Professor Steve Reder, an international adult literacy expert, will be visiting Tasmania this
weekend. Steve Reder is a researcher in adult literacy and a Professor at Portland State
University in the US. His interests include how adults learn language, and the role of language,
literacy, and technology in everyday life.

Professor Reder will be presenting results of a ground-breaking longitudinal study of adult learning,
which, over a decade, followed the learning and progress of 1000 young adults in the US who did
not complete high school.

The results from this study have shown that literacy continues to develop into adult life after leaving
school, and this affects employment and earning opportunities.

The study has also found that age, participation and self-study, and life events all affect postschool
literacy development in adults.

The results have far-reaching implications for provision of adult literacy programs in Tasmania.
New learning systems are needed that provide clear pathways for adults. Programs that sustain an
increased growth in literacy skills are also needed. These changes can raise future levels of
employment and earnings of adult learners.

Further, changes in the literacy and numeracy practices of adult learners would be a more effective
way to measure short-term program impacts, rather than short-term proficiency gains, such as
movement on the Australian Core Skills Framework.

Professor Reder will present his research findings at a public address and discussion jointly
sponsored by 26TEN, TasTAFE and the Tasmanian Council for Adult Literacy on Saturday 18
October at the Baha’i Centre in Hobart, from 2pm-5pm. Dr Natasha Cica will facilitate the
discussion, with Tasmanian Small Business Council president Geoff Fader, Tasmania’s first Social
Inclusion commissioner Prof David Adams, Risdon Vale Neighbourhood House co-ordinator and
literacy advocate Ann Harrison, economist Dr Paul Blacklow, and former federal MP Dick
Adams.

• TCAL hosts public discussion on adult literacy

Almost half of all Tasmanian adults are functionally illiterate. Tasmania has Australia’s lowest post-
Grade 10 retention rates, and one third of Tasmanian households rely on income support as the
main source of household income.

Entrenched generational unemployment, including Australia’s highest levels of youth
unemployment at around 20%, low incomes, social isolation, and poor transport options outside
the main cities are some of the hallmarks of the bleak economic landscape Tasmania faces.

These startling statistics have deep implications for social participation, employment, and personal
autonomy. Successive Tasmanian state governments have been unable to break the cycle, which
according to Saul Eslake is now a cultural phenomenon.

It is against this backdrop that the Tasmanian Council for Adult Literacy is hosting a public
discussion on the back of a visit to the state by leading US adult literacy expert Professor Steve
Reder. Professor Reder challenges many deeply-held assumptions about the impacts of formal
literacy programs and literacy practices.

A panel of Tasmanians will discuss the implications of Professor Reder’s research findings for the
Tasmanian context at a public meeting to be held at Hobart’s Baha’i Centre this Saturday, October
18, 2-5pm. Natasha Cica will facilitate the discussion, and the panel includes Tasmania’s first
Social Inclusion commissioner Dr David Adams, Tasmanian Small Business Council president
Geoff Fader, Risdon Vale Neighbourhood House co-ordinator and literacy advocate Ann Harrison,
and former federal MP Dick Adams.

This is an opportunity for Tasmanians to take part in an exciting initiative to start a grassroots,
community-led discussion of issues and future directions around adult literacy, and to better
understand the various perspectives the panel members bring to the issues.! !
Tickets to this provocative and stimulating event are available from the TCAL website at
tcal.org.au.

Event details: Baha’i Centre of Learning, Hobart, Saturday 18 October, 2pm-5pm

Download Flyer:

TCAL_SteveReder Hobart_Flyer_V7.pdf
Steve Cooke President, Tasmanian Council for Adult Literacy