Stereotypes versus Research Results Regarding Functionally Illiterate Adults.:Conclusions from the First German Level-One Survey and the Learner Panel Study
While within UNESCO functional literacy sometimes is discussed from the perspec- tive of functional illiteracy (Street 1992), this is nearly always the case regarding German adult education. However, illiteracy is a difficult term and separates popula- tions at a dichotomous line. This is necessary for negotiating resources with policy makers, but stigmatizing and excluding. Alongside with this essentialist label stere- otypes about functionally illiterates are reproduced. Knowledge about this subgroup relies a lot on research with participants from Adult Basic Education. Several as- sumptions about the sociodemographic situation and attitudes of participants seem to shape the common notion of the subpopulation in Germany. The recent repre- sentative learner study ‘AlphaPanel’ (Rosenbladt/Bilger 2010; Lehmann/Fickler- Stang/Maué 2012) confirms many of these assumptions. However, figures from the first representative household survey on functional illiteracy, the ‘Level-One Survey (leo.)’ (Grotlüschen/Riekmann 2011), do not confirm these findings. Stereotypes rising from research with participants, such as the assumption that they are mostly unemployed, isolated people with no school degree, may apply to the majority of adult basic education (ABE) participants, but not the majority of functionally illiterate adults as a whole. The article first discusses theoretical aspects of the terms ‘literacy’ and ‘illitera- cy’. The first conclusion will take into account the danger of (re-)producing stereo- types by using dichotomous terms. The problems that arise with hierarchical com- petence models and curricula, which also imply a deficit model of those who are located in low areas of the hierarchy and in early stages of the curriculum, will sharpen the point of view. To elaborate this, the authors make use of two more liter- acy curricula regarding financial and health literacy. The theoretical problem will end up in Spivak’s notion of strategic essentialism. The two studies mentioned above will then be introduced and embedded into the broader context of the German National Strategy for Basic Education. The third sec- tion will show that even within rather similar assessment studies compelling differ- ences can be found between participants of ABE and the complete subpopulation. The discussion in the fourth section asks whether it might be possible that many adults are quite at ease even with low literacy skills and therefore will not participate in any class. The stereotype of functionally illiterates in desperate need of help and support (delivered by adult education) is – according to the data – not only repro- duced by mass media, but by practitioners, learner organizations and researchers as well. The main sources of these stereotypes are the experiences from courses – their generalization proves to be problematic, as the comparison with the German house- hold survey on literacy shows.