
- collect general participant information, including familiarity with information and communications technology; and
- determine the relationships of each of the assessed skills to participants’ social and economic status.
Specific objectives of the 2006 ALLS in Australia are to:
- identify ’at risk’ groups of adult Australians with low skill levels;
- allow evaluation of literacy and numeracy assistance programs;
- analyse the link between functional literacy and labour force participation;
- identify barriers to individuals achieving skill levels sufficient for daily life and work;
- provide support for planning and decision making;
- allow assessment of how 2006 skill levels compare with those of 1996, after a significant period of ’flow through’ from education and training systems and emphasis on lifelong learning; and
- allow comparisons of Australians’ literacy skills with those of other countries.
Survey content
The survey will be conducted via a personal visit by an ABS interviewer to selected households in the sample. Computer assisted interviewing will be used to randomly select one respondent per household and administer the questionnaire to the selected respondent. The proposed sample size for the 2006 ALLS is approximately 9,000 persons from across Australia. This sample size will be sufficient to produce estimates at the national and state/territory levels.
The questionnaire collects respondent’s information on standard demographics, factors thought to determine observed literacy skill levels, and a range of economic and social outcomes associated with proficiency. This questionnaire also provides comparative data on participation in adult education and training. The proposed data modules are:
- General information (Demographics)
- Education information
- Language spoken, self-assessed reading/writing skills
- Parental information
- Labour force activities
- Literacy and numeracy skills (self-perception and frequency of use)
- Participation in education and learning
- Literacy and numeracy practices generally
- Social capital
- Well-being
- Use of technologies (New)
- Household information and income
The 2006 ALLS proposed for Australia will assess literacy skills in four domains. These are: prose literacy, document literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving/analytical reasoning. In the 1996 SAL only three domains were assessed. The addition of problem-solving and analytical reasoning provides an extra dimension to the assessment of adult skills. A number of prose and document literacy tasks administered in the 1996 SAL have been retained for the 2006 ALLS to provide comparison of levels of literacy over time.
The ABS has adapted the assessment tasks to the Australian context using adaptation and translation guidelines prescribed by the international consortium. The ABS is planning to release a summary publication presenting results from the survey in late 2007.
For more information contact: Gary Niedorfer, Director, Education, Crime, Culture and Migrants Surveys, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Phone: 08 8237 7330 or email Gary.Niedorfer@abs.gov.au.
