{"id":35008,"date":"2025-01-24T12:40:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T01:40:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/?p=35008"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:51:32","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T22:51:32","slug":"test-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/test-2\/","title":{"rendered":"That\u2019s not my role\u2026. or is it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amanda Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Looking back to when I first started volunteering as an adult literacy tutor, I realise I had a narrow view of my role, and as a result, an equally narrow view of adult learners.<\/p>\n

My focus was primarily on literacy methods, educational activities, and the learner\u2019s goals and outcomes.\u00a0 I was delivering community-based adult education in a social practice model but my understanding of what \u2018community\u2019 and \u2018social practice\u2019 might encompass from an adult learner\u2019s perspective was limited to my siloed delivery of an educational service.<\/p>\n

Over time, thanks to the insights provided by my adult learners, I began to see the potential for a broader scope of literacy services and the complex role of psychology and sociology in adult education.\u00a0 When I travelled for a Churchill Fellowship in 2024 to study literacy education methods that help adults reduce psychological barriers to learning, I had my sights on both the technical improvements we could make in Australia and on the contexts of literacy program delivery.<\/p>\n

In Aotearoa New Zealand it was inspiring to see adult educators effectively incorporate a M\u0101ori wellbeing model into the learner-intake process.\u00a0 It prompts awareness and exploration of four cornerstones of wellbeing \u2013 physical; family and social; mental and emotional; and spiritual \u2013 so learners can reflect on their current situation and aspirations.\u00a0 This recognises the integrated nature of learning and how each cornerstone has the potential to influence a learner\u2019s personal readiness and capacity to learn.<\/p>\n

You may have noticed, as I have, the effectiveness of an adult literacy program is correlated to the degree of personal readiness in a learner.\u00a0 Adult learners (and tutors) have complicated and sometimes tumultuous lives.\u00a0 They bring to every session the emotions of their past experiences, the stress and joys of current happenings, and the hopes and fears of unknown futures.<\/p>\n

If distracted by financial worries, family health problems, or food or housing insecurity there is understandably less motivation and capacity for adults to focus on higher level, cognitive needs including effective learning.\u00a0 This is Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy of Needs in action.<\/p>\n

My once narrow view of literacy tutoring would have consigned all those influences to the responsibility of \u2018other\u2019.\u00a0 As tutors, it\u2019s essential we maintain healthy boundaries, practice self-care and not take on a role of superhero saviours.\u00a0\u00a0 But lifting our gaze to a broader, holistic view of the learner and how adult education is one of many inter-related social services within that learner\u2019s community reveals the possibility for different, less-siloed approaches.<\/p>\n

My Fellowship study showed that tutors can be equipped with an understanding of the range of support services available to learners in their community.\u00a0 This could be in the form of a physical or digital directory; a procedure to refer learners for additional assistance via a tutor manager or advisor; or community-based referral networks such as Tasmania\u2019s The Right Place program.<\/p>\n

When community referral networks communicated as a \u2018web\u2019 rather than in a single direction, this also grew the effectiveness of literacy education.\u00a0 Outbound referrals were assisting a learner\u2019s personal readiness.\u00a0 At the same time, adult literacy programs were receiving \u2018warm\u2019 inbound referrals where adults with unmet literacy needs were introduced by known and trusted people.<\/p>\n

Adult community education acknowledges the role personal readiness plays in delivering successful adult literacy outcomes when it includes foundation skills in literacy programs.\u00a0 Examples include interpersonal communication, problem solving, emotional regulation, and time management delivered \u2018in-house\u2019 or with external, service provider partners.\u00a0 The scope and definition of adult literacy programs are changing.<\/p>\n

With these changes comes a necessary shift in tutor training.\u00a0 It\u2019s more common in educational settings to now find Accidental Counsellor training.\u00a0 Overseas and at home, training in trauma sensitivity, psychological first aid, and mental health and wellness are also now being delivered for adult literacy tutors, where such skills and knowledge were once considered outside their domain.<\/p>\n

Adult educators work in an interesting field where the physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing of our learners directly impacts the effectiveness of our practices.\u00a0 Seeing beyond our educational responsibilities to a more holistic view of a learner makes our role more complex and challenging, but with appropriate support, networks, and training it can also make the learning experience more effective, efficient and enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Bio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amanda Wilson is a volunteer adult literacy tutor in Lutruwita Northwest Tasmania. In 2024 she published the Gallaugher Bequest Churchill Fellowship report on literacy education methods that help reduce psychological barriers to learning.\u00a0 Read the report and findings here.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amanda Wilson Looking back to when I first started volunteering as an adult literacy tutor, I realise I had a narrow view of my role, and as a result, an equally narrow view of adult learners. My focus was primarily on literacy methods, educational activities, and the learner\u2019s goals and outcomes.\u00a0 I was delivering community-based […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":854,"featured_media":34794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[91,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThat\u2019s not my role\u2026. or is it? - Adult Learning Australia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/test-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"That\u2019s not my role\u2026. or is it? - Adult Learning Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amanda Wilson Looking back to when I first started volunteering as an adult literacy tutor, I realise I had a narrow view of my role, and as a result, an equally narrow view of adult learners. 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