Since many of these problems are the outcome of poorly articulated policy priorities and practices, we need to consider what would happen if the major governments changed these. The experience of the recent literacy campaign in Britain provides one possible result. In 1974 the central government of Britain earmarked a grant of £ 1 million per year for three years to establish the Adult Literacy Resource Agency (ALRA) and to assist in establishing literacy programs through each Local Education Authority (LEA). Prior to this time, the responsibility for providing adult basic education programs belonged to the LEAs and the services delivered in each area was largely a reflection of the collective will of the elected representatives. The change in policy coincided with a nation-wide literacy campaign mounted by the BBC via television and radio.

A recent evaluation of the entire three-year campaign (1) shows that the policy change instituted by the central government and the earmarking of guaranteed funds was crucial to the campaign.

"...if ALRA and the BBC had not happened, no expansion would have occurred... Limited schemes would have continued to grow slowly... It would have been left to professional adult educators to push it in very restrictive financial circumstances...

"This view that without the BBC and ALRA little would have happened was almost universally held Yet, as the ALRA reports show, the same of money received by any LEA was very small: the administrators appeared to give it a significance out of proportion to the actual amount. The reasons for this appeared to be:

  1. that ALRA demonstrated a government commitment to literacy;
  2. that the ALRA fund showed that Government was not, as so often, adding to the local authorities' duties without recognizing the need for finance;
  3. that the ALRA fund was assured and ear-marked allocation, secure against the moves toward (economic restraint) ..." (2)

In Canada, it seems likely that any similar move on the part of either the federal or provincial governments would have positive effect of the provision of adult basic education services.

Basic problems

1.

There are no clearly articulated policies, priorities or practices which govern the way
in which adult basic education services are funded or provided. The programs are rarely integrated with other adult education services and are often a low priority of the service-provider.
 
2.

In times of economic restraint adult basic education services are often the first to be

affected by cut-backs.
 
3.

Obtaining secured funding requires considerable time and energy on the part of

committed service-providers.
 
4.

Justifying the need for public funds for adult basic education services is not easy since

governments appear to view this need as an individual responsibility and to be unwilling to acknowledge any public responsibility.
 
5.

Governments and other service-providers do not view adult basic education services

as an economic necessity nor as services which have an adequate, immediate return on the investment. The long-term benefits to governments and service-providers are generally ignored.
 
6.

Educational services to children tend to be preventative in nature and to have a higher

value in terms of resource allocation. Educational services to adults tend to be crisis-oriented/and remedial in nature and to have a low value in terms of resource allocation.

(1). H. A. Jones and A. H. Charnley, Adult literacy: A study of its impact, (Leicester: National Institute for Adult Education, 1978)

(2). Ibid p. 30


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