Exploring the International Adult Literacy Survey data: implications for Australian research and policy

This project, funded by the Commonwealth Department of Edtucation, Science and Training (DEST), aimed to explore and review the literature related to the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), which collected and analysed data from 20 countries between 1994 and 1998. In addition it aimed to explore how the data might be used to inform education, government and business in terms of social education, policy and planning and to develop recommendations for further research. The project also sought to ascertain if the five levels of literacy referred to in the IALS survey data aligned directly with the five levels of the National Reporting System (NRS), as this appeared to be a commonly held belief in the Australian literacy community. Findings revealed however that the levels were not in alignment, with no IALS tasks equating to NRS level one and fundamental differences in underpinning assumptions and theories resulting from the different purposes of the two instruments. The report documents and analyses the Australian data originally presented in the 'Aspects of literacy' reports, including comparative analysis with data from other countries. This analysis revealed that Australia consistently ranked lower than other countries such as Sweden in attainment of higher order literacy levels, raising questions as to what variables were impacting on these results and what further research should be undertaken. Show less