Session Information
16 SES 10B, ICT Literacy and Learning Outcomes
Paper Session
Time:
2008-09-12
14:45-16:15
Room:
B4 416
Chair:
Ton Mooij
Contribution
The research presented in this paper explores adult educators’ and their learners’ perceptions and experiences of digital literacy in the context of the Second Chance Schools (SCS) programmes in Greece. The paper aims at shedding light on the educational reality at SCS regarding the teaching and learning of the Information Technology subject, and highlighting the processes of adult learning in the above context. In investigating these issues, the study gives voice to the experiences and perceptions of twenty eight adult learners and eight educators who are the key units of analysis, as they embarked on a digital literacy course of four SCS programmes in different areas of the country. The study harnessed a qualitative methodology to address questions related to the planning and organization of the Information Technology subject, its main targets, teaching methodologies and techniques followed in the course of it, learning activities, factors that help or hinder learning throughout the programmes, learning outcomes. SCS are programmes administered by the General Secretariat for Adult Education in Greece. They are flexible and innovative educational programmes which provide individuals of 18 and over who have not completed the nine-year compulsory education with the possibility of obtaining a lower secondary education certificate and of well integrating into social, economic and professional life. The programmes main objectives are: to re-link individuals who have not completed the basic education with the educational process and to create networks of cooperation between the school, the local community, the business world and education. The SCS programmes last 18 months, divided into two stages of nine months each (two academic years). The SCS’ curriculum is significantly differentiated from the one in formal schools in terms of its principles, content, teaching methods and students’ assessment. Multiliteracy is at the core of the programme. According to this approach the written and the oral word is determined by the social environment in which it is used (GSAE, 2003). The curriculum of SCS covers the following: • the development of skills in language, mathematics and communication, with special emphasis on foreign languages and ICTs. The basic subjects are: Greek language, mathematics, information technology, English, social education, environmental education, aesthetic education, technology and the physical sciences. • basic training and preparation for professional life in cooperation with the local authorities. • the development of skills in the domain of the personal interests of the people being educated, such as, for example, sports, music, theatre, etc. Within the context of SCS the above courses are not strictly confined to the corresponding field of scholarship. They draw elements from other disciplines instead. SCS operate on an open curriculum and oral program, in which teaching and learning activities are seen as a communication act rather than an effort to achieve pre-determined goals. In each SCS, subjects and learning activities are not drawn up in advance nor are supplied ready-made for teachers. Rather they draw up on the basis of students’ individual needs. The above implies teaching methods and practices that among others promote personalised teaching, experiential learning, self-motivation, students’ active involvement in the learning process and decision making, critical thinking etc. The most important teaching methods routinely used are: the group-centred teaching, team working, brainstorming, case-studies, collaborative teaching and the project method. In the above context, SCS educators’ and learners’ perceptions and experiences of digital literacy are investigated. The research is justified given the importance placed on ICT both by the EU and the Greek government; its central role in the curriculum of SCS; and the fact that digital literacy in relation to adult learners is an under researched field in Greece (Jimoyiannis & Gravani, 2008).
Method
The study harnessed a qualitative methodology and a case study approach. It focuses on the context of four SCS programmes that run in different areas of the country. Overall, twenty eight educators and eight adult learners were interviewed through semi-structured recorded interviews over the months of May and June 2007. Since the study focuses on how individuals understand, experience and interpret a phenomenon and seeks for a deeper interpretation and conceptualization of that phenomenon (van Manen, 1984), a grounded theory approach to the collection and analysis of data was adopted. This means that the study aimed at developing theory and conclusions that are discovered and verified provisionally through systematic data collection and rigorous analysis pertaining to the phenomenon under study. Therefore the data collection, theory and analysis stand in ‘reciprocal relationship to one another’ (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 23).
Expected Outcomes
Findings of the study reveal that sessions aim mainly at developing adult learners’ technical and social skills on ICT. They also point out that teaching practices followed are adapted to the adult learners’ needs and interests; are aligned with the adult learning principles and exhibit elements of interdisciplinarity. Factors that prevent learning in the course of the subject proved to be learners’ age, the lack of appropriate organization and material infrastructure, old habits that educators carry with them from the typical school. Finally, data indicated that learning in the course of the programmes has been ‘active’ and ‘passive’ (John &Gravani, 2005) for both adult learners and educators. The majority of the former argued that they got useful knowledge on the use of ICTs in everyday life, while only a small number of learners argued that their learning has been absolutely ‘passive’ exhibiting a negative position to the subject. Adult educators, on the other hand, argued that in the course of the sessions they got useful knowledge coming from their students’ life experiences.
References
General Secretariat for Adult Education (GSAE) (2003). A new chance: Second Chance Schools, Athens: YPEPTH Jimoyiannis, A. & Gravani, M. (in press, 2008). Digital Literacy in the SCS programmes: the experiences and perceptions of the ICTs educators. John, P.D. & Gravani, M.N. (2005). Evaluating a ‘new’ in-service professional development programme in Greece: The experiences of tutors and teachers, Journal of In-service Education, 31 (1), pp. 105-129. Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory, Procedures and Techniques, London: Sage. Van Manen, M. (1984). Practising phenomenological writing, Phenomenology and Pedagogy, 2 (1), pp. 36-73.
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