New Light on Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland: Evidence from the 2004 survey of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)

Chapter 10 Concluding remarks

This separate analysis of levels of literacy and numeracy skills in Scotland using data from the 1970 Birth Cohort Study ( BCS70) is a first in cohort studies research. It has enabled us to tease out from some of the immensely rich life course data, going back to birth, the key correlates of adult literacy and numeracy skills difficulties. The profiles that emerge replicate in many places those in Britain as a whole, but in other places depart from them. They also reveal differences within Scotland, more specifically between the Central Belt and other areas. These differences bring to light the more concentrated nature of literacy and numeracy difficulties within the Central Belt and the increase in other disadvantages that often go with living in a more industrialised area. Men and women with low literacy and numeracy skills living within the Central Belt face increased challenges if they are to have a fulfilling life.

These preliminary findings confirm on a much larger scale than ever before in Scotland the level of disadvantage revealed by differences between low literacy and numeracy skills groups and others. Substantial differences in life chances, quality of life and social inclusion are evident between individuals at or below SCQF Access Level literacy or SCQF Access Level 2 numeracy compared with others at higher levels of literacy and numeracy competence. SCQF Access Level skills are associated with lack of qualifications, poor labour market experience and prospects, poor material and financial circumstances, poorer health practices and prospects, and a lack of social and political participation. Gender differences are also marked in some of these relationships including the increased tendency for men in their mid-30s with SCQF Access Level skills to still be living with their parent(s), and leading a solitary (single) life without children with less community participation. Women with SCQF Access Level skills are also more likely to be without a partner but more typically to have made the transition to motherhood at an early age. These differences tend to be consistently larger between the literacy groups than between the numeracy groups though in some cases, such as experience of unemployment, the relative importance of numeracy was stronger.

The picture we get is one of trajectories of disadvantage, in which low literacy and to a lesser extent low numeracy assessed at SCQF Access Level or below, supply the foundations of the poor educational achievement that lie at their core. Poverty and its consequences ensure that the low-literacy and numeracy, poor-education problem is being re-cycled from one generation to the next. Parents' aspirations for their children's educational success are soon squashed as the means of achieving them through educational support at home is too often lacking. As early as age 5, performance in cognitive assessments was lowest for adults with the poorest grasp of literacy or numeracy. Parents may themselves have a poor grasp of literacy or numeracy - a result of their own poor educational experiences - and thus fail to cope with the increasing demands of the education system. Of particular concern for Scotland are the higher levels of children who were reported by their mothers to not be able to read any words at age 5, compared with the BCS70 cohort overall.

At a time when economists argue that the best, if not only sensible, 'bang for your buck' comes from investment in young children, the critical role of parents in enabling the process to work is an invaluable corrective. Parents need to build their capabilities though literacy and numeracy enhancement to help their children benefit from the interventions directed at them. The maintenance of a high level of community-based adult literacy and numeracy provision directed towards parents, and backed by a range of other forms of community support, thus becomes the key to success. Family literacy initiatives, such as Countdown East End and Challenge Dad³⁴, need to be encouraged.

But the issue runs much deeper than the needs of families. The broader picture of disadvantage extending from education through employment, housing, family formation, family income, social and political participation, and health and lifestyle repeats the story of marginalisation and exclusion on which criminal careers and poor physical and psychological health often thrive. Of course many adults with low literacy and numeracy manage their lives very well, overcoming adversity to turn a stalled educational and employment career into a life of fulfilment and achievement. Others make use of resources within the family and the community to make good the gaps in their own competencies - hence the relatively rare acknowledgement that there is any literacy or numeracy difficulty. However it is when the personal, social or employment situation changes that the constraints and disabling effects of low literacy and numeracy skills are likely to be felt. Thus the fragility of an employment career characterised by sustained experience of intermittent unemployment and lack of investment by employers makes 'just getting by' a poor option compared with the raising of capability. Here the Scottish approach to identification of need and the supply of educational provision has particular appeal.

Levels of self-reported difficulty with reading, writing or numbers are one area that differs for Scotland from the cohort as a whole. Men and women living in Scotland in 2004 were less likely than men and women in BCS70 who had no Scottish heritage to self-report difficulties or to have attended learning to help them improve their reading, writing or number and maths calculations. Men and women living within the Central Belt region were the least likely of all to self-report difficulties. Although cohort members who acknowledged their difficulties were more likely than others to want to improve their skills, the major challenge is that substantial numbers in these groups neither acknowledged they had any difficulties, nor had any desire to do anything to improve their skills. Even among those assessed with the lowest literacy and numeracy competence the proportions acknowledging their difficulties remained relatively low - 17% with SCQF Access Level 2 or 3 literacy reported reading difficulties, 16% with SCQF Access Level 2 numeracy reported difficulties with numbers - as did the proportions wishing to improve these skills. The Big Plus campaign obviously stimulated awareness of difficulties in some people, but the unmet need of those with low literacy and numeracy who wanted to improve their skills - particularly number skills - suggests that further campaigns and learning opportunities that better match the specific needs identified by potential learners are required. The strong association between low literacy and symptoms associated with dyslexia show the importance of tutors taking into account these learning difficulties when designing and delivering literacy and numeracy provision.

The need to raise consciousness about the significance of low literacy and numeracy in life, as promoted through the Scottish Executive's Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland report (July, 2001), has therefore never been more pressing. Notably, the groups whose disadvantage was most apparent had rarely had any exposure to literacy and particularly numeracy courses. This presents a further major policy challenge for the Scottish Government.