New Report: The Economic ROI of Adult Education Programs

July 1, 2011

A new policy paper published by the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation that was developed in collaboration with the United States’ National Council of State Directors of Adult Education and the U.S. National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium states that “a preemptive focus on adult education actually saves governments money by reducing societal healthcare, public assistance, and incarceration costs”.

The report, “The Return on Investment from Adult Education and Training: Measuring the Economic Impact of a Better Educated and Trained U.S. Workforce,” put it in plain simple language by saying that adult education “improves and expands the nation’s available pool of human capital by helping motivated but under educated people achieve gainful employment in today’s increasingly high-tech and global job market, and at a far lower cost per learner when compared to either K-12 or higher education.”

The co-authors Dr. Lennox McLendon (Executive Director, National Council of State Directors of Adult Education and the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium), Debra Jones (California Director of Adult Education and Chair, NAEPDC Research Workgroup) and Mitch Rosin (Editorial Director, McGraw-Hill School Education Group) have put together a solid 26-page report that is a brilliant combination of statistics and related evidence that ultimately constructs a clear picture of the economic return on investment (ROI) of adult education and literacy programs. The culmination of the evidence they present  fully supports their closing argument:

“Current federal adult education and workforce skills programs need to be better funded, but they also need to be redesigned and connected more effectively to state and local programs. We must have an integrated system of adult education and workforce development that serves millions of Americans in accessible, affordable, and accountable ways – on the job, online, and in the classroom.”

Although this report is focused on the U.S.A. it provides compelling evidence for programs in other countries, too.

This is a report that is worth looking at and sharing.  Download your free copy from here: http://www.mcgraw-hillresearchfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/the-return-on-investment-from-adult-education-and-training.pdf

Related posts:

The economic impact of language programs on communities

Research: ESL programs boost Calgary’s economy by $26M+ per year

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Job Opportunity: Summer Research Assistant – Specialist in Second Languages

June 2, 2011

June 15, 2011 – Update – This position has been filled. Thanks for the many responses and queries!

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I have a project on the go that examines questions around second language education, L2 acquisition and language learning and pedagogy. I’m looking for a part-time research assistant / associate to collaborate on this project over the summer months. Here’s what I’m looking for:

Research Assistant / Associate (Term position)

Summary statement

The Research Assistant / Associate is responsible for assisting the Principal Investigator (PI) in the collection, formatting, analysis and reporting of information on topics relating to second and other language acquisition, language pedagogy and related topics.

Major Responsibilities

  • Plans, organizes and coordinates his or her own schedule to ensure that deliverables are met by due dates.
  • Liaises with the PI for the collection, formatting, analysis and reporting of information.
  • Conducts a literature review using primarily online academic, government and other databases.
  • Data entry of bibliographic information using Endnote.
  • Maintains electronic and hard copy data files and reports.
  • Maintains up-to-date documentation of work completed.
  • Produces written materials for research reports.
  • Proofreads and edits documents generated by the PI.
Meets with the PI on a regular basis to review the work in progress.
  • Deliver work completed on a weekly basis. These deliverables will generally consist of research articles, government reports, applied research articles and professional materials that can contribute to the research report.

Education

Post-secondary degree. Candidates who are currently enrolled in a Master’s or PhD program will be given preference.

A background in second language learning or second language education is highly desirable.

Experience and Skills

  • Experience working with electronic research databases.
  • Previous research experience (e.g. conducting a literature review) is desirable.
  • High levels of personal motivation, self-management and detail-orientation. The incumbent will have the ability to take responsibility to meet deadlines and make progress with minimal supervision.
  • Strong spoken and written communication skills.
  • Rigorous research methods.

Other qualifications

  • You have access to academic research databases through the library of an accredited institution.
  • Strong existing technology skills with MS Word (or Pages), Endnote and general Internet and electronic communications.
  • You are comfortable navigating the Internet to conduct research.
  • You are able to meet face-to-face in the Calgary area on a regular basis or via Skype if you are not located in the Calgary area.
  • You have access to your own computer and the Internet.
  • Must be legally entitled to work in Canada and have a valid Social Insurance Number.

Position Details

Start date: Monday, June 13, 2011
End date: Friday, August 5, 2011

Hours: Generally flexible hours – 5 to 15 hours per week, with a minimum of 5 hours per week.

Wage: $25 / hour, to a maximum of 80 hours ($2000) during the term of the project. Wages are subject to the usual CPP and EI deductions.

Work site: You will work from your own home, on campus or anywhere the work can be completed.

To apply send a brief resume and cover letter via e-mail to:

Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton
Eaton International Consulting Inc.
sarahelaineeaton (at) gmail.com

Applications are accepted until a suitable candidate is found.

Download a copy of this document for easy printing from:

View this document on Scribd

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

You thought Canada was a literate country? Think again

May 26, 2011

In 2003, the International Adult Literacy Skills Survey (IALLS) tested more than 23,000 Canadians in four areas:

  • prose literacy
  • document literacy
  • numeracy
  • problem-solving

Proficiency was rated on the basis of levels one to five, that is, lowest to highest. Level 3 corresponds roughly to high school completion.

In case you’re wondering what this test was all about anyway… IALLS is the Canadian component of the “Adult Literacy and Life Skills” study, which was a joint project of the Government of Canada, the US National Center for Education Statistics and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The larger study was an international undertaking, involving thousands of people from numerous countries. In the literacy world, it’s a big deal. The results are a big deal for all of us Canadians. We have more work to do to raise the bar for all Canadians.

Literacy isn’t a black and white issue. It’s not a matter of “You can read” or “You can’t read”. There’s a continuum. Skills can be built at any time over the life span. They can also decline if we don’t use them.

Sad blonde girl with bookThere is an idea out there at literacy is “an immigrant problem.” Well, folks, it’s a myth. While it’s true that about 60% of new immigrants to Canada scored below Level 3 on the IALSS test, there are tens of thousands of people born right here in Canada who lack sufficient literacy skills.

One shocking result of the test?

2% of Canadian born university-educated individuals scored at the lowest level of prose literacy.

We have to ask ourselves: How are we allowing these people to slip through the cracks, grade after grade and year after year? How is it that someone born in Canada can graduate with an undergraduate degree when they score at the lowest level possible on an international literacy test? Although those results are troubling, some might argue that those people are the exception, that they are the outliers on the bell curve of test results.

Before you write off the stats as being an exception, think about this result:

About 37% of the total Canadian-born population scored below Level 3 in prose literacy.

In other words, about 9 million Canadian-born adult citizens lack sufficient literacy skills to function in the workplace.

Let’s put that into perspective for a minute.

9 Million people…

That’s the entire population of Nova Scotia. Multiplied by 9.

The number of people killed during the Russian Revolution over half a decade from 1917-1922.

The number of people in the UK who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

The number of people who follow Justin Bieber on Twitter.

Just under the total number of people in the entire world who suffer from hunger.

However you look at it, 9 million is a lot of people.

What can we do, Canada, to raise the bar for literacy?

References:

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/051109/dq051109a-eng.htm

Related posts

Canada’s 9 Literacy and Essential Skills http://wp.me/pNAh3-qi

Literacy and Essential Skills (video) http://wp.me/pNAh3-y

“The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read” http://wp.me/pNAh3-H1

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on You thought Canada was a literate country? Think again | education, Literacy, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Journal article: “How to Use Skype in the ESL/EFL Classroom”

December 1, 2010

I’m so thrilled today! I’ve just been informed that the great folks at the Internet TESL Journal (ITESLJ) have released their latest issue of the journal. And it includes one of my articles.

This is a peer-reviewed journal, so I am just tickled pink. Here’s the article:

How to Use Skype in the ESL/EFL Classroom. Internet TESL Journal, November 2010 issue. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Eaton-UsingSkype.html

There are a few other articles worth checking out too, such as Jon Shave’s article “A Teacher-Friendly Process for Evaluating and Selecting ESL/EFL Coursebooks” and others.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | ESL, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

What is “Globish”? Why should we care?

November 15, 2010

The search term “Globish” returns over 100,000 hits on Google. What is it and why should language teachers care?

The term itself is a combination of “global” and “English”.

One site describes Globish as a simplified, yet standard version of English, based on a core vocabulary of 1500 words. The word itself and the concept behind it are the brain child of Jean-Paul Nerriere, a business man who speaks English, and his own version of it, Globish, as additional languages.

The premise? That if everyone in the world who wanted to speak English learned this simplified form of it, that they’d all learn much faster and be more effective.

This is a seductive concept… Fewer vocabulary words theoretically means less work. Less work always sounds attractive to language learners desperate to gain fluency.

The work of Dr. Hetty Roessingh, a senior researcher at the University of Calgary, reveals that by Grade 1, students who are native English speakers normally have a vocabulary of 5000 words. By grade 12, that number has increased to 80,000 to 100,000 words. She argues that we should be trying to enrich the vocabulary of English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, not whittle it down.

What do you think? Is 1500 words enough to be considered a complete understanding of a language?

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

6 Comments | ESL, languages, research | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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