Australian Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey

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Recommended: The importance of teaching writing

Competency in literacy directly correlates with an individual’s ability to participate and function in society. With such an important onus on literacy learning it is transparent to realise that teachers are the first point of contact in formal education and play an important role in teaching our future generations and providing society with essential foundations to succeed. Following is a road map focusing on a balanced approach which promotes a combination of student centred and teacher centred theories to achieve the teaching and learning of writing. In order to impart literacy education with the aim to provide best classroom practice educators must use a combination of differentiated instructional methods and equip themselves with a plethora of theories that have had a major impact on teaching writing (not limited to, but) including; behaviourism, bottom-up, constructivism and top-down theories.
Government policy and statistics highlight the importance of providing future generations with strong literacy foundations through effective teaching. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006) published data which indicated that almost half the Australian population scored on the lowest skill level of literacy. Additionally the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2013) found lower proficiency levels of literacy contributed to socio-economic disadvantage. To address these issues in 2007 the Australian Government focused on creating an education revolution which produced initiatives to increase literacy levels (Seely Flint, Kitson, Lowe, & Shaw, 2014), these include National Literacy Week (Australian Government, n.d.a), teacher support in the form of Effective Practices in Literacy (Australian Government, n.d.b) ...

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...al of Educational Psychology, 100(4), 907-919. doi: 10.1037/a0012656
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2013), OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD. Retrieved from: http://skills.oecd.org/OECD_Skills_Outlook_2013.pdf
Renzulli, J.S. (1994). Schools for talent development: A practical plan for total school improvement. Marsfield Centre, CT. Creative Learning Press.
Seely Flint, A., Kitson, L., Lowe, K., & Shaw, K. (2014). Literacy in Australia: Pedagogies for engagement. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons Australia
Tompkins, G., Campbell, R., Green, D. (2012). Literacy for the 21st Century: A balanced approach. Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson
Turnbill, J. & Bean, W. (2006). Writing Instruction K-6: Understanding Process, Purpose, Audience. Retrieved from https://www.rcowen.com/PDFs/Turbill-Bean-Ch-4.pdf

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