Workforce - Workplace Literacy

Innovative Marriage of Skills - Model of Programs in Texas

A number of successful education and training models across Texas and the nation combine basic skills instruction with occupational/technical skills training so students achieve their objectives faster. Native language support is offered by some programs. Arguments have been made that Texas adult education programs should offer this approach to deliver services. Texas LEARNS encourages partnerships with other funding sources to develop model programs. Students will benefit from basic skills instruction while receiving work-specific or vocational training. Title II of WIA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (P.L. 105-220), constrains the use of adult education funds to pay for part/s of such programs.

Common practice may include some level of native language support in English literacy classes. However, there is some misunderstanding. What constitutes allowable native language support?

According to current Department of Education rules, Texas may not fund or offer bilingual programs under Title II of WIA. English literacy program teachers may use native language support when the objective is the acquisition of English. For example, ESL classes with native language support focus on teaching English through content areas relevant to the needs of adults and the workplace, while students develop English literacy skills through reading and writing instruction. Volunteer instructional assistants may be available in class to provide native language support . A more limited application is a class where all students share Spanish as their native language. A bilingual teacher is allowed to use Spanish to clarify a new concept presented in English or to facilitate the transfer of existing knowledge to English. These two uses of Spanish constitute native language support of second language acquisition. This is not bilingual instruction and is allowable under WIA Title II rules.

Section 231 of WIA Title II restricts the “required local activities” allowed under the law to a variety of literacy activities. Adult education programs are not allowed to teach vocational, technical, occupational, or trade specific skills because these activities are not literacy activities. However, the law specifically includes “workplace literacy” in the allowed activities. The term “workplace literacy services” as defined by WIA II, means “literacy services that are offered for the purpose of improving the productivity of the workforce through the improvement of literacy skills.” Literacy means “an individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English, compute, and solve problems, at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual, and in society.” Workforce technical, occupational, or vocational skills are not equivalent to basic literacy skills. These sets of skills are different in scope and require a different instructional approach to lead to student outcomes. The 1991 SCANS Commission identified the most important skills needed in the workplace are the three foundations which include basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities (SCANS, 1991). Adult educators must accept an expanded definition of basic skills that includes SCANS foundations as well as basic computer literacy skills.

What WIA defines as workplace literacy is commonly referred to as workforce literacy. Workforce literacy classes attempt to replicate the environment encountered in the workplace by using work relevant materials in contextual instruction.

One of the most successful models of contextual instruction was developed in the early 1970’s by Tom Sticht and his colleagues for the US army. The program consisted of analyzing a variety of routine tasks performed by soldiers, identifying the basic skills needed to perform the tasks successfully, and then developing exercises focusing on the skills that were relevant to the identified tasks. (Chisman,1990).

Adult education programs should focus their general basic skills curriculum on the identified SCANS skills and select materials that are relevant to the work force. Beyond this necessary step, successful adult education programs are partnering with technical and occupational training programs. Partnerships provide integrated programs with concurrent enrollment for adult education students in workforce training programs leading to a certificate and improved employment opportunities. The adult education partner is charged with providing those services allowed under WIA II and the workforce partner provides the technical skills training needed in the work place.

The most successful models use work related materials in a top-down model of instruction to draw on the learners existing knowledge to construct new meaning (Carnevale, 1990). The workforce literacy class uses the work related knowledge the students already have to develop new literacy skills by focusing the reading and writing activity on familiar materials. The adult education class uses a contextual instructional approach and may develop specific materials based on an analysis of the student’s tasks.

A strong partnership between adult education and workforce training could add a bilingual component supported with funds other than Title II of WIA adult education funds. While most models of bilingual education have been designed with children in mind, a Transitional Bilingual program could be used very successfully. A transitional bilingual program provides content area support in the native language while the students learn English (Roberts, 1995.) The content in this case is the technical or occupational skill the student needs to learn to improve their employability. The transitional bilingual instruction acts as a bridge helping them transition from the anguage in which they already have experience to a new language.

As Texas LEARNS works to improve student outcomes, programs are encouraged to look for successful collaboration and funding models. The best outcomes of literacy instruction, bilingual education, and occupational training can be married to take on the challenges of educating the workforce of the 21st century.

Carnevale, Anthony et al. Workplace Basics: The Essential Skills Employers Want. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.

Chisman, Forrest P. Leadership for Literacy: The Agenda for the 1990’s. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990.

Roberts, Cheryl A. Bilingual Education Program Models: A Framework for Understanding. In The Bilingual Research Journal. Summer/Fall 1995, Vol. 19, Nos. 3&4, pp. 369-378.

Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills. What Work Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report for America 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, 1991. http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/whatwork/