Theodore Lewis
University of Minnesota
Mildred Griggs
University of Illinois
assisted by
Stephan Flister
Amadou Konare
University of
Minnesota
Jason M. Githeko
Norah C. Chemengen
University of Illinois
National Center for Research in Vocational Education
University of
California at Berkeley
2030 Addison Street, Suite 500
Berkeley, CA
94704-1058
Supported by
The Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S.
Department of Education
July, 1995
FUNDING INFORMATION
| Project Title: | National Center for Research in Vocational Education |
|---|---|
| Grant Number: | V051A30003-95A/V051A30004-95A |
| Act under which Funds Administered: | Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act P.L. 98-524 |
| Source of Grant: | Office of Vocational and Adult Education U.S. Department of Education Washington, DC 20202 |
| Grantee: | The Regents of the University of California c/o National Center for Research in Vocational Education 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 1250 Berkeley, CA 94704 |
| Director: | David Stern |
| Percent of Total Grant Financed by Federal Money: | 100% |
| Dollar Amount of Federal Funds for Grant: | $6,000,000 |
| Disclaimer: | This publication was prepared pursuant to a grant with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. Grantees undertaking such projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgement in professional and technical matters. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official U.S. Department of Education position or policy. |
| Discrimination: | Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states: "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." Therefore, the National Center for Research in Vocational Education project, like every program or activity receiving financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education, must be operated in compliance with these laws. |
This report examines five case studies of workplace literacy initiatives.
Except for the Twin Cities Opportunities Industrialization Center (TCOIC),
which is the actual name of that institution, pseudonyms are used throughout
when referring to people and institutions. Broadly defined, workplace
literacy in this study refers to the several kinds of capabilities and
dispositions (such as the three Rs, learning how to learn, teamwork,
problem-solving skills, and communication skills) that are now thought to
comprise the necessary possessions one needs in order to function competently
in today's workplace.
In the first case, Redwood Technical College, a two-year postsecondary
vocational institution, collaborated with the Union Educational Bureau to
deliver a basic skills program to housekeepers and food service workers at four
hospitals under the terms of a federal grant. In the second case, North Oaks
Technical College, also a two-year postsecondary vocational institution,
executed a workplace literacy project on contract for a high-tech manufacturing
company. In the third case, a private provider, the Workplace Education Center
(WEC), delivered a basic skills program to nonsalaried workers at the branch of
a large bank. In the fourth case, this same provider delivered an English as a
Second Language (ESL) program to immigrant service workers at the branch of a
large chain of hotels. The fifth and final case describes the approach of the
TCOIC, a nontraditional vocational institution that focuses on marginalized
populations, and which places heavy emphasis on basic skills even as it offers
technical skills.
The problem was to understand better what transpires within workplace literacy
programs--what are their premises and claims, their curricular stances, and
their approach to teaching and learning--with the intent of resolving the basic
question of whether vocational institutions can claim uniqueness or a
comparative advantage over other providers in the workplace literacy
enterprise.
Case methodology allowed detailed examination of the five initiatives. The
inquiry took the form of formal and informal interviews, document examination,
and on-site observation.
Based on a review of literature, a set of premises or hypotheses was set forth
to provide a framework against which each case could be interrogated. These
premises/hypotheses were that vocational education institutions would have a
comparative advantage in the extent to which they (1) had long traditions of
collaborating with industry to derive workplace-based curricula, (2) catered to
diverse and marginalized populations among whom could be found enclaves of
illiteracy, (3) provided both initial and upgraded training geared to lifelong
learning, and (4) offered basic skills in the functional context of technical
skills. These premises/hypotheses were loosely set as criteria that helped to
resolve the question of uniqueness and comparative advantage.
Taken together, the cases unearthed some critical features which, if present,
seemed to strengthen the case for a vocational institution claiming uniqueness
or comparative advantage over other providers in the workplace literacy
enterprise. Among these features were the following:
A primary conclusion of the study was that to lay claim to uniqueness or to comparative advantage, a requirement was that vocational institutions should play to their strengths, which include a tradition of hands-on learning, and keeping basic skills and theory tightly connected with technical skills, either in applied instruction (e.g., welding math, business English) or in physical proximity to allow literacy classes to act as a vocational hook.
We thank the cooperating staffs and workers of the two technical colleges, the union, the hospitals, the high-tech manufacturing company, the private literacy provider, the bank, and the hotel that are anonymously represented here for their generosity. We thank the staff of the Twin Cities Opportunities Industrialization Center (TCOIC) for allowing us the full run of their school. Rosemarie Park, project consultant, is thanked for her insights and suggestions. We thank Jerome Moss for reading a draft of the report and offering insightful suggestions.
This report describes five case studies of workplace literacy initiatives.
They include (1) a study of the role of a two-year postsecondary technical
college as a partner and provider in a federally funded workplace literacy
project (other partners being a union and four hospitals); (2) a study of the
role of a two-year postsecondary technical college on contract with a high-tech
manufacturing company to deliver a program of basic skills for a cross section
of its workers; (3) a study of a basic skills program for hourly paid employees
at a large urban bank; (4) a study of a hotel services' English as a Second
Language (ESL) program that was designed to improve the basic skills of
immigrant employees; and (5) a study of the operations of an accredited
alternative vocational institution that specializes in serving the poor and the
educationally and socially marginal, along with remedial and workplace literacy
programming. In all cases, the researchers spent extensive periods of time
observing and collecting data via formal and informal interviews of individuals
and small groups. In addition, artifacts at the sites were examined.
The problem of the study was that what is known about workplace
literacy is still sparse. There was a need to try to answer the basic
question, "What do workplace literacy programs look like, and what can we learn
from them that would be instructive for vocational education policy and
practice?" The purpose was to try to resolve the defining question, "Can
vocational education institutions lay claim to a comparative advantage over
other providers in the workplace literacy enterprise?" From this basic
question sprung several related questions that helped to give form to the logic
of the inquiry. These included the following:
Although workplace literacy programs, being education for work, are clearly in
the realm of vocational education, they are not necessarily perceived as such
even within the field. Because they focus not on technical skills, but largely
on decontextualized basic skills that can conceivably be taught away from
traditional vocational education laboratory environments, they have become the
province of an array of providers (e.g., public schools, community colleges,
and unions), all of which are legitimate claimants to a niche in the workplace
literacy enterprise. A central premise underlying the study, then, was that
vocational education institutions will increasingly be called upon to assume
leadership and collaborative roles in fashioning and executing workplace
literacy initiatives. Many are currently involved in such roles as partners in
the National Workplace Literacy program. These new roles will compel
institutions to reconsider and, perhaps, reconceptualize their approaches to
curriculum, and to program planning and delivery. To respond competently to
new demands engendered by the problem of workplace literacy requires a
knowledge-base upon which to draw--a knowledge-base which, in the context of
vocational education research, is still in its nascent stages. The more
prominent studies (e.g., Gowen, 1992; Hull, 1991, 1992, 1993; Kalman &
Fraser, 1992; Schultz, 1992) have alerted us to ideological and other
contentions that attend workplace literacy programs--contentions such as the
functional/critical literacy debate, along with the relationship between
socioeconomic status (SES), ethnicity, and basic skills. Insights from these
studies have helped fashion the conceptual framework that is to be detailed
next. However, studies to date have not addressed the question of whether
vocational education institutions can lay claim to a unique niche, or to a
comparative advantage, in the workplace literacy enterprise--a status that
would set it apart from other entities as a provider of workplace literacy
programming.
To set the stage for the inquiry, it was necessary to fashion a conceptual
framework (discussed earlier) based upon a review of literature. The purpose
of this framework was to help define the parameters that would guide our probe,
and to highlight issues and contentions about which we needed to be aware as
the work progressed and as we tried to give meaning to our observations. From
a practical standpoint, the review served the functional purpose of helping to
set forth criteria for the selection of cases and guidelines for the framing of
questions for interview protocols. An outline of the framework follows.
This literature review provides the conceptual framework that has guided the
inquiry. Its basic thrust is to locate the problem of workplace literacy in
the wider discourse of education for economic competitiveness in the new global
economy. Changes in the nature of work, concomitant changes in the kinds of
capabilities that workers are now expected to bring to the workplace, and the
resulting need for education and training institutions to rethink their
curricular and instructional premises and strategies are discussed. What the
role and the response of vocational institutions in particular ought to be in
this quest to upgrade the literacy skills of workers is examined. Because
adult literacy is by nature a politically sensitive construct, a purpose of the
review was to help uncover issues and variables with which one must contend in
trying to gain a deep, balanced understanding of the problem in the context of
workplaces. One such issue is the problem of defining what is meant by
workplace literacy. Another is the question as to whether jobs are becoming
more or less complex. Yet another is the correlation between societal levels
of literacy and SES.
To come to terms with these issues, and also to suggest anchoring points for
the inquiry, the review examines (1) the global economy and economic
competitiveness as context for worker education and training, (2) the changing
nature of work and new skill requirements of workers, (3) problems in defining
workplace literacy, (4) what works in workplace literacy programs, (5)
evaluating existing workplace literacy programs, and (6) vocational education
and the changing workplace.
Education and training systems have emerged as key variables in the quest by the industrialized countries to gain a competitive edge in the new global economy. A recent monograph sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (Benton & Noyelle, 1992) speaks of the changing conception of literacy, from the goal of civic participation to that of economic performance. The study points out that this change "responds to important shifts in the nature of the world economy and related changes in the organization and sectoral distribution of jobs" (p. 13). Regarding the more specific question of the correlation of skills and economic performance in the new global economy, the study sets forth the following:
Most observers of the economy would agree that the middle of the 1970s marked a shift from the post-war Fordist era, characterized by the domination of mass production and the vertically integrated firm to an era of more intense global competition involving more complex and more flexible production networks. This shift has had important implications for the organization of work. Within firms, the Fordist approach centered on the pursuit of a highly fragmented division of labor and the breakdown of work into sets of simple, easy to learn tasks so that workers could be interchangeable or, for that matter, could be replaced by machinery. Facing more competitive, more fragmented, and highly volatile markets, many firms in the late 1970s and especially the 1980s responded by altering the structure of production in order to emphasize quality, diversification, customization, timeliness, rapid innovation, and customer service. Although sustaining high levels of productivity remains critical, the quality of work exacted from employees has become at least as important as the quantity. Not surprisingly, it is now widely recognized that firms face intense pressures to enhance the skill level of the workforce. (p. 13)
Thurow (1992) points out in his book, Head to Head, that in the new global economy, unlike in the past, countries do not necessarily become rich because they possess abundant raw materials. Natural resources have virtually dropped out of the competitive equation, he argues. What assumes primacy now are new technologies--more process than product technologies. And, according to Thurow, in the next century "the education and skills of the workforce will end up being the dominant competitive weapon" (p. 40). Elaborating, he points out the following:
In the century ahead, natural resources, capital, and new-product technologies are going to rapidly move around the world. People will move--but more slowly than anything else. Skilled people become the only sustainable competitive advantage.
If the route to success is inventing new products, the education of the smartest 25% of the labor force is critical.... If the route to success is being the cheapest and best producer of products, new or old, the education of the bottom 50% of the population moves to center stage. This part of the population must staff those new processes. If the bottom 50% cannot learn what must be learned, new high-tech processes cannot be employed. (p. 52)
Thurow argues that the quality of the team affects the overall income. He points to the way the noncollege-bound are catered to in Germany through the dual apprenticeship system. The Germans are not the best educated, he argues, but they are the world's best in the range of mid-level, noncollege skills. He argues that, "In the end the skills of the bottom half of the population affect the wages of the top half" (p. 56). American firms, Thurow argues, spend less on training than do Japanese or German firms. When they do, the emphasis is on managerial and supervisory skills. Thus, skilled workers are not as ready to adapt to the new breakthrough technologies.
Though they probably lag behind their Japanese and German counterparts in terms of the depth of investment in worker training, there is recent evidence of increasing commitment in American companies toward such training (e.g., Benton, Bailey, Noyelle, & Stanback, 1991; Carnevale, Gainer, Villet, & Holland, 1990; Eurich, 1985; Fowler, 1992; Gordon, Ponticell, & Morgan, 1991; Merex Corporation, 1991). This increasing commitment clearly comes from an awareness of the burgeoning importance of human capital in the global economic environment. Eurich (1985) notes in the following that education has come to be seen as a business need:
Gradually major companies are making human resource investments just as they would make capital investments--in essential education and training that will give employees skills, knowledge and attitudes that will make them more productive and competitive.... If America is to be an effective international competitor, then innovation, vitality, and effective training of the workforce are key ingredients. (pp. 2, 3)
However, skilled capability is but one (though a very important) variable in the international competitiveness equation. Training is not a panacea that can be expected to solve competitiveness difficulties. Benton et al. (1991) point out that training must be blended with larger goals such as promoting a work environment that is supportive of lifelong learning and adopting a posture that is responsive to change. Benton et al. also point out that those adults with the poorest education do not even make it into the workforce. This observation shifts the capability focus from the workplace to the school system.
Many employers believe that the basic skills deficiencies they now witness in the workplace are the result of faulty schooling (e.g., Gordon et al., 1991; Lee, 1988). Gordon et al. (1991), for example, argue that it is the school system that has failed to produce a skilled workforce. They speak of the "progressive failure" of American schools, reflected in the high illiteracy rates among adult workers who are high school graduates. They complain that schools are out of touch with the world of work and competition:
Public schooling objectives still focus largely on industry-based skills: read, write, count, add, subtract, multiply, divide, spell, punctuate, comprehend and communicate. Success in information technologies and service occupations depends on an entirely different set of skills: diagnose, determine, estimate, obtain information, organize information, identify alternatives, analyze, plan, coordinate, work collaboratively, implement and monitor. (p. 6)
But while the demands of the new global economy have raised the level of
concern regarding literacy levels in the workforce, there is no clear consensus
that the education and skill requirements of jobs are significantly increasing.
While many new jobs in the economy require higher levels of education, many
others do not. There is some contention as to whether jobs are being
upskilled, deskilled, or some combination thereof, referred to as "mixed"
effects (e.g., Form, 1987; Spenner, 1985). Using workforce trend data,
Rumberger (1981), and more recently Hadlock, Hecker, and Gannon
(1991)--provides support for deskilling and mixed effects, pointing to a
decline in jobs that require higher education. On the other hand, Bailey
(1991) points to a steady increase in jobs in the economy requiring higher
education. The view remains that credentials act merely as screens in the
labor market, having no substantive link with jobs (Berg, 1970).
Just what the skill needs of employers are is an unresolved issue. The
Commission on Skills of the American Workforce (1990) found that the primary
concern of 80% of employers was not the literacy needs of workers, but, rather,
finding workers with a good work ethic and good social skills. Just 5% of
employers felt that the education and skill requirements of jobs were
increasing significantly. This finding seemed not to fit with much of the
rhetoric issuing from business and industry and official circles.
While there remains contention as to whether or not the education requirements of jobs are increasing, or whether or not employers are truly concerned about decreased levels of literacy in the skill pool, the policy perspective has been that there is need for federal intervention and leadership on these questions (e.g., Barton & Kirsch, 1990; Chisman, 1989; Chisman & Campbell, 1990). Barton and Kirsch (1990) conclude that a large gap exists between the literacy skills of a large proportion of young adults and the needs of workplaces--with the problem being particularly acute among minority populations. They call for immediate action on the part of the state. That the federal government has been responsive is evident in the passage of the National Literacy Act of 1991, and in the funding provided via the National Workplace Literacy Program.
As can be gleaned from the discussion above, a central feature of the new
global economy is that mass production is yielding to flexible production. An
increasing number of workers must now possess multiple skills and must be able
to change as production requirements change (e.g., Bailey, 1989; Bailey &
Noyelle, 1988; Berryman, 1988; Wallace, 1989). In an insightful treatment of
this issue, Wallace (1989) places technology at the heart of the workplace
revolution. Speaking of a "brave new workplace," he points to the dominance of
the microchip and the personal computer in the new economy. Information itself
has become a product, he argues, because of the capability of these devices to
assemble, store, and retrieve large amounts of data. Computer and micro-based
technologies make possible "high-flex workplaces" featuring flexible,
specialized production systems as opposed to standardized mass production
systems. These changes have varying effects. One clear conclusion is that
technological change is disruptive. As to effect on education, Wallace
predicts volatile careers with multiple detours. What really are the skill
requirements of the new workplace? Wallace says that a college degree will
probably be the prerequisite for most good jobs. But for a host of reasons,
the degree will continue to be out of the reach of many. In any case, most
jobs will have more modest educational demands, but these demands are changing,
and, contentions aside, seem more than ever to be requiring a basic skills
foundation.
In the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) (1991)
report, for example, the demands of workplaces upon schools are said to include
a foundation of basics inclusive of the three Rs, thinking skills, and personal
qualities. Arguing that there is a clear link between basic skills in the
workforce and economic competitiveness, Carnevale, Gainer, and Meltzer (1988)
set forth their own version of the skills that employers want. These skills
included learning to learn, the three Rs, communication, creative
thinking/problem solving, self-esteem/goal setting, motivation/personal and
career development, interpersonal skills, and organizational
effectiveness/leadership. In an elaboration on these ideas, Carnevale (1991)
distinguishes between "academic basics"--reading, writing, and computation--and
other basics. He claims that, on average, American workers spend from 1.5 to 2
hours daily reading a variety of materials (i.e., forms, charts) on the job,
and speculates that these reading requirements will "increase and deepen
because the growing complexity and scale of global economic activity will
require more written communication" (p. 108). Carnevale points to some general
trends in the nature of work such as the shift from specific to general skills,
the shift from concrete to abstract skills, and the primacy of social skills
such as self-esteem and self-awareness.
An important point made by Carnevale et al. (1988), and touched upon by Barton and Kirsch (1990) and Benton et al. (1991), is that not all of the workforce lack basic skills. However, there are pockets where the problem is chronic. Carnevale et al. (1988) note that
The educated and trained half of the American workforce competes well with the white-collar and technical elites of its economic rivals. But the other half of the workforce is not as well prepared, and this is where the U.S. is losing the competitive race. (p. 7)
In Carnevale et al.'s (1988) study, distinguishing characteristics of those with low basic skills included (1) having frequent arrests, (2) being an unwed mother, (3) being welfare-dependent, (4) being a high-school dropout, and (5) being unemployed. As Barton and Kirsch (1990) point out, high percentages of these groups would tend to be minorities, a fact which adds a degree of complexity to the issue from the standpoint of social policy.
Because the new workplace is said to call for a variety of skills, one must
speak in terms of the literacies required for successful performance
therein. There must, of course, be the academic basics--reading, writing, and
mathematics. But as discussed previously, there is now a need for oral
communication skills, for the skill of working in teams, problem solving
skills, and so on. Since reading is so ubiquitous across workplaces and jobs,
it has loomed large in the discourse on workplace literacy, and must be dealt
with in order to come to terms with the meaning of workplace literacy.
Outside of the workplace, reading ability has often been used as an index of
literacy. But reading in the context of one's job must be taken differently
from reading at school. What, then, is workplace literacy?
Seeking to define literacy in the context of workplaces, Sticht (1988)
distinguishes between general and specific literacy. General literacy (e.g.,
vocabulary and arithmetic operations) correlates with how much education one
has acquired. Specific literacy proficiency is confined to circumscribed
realms (e.g., electronics). Sticht reports that people with high levels of
general literacy are more likely to make use of their literacy skills at work
and to perform better on work-related tests than those less literate. Specific
literacy or knowledge adds an increment of reading proficiency to those low in
literacy skills. Practice also improves reading level for a specific task.
Specific literacy may offset low general literacy. In other words, the
workplace could mediate one's level of reading proficiency.
On the specific question of links between literacy and vocational competence, Sticht (1978) asserts that there is a clear relationship between reading ability and the reported use of reading skills rather than listening and languaging (or auding) skills. According to Sticht's study, more able readers were more likely to use print medium to complete work-related tasks. Use of reading increased as one's reading skill increased Furthermore, the use of print led to jobs being performed more accurately. Sticht concludes the following:
If, by vocational competence, we mean the ability to perform job-tasks with high degrees of accuracy, then these findings suggest that the acquisition of reading [skills] may serve to augment the seeking of job information over that which personnel do by auding, and that the propensity to seek job information from printed sources may pay dividends in terms of improved vocational competence. (p. 9)
Sticht identifies two kinds of reading tasks: (1) reading to do and
(2) reading to learn. The former serves as an external memory and tends
to be used much more on job sites than in school.
Diehl and Mikulecky (1980) found that job-related literacy was probably the
most important type of functional literacy. Subjects used reading materials to
perform their jobs, not necessarily because such reading materials were
absolutely essential to performing the job, but because they were available.
About 63% of the reading tasks they observed were reading to do tasks.
The reading was repetitive. They concluded that many jobs that have reading as
a requirement may be unduly discriminatory, based on a false estimation of the
reading demands of the job. They found, too, that on job-related materials,
workers can read up to two grade levels higher than their assessed reading
level. What's needed, then, is an information-rich environment.
After reviewing literacy work for the U.S. Army, Sticht and Mikulecky (1984)
found that in job reading training programs, reading of job materials led to
larger gains than did general reading. From this they assert that "if reading
training is given in a well specified domain, then skill in that domain will
improve" (p. 32). This idea of specific literacy, and of reading to do,
is supported by functional context theory, which posits that biological
circumstances and the context in which learning takes place determine what is
learned, how it is learned, and whether the learning will transfer. According
to Sticht and Hickey (1991), context can be thought of in two
dimensions--the world "outside the head" and that "inside the head." The
former dimension of context refers to one's external environment, including
one's work surroundings. The latter refers to the mind--to one's cognitive
abilities. When fully articulated, functional context theory includes a
developmental model of literacy and a conception of learning as information
processing. Functional context learning requires building new knowledge from
old, dwelling on problems from the environment where the learning is to be
used, and providing opportunities for practice and transfer.
The generalization one can make, therefore, might be that workplace literacy is specific literacy--it is literacy in the functional context of the workplace. But as Park (1992, p. 132) points out, where workplace literacy is concerned, the problem of definition is not easily resolved. And indeed, defining workplace literacy in contextual terms--distinguishing between general and specific literacies--is contentious. For example, Barton and Kirsch (1990) vehemently state that
to envision distinct, separate kinds of literacy that are called upon in isolation from another is not a very useful concept. Specific literacy skills are not things that can be turned on and off in different settings. Life is not so compartmentalized; it is, in fact, a seamless web. All citizens need a broad base of literacy skills to function in the school, in the family, in the community, in the voting booth, and in the workplace. The challenge is to understand how such skills and knowledge in these several contexts are similar, and how they are different, as part of a critical effort to find ways to promote their development. (p. 32)
The idea that literacy should tend to be general--even in the context of workplaces--is the position of trade unions, notably the AFL-CIO. For example, Sarmiento and Kay (1990) posit a worker-centered approach to workplace education and training programs. Such an approach, they argue, "enables workers to fulfill many different kinds of learning objectives--from occupational advancement to self-advancement" (p. 32). We see this controversy in Gowen (1992) who speaks of the resistance of workers to job texts as the sole source of content for their reading (p. 91). Workers wanted to write stories that had meaning beyond their jobs.
Despite the contentions, the generalization most evident in the literature
regarding the definition of workplace literacy, or what constitutes literacy,
is that the skills must be tied to the context (Park, 1990). Enumerating the
characteristics that make for effective workplace literacy programs, Cornell
(1988) suggests that skills should be taught within a "meaningful context" to
ensure transfer, and for the political reason that firms are more likely to
support training if they see its link with training and performance. Park
(1990) suggests that workplace literacy programs should contain two basic
elements: (1) the premise of an assessment of the reading, writing, and math
skills of the employees; and (2) the development of training programs in the
three Rs that could deliver "the basic job skills needed for performance and
job promotion" (p. 9). A study of the first year of the National Workplace
Literacy Program revealed that two factors common to successful programs were
(1) literacy task analyses and (2) instructional materials that were linked to
literacy skills required on the job (Kutner, Sherman, Webb, & Fisher, 1991;
U.S. Department of Education, 1992).
Mikulecky, Henard, and Lloyd (1992) argue that successful programs must be
flexible, and must cater to the needs of a diversity of learners. For example,
basic skills training could be coordinated with several other types of
training, including ESL, GED, functional literacy, and so on (p. 6). To assure
success there must be a systematic study of the job site, including a
collection of work samples, an inspection of job descriptions, task analyses,
and the building of political support (such as collaboration with unions)
(e.g., Kalman & Fraser, 1992; Mikulecky et al., 1992; Park, 1990; U.S.
Department of Education, 1992). However, there are caveats. Mikulecky et al.
(1992) point out that any gains in literacy proficiency are lost in the absence
of opportunity to practice. Park (1992) asserts that links between workplace
literacy instruction and productivity are tenuous. This observation would
certainly hold true for episodic programs. To realize productivity gains
requires time for the accumulation of expertise.
How are workplace literacy programs to be evaluated? From the National
Workplace Literacy Program, several indices of success have been set forth,
gleaned from exemplary projects. They include improved communication, reading,
and math skills; high program completion rates; improved self-confidence; and
increased productivity by some employees (U.S. Department of Education, 1992).
Mikulecky and Lloyd (1992) recommend using a combination of standardized and
customized instruments for evaluation. They suggest, in addition to indices
such as improved reading ability and increased productivity, that improved
family literacy (e.g., parents being able to model literacy practices for their
children) might be an expected outcome of workplace literacy programs.
Just what is evaluated depends upon the literacy philosophy one entertains.
If literacy is seen in purely instrumental terms, then improved productivity
might be the only criterion of relevance. As Park (1992) points out, this is
not an easy criterion to assess. Mechanisms must be put in place to foster
valid and reliable estimation of productivity changes. In their study of the
impact of workplace literacy programs, Mikulecky and Lloyd (1992) utilized
indices such as data on employee attitudes (e.g., absenteeism and grievances
submitted). They also sought to monitor both process (e.g., frequency of use
of job aids) and content (e.g., specific job knowledge) aspects of
productivity.
Because workplace literacy programs invariably issue from a functional,
instrumental need, intrinsic measures such as improved self-confidence or
carry-over into family literacy cannot be expected alone to gain the support of
firms. The case for such measures must be argued by worker representatives
(e.g., Sarmiento & Kay, 1990). What might be needed to make some of the
more intrinsic claims of workplace literacy programs more palatable is
demonstration of how such effects can ultimately redound to the objective
benefit of firms.
That vocational education plays a major role in preparing youth and adults for roles in the workforce cannot be disputed. However, with changes in the workplace and in the nature of work, it has become clear that vocational education, though still having a crucial role, requires a new conceptualization to be relevant to the human capital needs required in the global economy. Workplaces alone cannot meet these needs of the American workforce. Vaughan (1991) argues, "Economic success--internationally and in all our communities--depends on investments in human capital. And vocational education investments play a major role" (p. 448). He notes that employers cannot fill the basic skills gap through training, since "only forty-five percent of high school dropouts receive any occupational training on the job" (p. 448). Vaughan reasons that, "because vocational programs are closely linked to labor markets, they can quickly and economically train displaced workers in skills that are in demand, thus drawing poor people into the economic mainstream" (p. 448).
This sort of reasoning resonates in the provisions of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990. The purpose of the Perkins Act is
[T]o make the United States more competitive in the world economy by developing more fully the academic and occupational skills of all segments of the population. (American Vocational Association, 1990, p. 49)
This conception of a role for vocational education in preparing the workforce for today's competitive environment is driven in large measure by unfavorable comparisons with trading partners, notably Germany (e.g., U.S. General Accounting Office, 1990). Reflecting on the Perkins Act, Warnat (1991) sets forth that vocational education must become more proactive. It must make the public more aware of its role and potential as "the primary preparer of the nation's world-class work force and where our work force stands in the global economy" (p. 25). But, with the retreat from vocationalism noticeable in American public schools (e.g., Gray, 1991; Wirt, Muraskin, Meyer, & Goodwin, 1989), it cannot be said that there is consensus regarding the nature of vocational education's role. It is clear that vocational education must adjust to the times.
One plank of the Perkins Act is the integration of vocational and academic curricula. The Perkins Act provides funds to support programs that
integrate academic and vocational education in such programs through coherent sequences of courses so that students achieve both academic and occupational competencies.... (American Vocational Association, 1990, p. 86)
Addressing this question, Jennings (1991) offered the following view:
There's little doubt that American students need to boost their academic skills, and Congress believes vocational education has the ability to do just that. (p. 18)
There has been much support for the idea of integration (e.g., Gray, 1991;
Grubb, Davis, Lum, Plihal, & Morgaine, 1991; Rosenstock, 1991; among
others). Many see this thrust as the way to change the course of vocational
education from occupationally specific technical skill development to a more
generic orientation that is premised on a broader conception of the
requirements of today's industry and jobs. There is the view that vocational
classrooms must become more deliberately attuned to workplace basic
skills.
As an example of such a thrust at the level of the classroom, Martinez and
Badeaux (1992) report an increase in academic achievement when mathematics and
English were taught in the context of welding. Feller and Daly (1992) describe
efforts made by counselors to show the relevance of new workplace basics in the
context of vocational education. In their examination of vocational education
classrooms that work, Stasz, Ramsey, Eden, DaVanzo, Farris, and Lewis (1993)
observed generic skills which they classify as "basic enabling skills" (e.g.,
reading, writing, and filling out forms), "complex reasoning skills," and
"work-related skills and attitudes" such as self-esteem and self-management (p.
3).
One of the major funding categories of the Perkins Act is Tech Prep. As set forth in its original conception by Parnell (1985), Tech Prep seeks to articulate the curriculum of the last two years of high school with two years of postsecondary vocational education. It is premised on the integration of vocational and academic content at the "prep" stage, where courses such as mathematics and science are expected to be taught in the functional or applied context of vocational courses. As Gray (1991) points out, the Tech Prep idea now has great legitimacy among vocational educators as a model of the future--as a way to shift secondary vocational education away from occupationally specific training, while providing for transition between schooling and the world of work.
Discourse on the basic skill needs of the American workforce must take into consideration the fact that the demographic character of the workforce is changing. As discussed earlier, there are pockets of low basic skills in the workforce, tending to correlate with social class, race, and ethnicity. Recent immigrants could be expected to have low levels of proficiency in English, which translates into communication difficulties in the workplace. Vocational education has traditionally played a major--if controversial--role in the work life of those at the margins, and is being called upon to play a role in readying immigrants for the workforce by providing them with needed technical skills. In the process, it can offer them a chance to learn English in contexts of jobs. Indeed, vocational education, because of the opportunities it provides for contextual learning and practice, may be a more suitable vehicle for the enculturation of immigrants than regular education. Beyond opportunity for practice, it allows opportunities for transfer of learning (e.g., Housel, 1991; Kidder, 1991).
Vocational education traditionally caters to noncollege-bound students among
whom concentrations of low levels of literacy can be expected. Oakes (1985)
has shown this propensity of vocational education programs to attract minority
and otherwise disadvantaged students. Vocational education attracts
disproportionate numbers of low SES students. But from the discussions above,
it can be seen that many of the clientele who traditionally will be attracted
to vocational education, whether in the secondary or postsecondary sector of
the school system, would likely be the same clientele found to be lacking in
the skills employers want. Sensitive to changing requirements in the
workplace, vocational institutions have increasingly had to take on a remedial
skills role (e.g., Grubb, Dickinson, Giordano, & Kaplan, 1992, p.
118).
Since vocational education is a natural preserve of those communities at the
literacy margin, it cannot help but be at the front lines of the war on
workplace illiteracy. This awareness of vocational education's role--this
need for vocational institutions and programs to reflect literacy more
deliberately--is evident in the more recent literature of the field (e.g.,
Barrick & Buck, 1987; Breeden & Bowen, 1990; Busse, 1992; Ciancio,
1988; Davis, 1988; Dees, 1990; Keeley, 1990; Knell, 1990; McIlvoy, 1989; Pritz,
1988; Seamon & Newcomb, 1990). A central theme is that the three Rs along
with problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills, must become the
business of vocational education. Keeley (1990) speaks of finding out through
analysis the academic content of each job. Literacy skills must be documented.
Barrick and Buck (1987) identify eight keys to employability: (1) personal
skills (e.g., honesty and a good self-image), (2) problem-solving and
decision-making skills, (3) relations with others, (4) communication skills,
(5) task-related skills (e.g., completing work on time), (6) maturity, (7) good
health and safety habits, and (8) commitment to the job. Dees (1990) describes
how using computers in vocational instruction to teach basic skills decreased
the dropout rate in a high school vocational program. She speaks of the "basic
skills conundrum," which is that "time spent remediating students with reading
and math deficiencies is time lost to vocational preparation," and, yet,
students need to remedy these deficiencies to meet graduation requirements and
to be successful on the job (p. 30). Ciancio (1988) describes the challenge of
finding methods to teach literacy skills to adults using Principles of the
Alphabet Literacy System (PALS), an IBM solution to the problem. Pritz (1988)
posits that academic skills should be "embedded in vocational tasks" (p.
25)--that vocational and academic skills should not be taught in isolation from
each other. Addressing the problem of workplace literacy directly, and the
role for vocational education, Knell (1990) calls for vocational teachers and
administrators to collaborate with stakeholders (e.g., business leaders,
unions, community representatives, social services, and so on) to deal with the
problem. They could take the lead in the formation of state institutions
constituted solely to deal with the problem. Busse (1992) asserts that what
employers want, and what vocational education must provide, are workers who are
self-confident, intelligent, cooperative, possess technical knowledge, dress
properly, possess good math and reading skills, and have a willingness to be
involved in the company's "entire operation" (p. 47). There is evidence that
vocational education clients understand the need for new basics. A sample of
community college occupational graduates and other former students rated
English as the most important general education course in their associate
degree program. They also rated communication skills and critical thinking
skills as two important clusters of courses (Vogler & Armistead,
1987).
From the very way in which workplace literacy is defined, and the way in which
the problem is framed, a clear role for vocational education seems to be
possible. In the first instance, vocational education, by nature, tends to
teach basic literacy skills in context. Related math and English (e.g.,
welding mathematics and business English) are vocational education staples.
Further, the traditional curricular procedures of the field are consistent with
those posited as being good practice and likely to engender successful
workplace literacy programs (e.g., techniques such as examination of job
descriptions, task analyses, and so on). Another enabling factor would be the
traditional ties with industry and the use of industry sources (typically
advisory committees) to determine content. What is needed now is for
vocational educators to more deliberately emphasize the dimension of literacy.
An example of this is having vocational educators collaborate with reading
specialists to create their curricula (Kakela, 1993).
This conceptual framework sought to establish a link between the new reality of competition in the global economy and increasing calls for literacy in the workforce, then to establish that there must be a role for vocational education. Our review has helped make the case that there is indeed a role for vocational education in readying the workforce for changing times, but that it differs from the traditional technical skill-specific role. Vocational education is in step with the larger discourse on the human resource requirements for competitiveness in the global economy. The need for the inclusion of basic skills in vocational curricula is evident--that is, basic skills broadly conceived to include not just the three Rs, but also problem-solving, interpersonal, and communication skills--however, it is broadly conceived. Because workplace literacy quintessentially thrives in a functional context, and because those deficient in basic literacy skills are more likely to patronize vocational institutions than other institutions, it is imperative that vocational educators come to embrace the new possibilities that these realities present.
The review has helped to crystallize some basic premises or hypotheses that can undergird our approach to the cases. They include (1) that because of its traditional role in the education of disadvantaged populations (a role that is legitimized in the Perkins Act of 1990), and the fact that these populations are the ones that need workplace literacy skills most, vocational education may play a natural role as a workplace literacy provider; (2) that vocational education institutions may have a comparative advantage as a literacy provider because not only do these institutions provide initial job preparation, but they also can provide upgrading preparation to meet the changing nature of jobs and skills and the lifelong learning needs of workers; (3) that vocational education institutions may have a comparative advantage over other providers because of their tradition of working cooperatively with industry to develop workplace-based curricula, and the flexibility they display in so doing; and (4) that vocational education provides a natural vehicle for the teaching of literacy skills within a functional context--for integrating literacy skills with technical content.
We set out through observation of selected workplace literacy initiatives to
better understand how workplace literacy programs are configured and run in
order to clarify the possible roles for vocational education institutions in
such programs, whether within their walls or on-site in actual workplaces. We
decided to focus on a limited number of programs and to adopt the case study
approach to inquiry. To assure reliability, data collection was triangulated
through use of multiple sources of information, including on-site observation,
document examination and analysis, collection of artifacts, and formal and
informal interviews of key informants (e.g., Yin, 1994).
The review of literature provided the framework that guided the logic of the
inquiry. This framework highlighted theoretical issues that helped in the
framing of questions for the development of protocols used for semistructured
interviews and in sensitizing us to what we should look for as we observed, and
what possible meaning we could deduce from our observations. Among the more
important issues unearthed by the review were (1) the problem of defining
literacy, (2) general versus specific literacy (or functional versus critical
literacy), (3) misconceptions about what workers know, (4) assumptions of
functional context theory, and (5) worker versus management conceptions of what
workers need to know.
The staff were interested in selecting initiatives that were each distinctive
so that together they could provide a comprehensive picture of the range of
possibilities and problems that workplace literacy programming presents, and
that could allow insight into the question of whether vocational institutions
can claim a comparative advantage over providers in the workplace literacy
enterprise. Accordingly, based on our understanding of the literature, we
first outlined a set of dimensions that would guide our choice of initiatives
to study. Since our methodology was to involve in-depth, ethnographic methods,
we needed accessible, within-state initiatives where we could spend the long
hours needed. Nothing in the literature suggests that there are major
between-state differences in the approach to workplace literacy. Much of the
variation in such programs can be substantially observed within-state if, a
priori, one deliberately takes such variation into account in selecting
initiatives. Accordingly, we chose sites from the respective states of the
principal investigators.
Rather than using a random sampling, we selected initiatives for study on an
estimation of the extent to which they reflected important workplace literacy
program dimensions, and the value each would add to our overall understanding.
Dimensions along which each initiative was chosen included the following: (1)
whether it appears--or at least claims--to adopt practices deemed within the
context of the workplace literacy enterprise to be exemplary (e.g., literacy
audits, functional context curriculum development, testing of workers, and job
and task analyses); (2) the employment status of the trainees (such as entry
level, dislocated worker); (3) whether there were significant numbers of
immigrants or ESL trainees; (4) type of firm (e.g., high-tech versus low tech,
service versus manufacturing, or small versus large); (5) how it is funded
(e.g., state, federal, or other); (6) where it is located (urban, suburban);
(7) sector of the economy (public versus private); (8) ethnic or racial
diversity (e.g., significant numbers of non-white trainees); (9) approach to
literacy (general versus specific or functional); (10) reason for program
(e.g., multiskilling, basic skill improvement, or new technology); and (11)
whether or not a vocational institution was involved. These criteria
highlighted important dimensions along which workplace literacy programs vary.
It was agreed that five well-chosen initiatives, varying along lines as
entailed here, could provide the intelligence on workplace literary programs we
needed. Since the primary interest was to be able to gain sharper
understanding of the possibilities for vocational institutions, we decided that
it was imperative that workplace literacy initiatives involving vocational
institutions be included among the cases.
Based on the described criteria, the staff were able to identify and gain
permission to study five suitable initiatives set in our respective states. Of
these, three involved accredited vocational institutions, and the other two a
common private provider operating in one state. Informal consultation with
officials at the U.S. Office of Educational Research and Improvement and with
state officials revealed a perception that this was an exemplary private
provider, a perception which was evidenced by a track record of state and
federal funding of competitive workplace literacy proposals. Because its
specialty was education for work, this provider was philosophically a
vocational entity. However, if it was viewed against a model of what we know a
vocational institution to be, it would be considered by vocationalists to be an
outlier or even a pretender. Its seeming credibility was such that this
provider could not be ignored. Staff surmised that comparison of its approach
with that of accredited vocational institutions would set the unique claims of
the latter in sharper relief. Beyond a description of two initiatives of this
provider, a separate account of its modus operandi is provided. Following a
description of each case, hypotheses derived from the conceptual framework (set
forth earlier) are reflected upon as an estimation is made about the efficacy
of claims regarding uniqueness or comparative advantage that vocational
institutions can make.
To set the stage for the cases, a thumbnail sketch of each case is now set
forth as an advanced organizer for the study. The cases are as follows:
Case 1--A hospital services workers project (Skills for Tomorrow)
Case 2--A high-tech manufacturing company's basic skills project (Skills
2000)
Case 3--A banking basic skills project (NEET)
Case 4--A hotel ESL project for immigrant service workers
Case 5--A workplace literacy-focused, community-based vocational institution
Case 1 describes a federally funded workplace basic skills project entitled Skills for Tomorrow that was a collaboration between a union, four hospitals, and a two-year postsecondary technical college. The role of the college was of interest in this case. The problem was to upgrade the basic skills of workers so that they could understand written workplace documents better and so that they could improve their interpersonal skills and gain greater awareness of the operations, with the ultimate effect of becoming multiskilled and ready to assume tasks other than those in their regular areas of work. The trainees were primarily food service and laundry workers. The description is based on one year of on-site observations, interviews, and document inspection. The college administered its part of the project through its customized services department.
Case 2 also features a two-year postsecondary technical college as provider, this time in a company-sponsored basic skills program called Skills 2000. Again, the focus was on the role of the college. The college was working with a high-tech company operating out of a small midwestern town, situated about one and a half hours away from the metropolitan center. The college engaged the services of a literacy expert, and under her guidance pretested a cross section of the company (including engineers, managers, and maintenance workers), and analyzed the level of actual workplace reading and math skills needed as the basis for developing the curriculum. As with Case 1, this college also administered the project out of its customized services unit. An important asset of the college was that it has been a provider of Adult Basic Education (ABE), and accordingly has staff who have been attuned to the problem of literacy in the context of work.
Case 3 is a description of a basic skills program for hourly paid employees at the branch of a major metropolitan bank. The provider was the Workplace Education Center (WEC), a nonprofit entity that specializes in workplace literacy training. The problem was that workers were having difficulty understanding clients' written instructions to the bank regarding remittances. Some workers had difficulty converting sums expressed in words to numerical form.
Case 4 is a description of a hotel workers' ESL training program, designed to improve the spoken and written English of service workers, predominantly Spanish speaking. As with Case 3, the deliverer was WEC. This program was jointly funded by the state (through special funds set aside for promoting workplace literacy training) and the hotel.
Different from the four previous cases, Case 5 describes the operations of an alternative vocational school run by a community-based organization. The school specializes in community outreach and is a haven for populations that are difficult to reach such as welfare recipients, the unemployed, immigrants, ethnic minorities, and so on. Its curriculum is a mixture of technical training and literacy training. Its facilities feature basic skills (i.e., reading and math) labs, run by trained specialists and teachers from the public school system. Its funding sources are varied, and include state reimbursement for placement of students, Pell Grants, and others.
This hospital project was federally funded under the National Workplace
Literacy Program, and was intended to improve the capacity of the partners, the
Union Educational Bureau (representing its local health care union), Redwood
Technical College, and four hospitals "to develop systematic workplace literacy
approaches and strategies that assist hospital service workers in overcoming
job-specific skill deficits posing barriers to their continued employment,
increased productivity, and career advancement" (as cited on p. 3 of grant
proposal). The occupational classes targeted were primarily food service
workers and housekeepers. The duration of the program was eighteen months, the
norm for initiatives in the National Workplace Literacy Program.
The need for the project was argued in the grant proposal on a number of
grounds, as follows: (1) the targeted classes of workers lacked basic skills;
(2) immigrants needing ESL proficiency were included; and (3) new medical
technologies were changing the nature of work in the health care industry. It
was thought that approximately 15% of the targeted classes of workers were
underperforming and would benefit from the proposed training.
The needs of the hospitals were set forth against the backdrop of the
perceived nationwide decline in the level of literacy skills in the workforce.
Concerns were expressed about the sharply declining quality of applicants for
hospital service worker positions. It was argued that the state's formal
vocational training infrastructure prepared only a fraction of hospital service
workers. Redwood was the only technical college in the state offering programs
for these classes of workers. The proposal pointed out that, increasingly,
Redwood was being asked to expand these programs and that "integrating literacy
and basic skills approaches with job-specific skill training is viewed as the
most effective and efficient means for ensuring the productivity and retention
of service workers" (as cited on p. 15 of grant proposal). It was argued
further that there was need for consideration of "cost-effective methods for
delivering job-specific literacy skill programs on an ongoing basis," that
within the state "basic skills and technical skills can be integrated and both
taught at a fraction of the cost of separate types of programs" (grant
proposal, p. 15). This ideal of integrating basic skills with technical skills
unfortunately did not materialize in the project since technical skill training
was not allowed under National Workplace Literacy Program rules. The project
had to proceed under this constraint--a severe one for a vocational
institution.
Benefits expected to accrue from the project included productivity gains for the company, and literacy upgrade and career enhancement opportunities for workers. The following excerpts from the grant proposal are instructive:
A comprehensive training curricula (sic) that encompasses the full range of literacy and basic skills required of hospital workers across varied occupational classifications would be developed and implemented for the specific purposes of assisting workers in the four participating hospitals to retain their current positions, increase their productivity, successfully upgrade their skills in relation to industry changes, and create new opportunities for career advancement.
All training will be outcome-based and linked directly to expected job performance criteria that will allow for systematic evaluations of hospital workers by employees on an ongoing basis beyond the funding period.
Cost-effective strategies for the delivery of training via technical college education partnerships will be fully developed and evaluated. (p. 16)
Participation in the program was to be voluntary, limited to unionized workers of the classes indicated above. This requirement that the program be voluntary was another constraining factor, in that it offered the real possibility that those most in need would not submit themselves for the courses. They would not want their shortcomings exposed if they could help it.
The four hospitals in the project (to be referred to hereafter as hospitals A, B, C, and D) together employ 17,804 full-time and part-time workers, accounting for approximately one-fourth (24%) of the state's total hospital workforce. Of the 17,804 workers, 2,830 are classified as hospital service workers (i.e., nursing assistants and orderlies, dietary aides and food service workers, and housekeepers and building maintenance/custodians). A brief thumbnail sketch of each hospital follows.
Hospital A, an urban hospital, has a workforce of 2,026 full-time and 3,558 part-time employees. Some 740 of these workers (i.e., unionized health and nonhealth support service staff) were targeted for the project. This hospital is known nationally for its programs in an array of fields such as cardiology and orthopedics. It is also known as a center of excellence in nursing training in the state.
Also urban, Hospital B employs 2,580 full-time and 2,507 part-time staff. About 942 of these workers are classified as hospital support personnel. This is a teaching hospital and clinic, known worldwide for excellence in various specialties including organ and bone marrow transplantation and cardiopulmonary disease.
Hospital C, also urban, has 2,268 full-time and 2,092 part-time employees. Approximately 676 of these are service workers. It is well-known statewide and nationally for programs of excellence in an array of fields including cardiovascular medicine and obstetrics and gynecology.
Hospital D, which is suburban, employs 1,307 full-time and 1,466 part-time employees. Of these, 472 are health and nonhealth support staff. This hospital is known for its work in trauma and crisis intervention. It specializes in a broad range of patient services in fields such as mental health, cancer, and geriatrics.
The Union Educational Bureau is a service arm of a major national union. As
set forth in its mission statement, its purpose is to "help raise the quality
of life of the Union membership ...." Its primary function is to "provide
information and referral services." It does this by working cooperatively with
"existing human service agencies." The bureau works in partnership with
educational agencies to offer workplace literacy programs for its clients. It
also specializes in educational programs for dislocated workers.
The bureau holds the philosophy of collaboration between labor, management,
and education partnerships in the planning and delivery of services to its
clients. It was in that vein that it joined with Redwood and the hospitals for
the project to be described here, with the clients coming primarily from the
local health care union, along with two other local service worker unions.
Redwood Technical College is a two-year postsecondary vocational institution
located in the suburbs of a large midwestern city. Accredited by the North
Central Association of Colleges and Schools, it offers over fifty majors
leading to diplomas, and, in conjunction with a nearby community college,
several Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S) degree programs. As indicated
above, the college is unique in that its curriculum is completely
individualized and outcome-based. Like other technical colleges in the state
and elsewhere, it has ties with industry, but here again it has unique
strengths through its customized training infrastructure, which is specially
staffed and which constitutes a deliberate thrust of the college. This
customized function is augmented by the college's distance education
capability. The college can tailor programs to specific employer needs. It
specializes in needs assessment and instructional design.
Redwood is sensitive to the contemporary work scene. Its mission
statement speaks of commitment to training "a diverse population
with lifelong educational opportunities leading to productive, meaningful lives
for the benefit of a global society ...." Goals set forth in its brochure
indicate, among other things, an obligation to "provide a skilled workforce for
the global economy" and to teach not just technical skills, but problem-solving
and creative thinking skills. The following excerpts of goal statements taken
from a college brochure reveal that basic skills have been integral to
programming, and that the emphasis here is increasing:
Within recent years the college has been customizing literacy training for industrial clients and has been acquiring expertise along these lines. This expertise has been recognized to the point where these two entities in tandem have won large federal grants under the National Workplace Literacy Program, with Redwood having major curricular, logistical, and instructional responsibilities. As indicated above, a major intent of these grants is to help the partners develop workplace literacy capability. Because participation in workplace literacy programs is a fairly new line of activity for vocational institutions, we sought to gain first-hand knowledge, through qualitative processes, of what is required of these institutions in such programs, what expertise they bring, what the limits of this expertise are, and, therefore, what the niche is to which they can lay claim.
As indicated above, the workers targeted by the program came primarily from food and housekeeping services. Of the 210 who participated, 150 (70%) were Caucasian, 38 (17.7%) were African American, 13 were Native American, 6 were African, 4 were Asian, and 3 were Hispanic. Two-thirds were female and one-third were male. In sum, the workers targeted were diverse, with the African-American representation being about three times that found in the state, the latter anomaly being a function of the low status of the jobs that were targeted for the program. The relatively high proportion of women was also a function of the classes of jobs targeted in the program.
Our purpose was to gain an in-depth understanding, through first-hand observation, of the unique role of Redwood in the implementation of this workplace literacy training program to be able to draw inferences that could be instructive for other vocational institutions as they consider venturing into workplace literacy programming. Were there aspects of Redwood's approach that appeared to give it a comparative advantage as a literacy provider? Accordingly, our focus was on the process of partnering, the basic philosophy of workplace literacy that guided the project, the approach to curriculum development that this philosophy engendered, the actual curriculum, and the approach to instruction.
Consistent with our purpose, the investigation concerned itself with the
philosophy and processes (e.g., partnering, developing the curriculum, and
approach to instruction) adopted by Redwood as it implemented its part of the
project, and not with promised outcomes of the project (e.g., increased
productivity or improvement in literacy). In any case, the project staff did
not establish the controls nor collect the data that would allow an evaluation
of measurable outcomes.
Our scope was limited to an examination of philosophy and processes. Instead
of stated outcomes, we used as our referents well-founded theoretical and
research-based positions (e.g., conceptions of the nature of literacy,
functional context theory, and the skills employers want) to be found in the
literature. Whenever we interrogated any of the stances or actions taken in
the project, it was against our understanding of positions to be found in the
literature.
We sought and got permission to observe Redwood at work from the inside, as it executed its part of the project. Key informants involved with the project at Redwood, the hospitals, and the Union Educational Bureau were interviewed. They included college administrators, Union Educational Bureau officials, hospital project representatives, union stewards, instructors, and workers. We became an unobtrusive part of the project and were able to make close observations in the field for a period of nine months. During this period we conducted approximately fifty hours of formal, taped interviews, spent more than two hundred person/hours making observations at the sites (e.g., classes in session and promotional events) and conducting informal interviews, and examined documents related to the project (e.g., minutes of meetings and curriculum and instructional materials). We achieved triangulation through this process of observations, interviews, and document analysis, and through cross-checking of data across multiple sources. Finally, two successive drafts of our final report on the project were shared with the Redwood staff to substantiate the authenticity and accuracy of the observations and interpretations.
Just what makes a vocational institution suited to conduct workplace literacy
programming? This was a central concern of this study. Examination of the
institutions that have successfully won grants in the National Workplace
Literacy Program reveals that they constitute an eclectic array of deliverers,
including community colleges, universities, departments of education, school
districts, unions, community-based organizations, private contractors, and
two-year vocational/technical colleges. One reason for this diversity of
deliverers is that no single institution can claim a monopoly on literacy
capability. The literacy market possesses many segments (e.g., ESL, ABE,
technical skills and processes training), however, eventually these deliverers
must specialize in some way. They must carve out market niches based upon
their unique capabilities.
To try to discern Redwood's unique claims, we interviewed its project staff,
Union Educational Bureau officials, and hospital representatives attached to
the project. In addition, we examined the college's promotional brochures.
Since Redwood had been invited to be a partner in the project by the Union
Educational Bureau, we asked "Jane," the president of the bureau, to explain
the role that the college was expected to play. Jane indicated that while the
union had been "the administrative recipient of the grant dollars," Redwood
performed "the lion's share of the work ... they get the lion's share of the
budget." She pointed out that "they are curriculum specialists," who are able
to customize work-based programs for the classes of workers represented by her
union. "Ralph," another high-ranking official at the bureau, concurred that
the college brought "a great deal of sophistication" to the task of fashioning
workplace-based literacy curriculum. From the standpoint of the union
officials involved, then, it was its expertise in curriculum and instruction
design and delivery that made Redwood a suitable partner in the project.
Conversations with Bret, who had been president of Redwood, and John, who had
direct responsibility for the customized services aspect of the college's
workplace literacy thrust, provided unique insight on the peculiar strengths
they felt the college brought to this new area of programming. Excerpts from
joint interviews with them follow:
Researcher: We are interested in what vocational education institutions can do to foster workplace literacy ... what role vocational institutions can play.
Bret: First of all I think you've already mentioned that we are dealing with workplace literacy here and not just the overall concept of literacy. And that's the reason we became involved in it. [It] was specifically because the workplace has been [and] obviously fits in with the mission of the college and education for employment. It's maybe a key issue with productivity and making employees just better employees. It's a technical college. That was really our background, to make sure that we are training for employment. Up until four or five years ago we were not doing much in literacy as such. But we did find from our meetings with the [Union] Educational Bureau, as well as with employers, that there was a fairly consistent need out there for companies to be involved with literacy types of activities. So we are the experts on the instructional part [emphasis added] that is where we came in to this.... I think that is how we viewed it. That's why the [union] felt that we were a key partner in this ... is that they have the expertise in working with employees in a variety of service areas--we have the expertise of delivery of instruction. So that was our key role in that, and that's why we wanted to become involved in the whole process of working with literacy.
This perception of expertise in instruction geared to the workplace was consistent with the view held by union officials. But we were interested in whether Redwood did not now have to add a literacy-specific piece to its normal repertoire of competencies.
Researcher: You're bringing that instructional piece, but did you not have to add the literacy piece on to that? Traditionally, the vocational institution focuses on what does it take to get the job done. Do you now not have to add the literacy piece? Or do you just have to do the same thing you were doing before?
Bret: It was a combination of both. One is that our definition of literacy ... is the basic skills that employees need to be successful on the job.... With that definition then, some of the things that we had been doing were right in line with that definition. But there were some other things that we needed to add. We added those really as part of the various projects that we were involved with. What we added was really a lot of work with employers and the employees to find out what skills they needed [emphasis added], so it wasn't just our assumption of what was needed, but it was actually going in and asking the other people in the companies, management, and the staff that are there as to what they needed.
What Bret was suggesting here was that from his institution's perspective, workplace literacy meant the ability to perform jobs competently. That being the case, the college was not entirely a newcomer to this area of programming. Literacy in the context of workplaces did not necessarily have to mean the three Rs.
We suggested to Bret that perhaps it was the practical nature of vocational teaching and learning that made his institution suited to such literacy programming. He concurred, explaining as follows:
It's been an applied approach, in that it's not just doing it in the classroom. But what we've done is related it specifically to the situation that the employees will be in, so that they are not just hearing about some things, but they're actually living it. They know what's going on. Everything that is done had been done in an applied context [emphasis added]. And that is, in my opinion, why technical colleges are so unique and so important to the whole area of workplace literacy.... Many other institutions, whether it's a K-12 school district or whether it's the university, their instruction is not as applied, is not as workplace applied as the technical colleges. I think that is the key difference in what we are talking about here.
From the perspective of college personnel, then, it was a tradition of customizing curriculum for workplaces and offering applied courses that made the institution a natural for being a partner in workplace literacy. These could be described as technical competency reasons.
One alternative that these officials did not explore was that the institution had face validity--that it was credible on account of what it embodied, namely a postsecondary education opportunity. We were to hear this perspective expressed elsewhere. When asked about Redwood's contribution to the project, a business representative of the local union offered the credibility explanation:
Representative: I think it was absolutely necessary.... Really, in my mind, [Redwood] legitimized the whole program ... I mean they're teachers ....
Researcher: What if it had been City public schools, rather than a vocational school? Would it have been any different?
Representative: Well, in my mind, [a] vocational school would be more--progressive wouldn't be the word--but most of the people that are in the bargaining unit have either their diploma or GED. Most. Now a lot of them ... sure don't. And not that [that] really matters, but it seems like votech probably turns more people on.... In other words, if City public schools would have offered it, people would have said, oh, you're dumb. You have to go back to school. Votech offers it, it's [not] secondary education, it's advanced education.... That's what I meant by progressive.
Jim, a hospital official associated with the project, expressed the view that Redwood was "attractive" to workers. It was relevant--unlike regular schooling. But on the question of its unique contribution to the project, he was willing to allow that conceivably another provider, such as a school district, could in the same circumstances deliver an equivalent program. The following excerpts capture these thoughts:
Researcher: [Redwood] as a technical college, of course, has a vocational background. Do you think that made any difference? Say one of the school districts had come with the same kind of offer ... ?
Jim: I don't know that I can give you an honest answer. I think that the fact that they are a vocational school is attractive.... If a City school district came, I do not know if there would be any resistance or difficulty (getting people involved) or if it would be easier.
Researcher: I can ask the question better. Do you see anything in what (Redwood) has done that has been good that's because they are a vocational school?
Jim: Again it's hard to say. I think it will all depend on if a school district were to present this, how they would do it? How you do it and how you present it and how it's packaged is [going to] make a big difference.... I think that the idea of it being a vocational school is attractive to our employees.... I can't say for sure, but my guess is that, knowing that this is a vocational-based organization that's putting the time and effort into it would create something of an expectation of our employees, well, this is going to be relevant training. This isn't [going to] be social studies and geography. This is [going to] be aimed at specific job skills. But I'm not saying that the school district couldn't put it together. I'm saying [that], I think, was an underlying expectation when you are talking about vocational school.
When the views of all parties canvassed on the question of Redwood's workplace
literacy credentials are taken together, four clearly perceived strengths of a
technical college emerge: (1) a tradition of working with industry to
determine work-related needs, (2) the ability to convert workplace-based needs
analyses into curriculum, (3) an appeal to workers as higher education and not
public school remedial education, and (4) the acceptability by workers on the
perception that programs will be workplace relevant.
One obvious strength of a college that could not find a place here was the
ability to deliver technical skills, which, as indicated before, was not
allowed in the context of the grant. Thus, the curriculum that Redwood could
offer, though workplace-based, had to be taught, and indeed was taught, under
school-like conditions. In the circumstances, the view that a nonvocational
provider might be an equally credible partner in the project was not
unreasonable. In partnership with unions and industry representatives, it is
quite conceivable that school districts can develop capability to deliver
workplace literacy programs, especially when such programs do not require a
technical skill component and when they focus mainly on decontextualized
workplace basics such as the three Rs, communication, and so on. To carve out
their special niche, vocational institutions must illustrate clear separation
of their capabilities from that of competitor providers; they must do so by
claiming ground where others cannot easily traverse and/or by showing that they
are better at doing what competitors do. They cannot seriously claim monopoly
on the teaching of reading, writing, or mathematics. As Bret points out above,
their strength is in work-based applied curriculum and instruction. They are
not literacy specialists per se.
Since basic skills are so central to the discourse on literacy, we were interested in whether the ability to deliver such skills could be part of the case for Redwood being a workplace literacy provider. Workplace basics include learning to learn, the three Rs, communication, creative thinking/problem solving, self-esteem/goal setting, interpersonal skills, and leadership (Carnevale et al., 1988, p. 16). These skills correlate with those set forth in the SCANS Report (1991). As indicated above, vocational institutions have a tradition of teaching the theory related to skilled occupations--welding mathematics, business English, or technical writing. And, due in part to accreditation requirements, such institutions have been increasing the general education component of their programming. We sought to establish just what the status of this aspect of programming was at Redwood. Excerpts from an interview with Bret and John are instructive.
Researcher (paraphrased): How are things like mathematics, English, [or] communication, programmed in your curriculum, separately, across the board, or within courses? It seems to me that a technical college must have things like basic numeracy--basic skills.
Bret: There's different approaches to that in our programs that offer Associate degrees. The general education requirements, such as English and math ... are done through the community college. So those courses are no different from most college courses. Now there are some specific applications that are done at the college. For example, in the area of technical report writing, that is not a general education course that's at the community college ... it's one that we have specifically to meet our needs. So that's an example. So we do both. And so, in some cases, it's our technical faculty that does the teaching of that because they have the background. But in the other areas it's the general education faculty, from our campus or from ([he community college].
Bret explained further that collaboration with the community college was part of an understanding within the state. When a technical and community college are co-located, the latter must provide the general education, and the former the technical aspects of programs. This rule points to the fact that, in normal circumstances, technical colleges are not viewed in the first instance as general education or basic literacy providers. But they have a respected tradition of making the close connection between general and technical skills (i.e., welding math, business English). That Redwood had such a tradition is evident in the following excerpts:
John: Going back to basic skills and the curriculum area ... I spent a little over fifteen years as a classroom instructor--the auto-body shop. And [in] the curriculum that I wrote, there were units that dealt with math. And I can give you some specifics. One would think that, well, you're going to teach spray painting. Well, it's not enough just to mix chemicals and adjust the spray gun. There's a whole set of materials that are developed to accompany it that dealt with weights, measures, and volumes. Because if you don't understand those things, you can't mix paints in the proper proportions.
Researcher: In some ratio?
John: Right. Right. And in the major collision repair, we were teaching measurements, and we're talking not only in inches but in the metric system. We're dimensioning. And also in the front end steering, basically what we're teaching is geometry, because it's all angles. So in every one of those modules that we developed for the curriculum, for those areas, there were math components. So we were teaching the occupational math in the context for the auto-body trade. And that is really the gist of the type of math when you talk about context. To me it's a very live, very real example.
Teaching ratios in the context of measuring paint and mathematics in the context of auto-body repair are unique pedagogical events that set vocational institutions apart from other institutions. This is quintessential functional context instruction, a defining capability and natural preserve of such institutions.
As indicated above, the grant proposal took the line of the mainstream literature on workplace literacy, citing the need to teach literacy in context. To do so required literacy audits, inclusive of the testing of workers, job analysis, task analysis, and examination of literacy samples. We were interested in hearing firsthand articulation of the philosophy of workplace literacy and examining how it became operational in practice. Here we relied on interviews with Redwood's project staff.
The basic question, "What is workplace literacy?," needed to be asked of the project staff of Redwood in order to help us understand the philosophy brought by the institution to the project. The definition of workplace literacy is not without contention. For example, labor representatives are likely to subscribe to a more expansive definition than corporate representatives (e.g., Sarmiento & Kay, 1990). Some commentators have interrogated the dominant functional literacy paradigm, juxtaposing it against a conception of critical literacy (e.g., whole language, or Freire & Macedo's [1987] notion of reading the world and the word) that they believe is more likely to lead to worker autonomy, and to fuller participation in the democracy (e.g., Gowen, 1992; Greene, 1991; Hull, 1992, 1993; Kazemek, 1991; Resnick, 1990). These commentators tend to view literacy not as a set of skills to be learned but rather as a form of cultural practice. They believe that one is socialized into literacy practice through various forms of apprenticeship in institutions that include schools, family, community life, and workplaces. They remind us of the critical nexus between literacy and existence--that workers have an existence beyond work--as parents, consumers, and so on. The arena of debate, therefore, becomes (1) what should be the content of the workplace literacy curriculum, and (2) how broad its scope should be.
In The Politics of Workplace Literacy, a case study of African-American hospital workers (employed in housekeeping, food service, and laundry), Gowen (1992) points out the cruciality of literacy philosophy in determining curricular and evaluative issues in the project. She explains as follows:
Margaret (a project consultant) holds the most influence in developing lessons and materials. She represents one perspective on workplace literacy. Her definition of the problem and its solution fit within the public discourse about workplace literacy.... Her goal is to help workers to develop the skills necessary to survive in the current system and to advance within it. On the other hand, Aisha (project instructor) holds a very different conception of the problem and its solution. As a social activist with a background in self-help models and Freirean study groups, Aisha believes that the system needs to be changed. She sees the goal of workplace literacy instruction as empowerment through the development of a critical consciousness in order to change the current social, political and economic system. In the middle and pulled in both directions for a variety of reasons are Noreen, Karen, Rose, Amanda, and Sarah.... These differences in the way the literacy problem is conceptualized by the various members of the project have a significant influence on the development and outcomes of the classes. (p. 22)
Gowen goes on to point out that a hope of the project staff was that the training program would help the hospital primarily, but would also transfer into other areas of the employees' lives, "developing self-esteem and creating initiative for more education and advancement" (p. 37). Gowen continues with the following:
Thus, the King Memorial project is initially grounded in the belief that what is good for the employer is good for the employee--to be flexible, to define self in terms of work, and to seek advancement in the system. And if employees see personal value in this training, Margaret hopes that some of them will seek further education on their own time. What this story does not include is the possibility that employees might perceive their literacy needs differently--that they might believe that what is good for their employers is exploitative of them, or that the system might not be as open as Margaret believes it to be. (p. 37)
And, indeed, Gowen (1992) reports that the workers found ways to resist the
curriculum, which had focused narrowly on their work tasks. One worker
protested, "I don't want to know nothing about no mopping and dusting" (p. 93).
Another reported that her favorite assignment was having to watch the movie
Raisin in the Sun and to write a personal response. She took pride in
that essay. Yet, project staff of opposing literacy perspectives had disagreed
on the efficacy of that particular assignment in the context of a literacy
program for cleaning personnel.
We surmised that how workplace literacy was conceptualized and defined by
Redwood would dictate and guide its curricular and instructional actions. We
expected, consistent with the project proposal, the curriculum development
traditions of vocational institutions, and the stated preference of the U.S.
Office of Education and its National Workplace Literacy Program auditors (e.g.,
Kutner et al., 1991; U.S. Department of Education, 1992), that the functional
context approach would be uniformly approved.
We asked Pete, curriculum specialist for the project, to tell us how he defined workplace literacy and to explain how that definition guided his curricular actions. Included in his answer was the following:
When you're in a setting where people are doing a specific job, and they actually have a job, then you have to be much more specific. That's what I see is the difference between workplace literacy and training ... and basic education.... It's organized towards some specific set of problems that people have to solve with that information. It's sort of like the example of a calculator. A calculator is only a tool towards solving some problems. You can focus on teaching people how to use a calculator or you can focus on the problems that they have that they use the calculator for.
Pete was drawing the line here between specific and general literacy, much like Sticht (1988, p. 68) does in his discussion of the issues inherent in defining illiteracy. This distinction between the specific and the general is central to the case for the functional context approach. Pete explained further that workplace literacy had to do with those prerequisite skills that enabled one "to do [one's] changing job."
Researcher: OK. I think that's crucial. In other words, flexibility seems to be a big part of it. Are you flexible enough [to cope with change]?
Pete: Yes, yes. And related directly to that is that the job characteristics are changing in such a way that they're now multi-tasking all these employees. Asking them to do many things out of the specialty area that they were trained in before, and therefore they can't keep up because they don't have the background in the five things they were trained in.... So it's the changing work environment that is creating some of the--what I am calling "literacy" problems.
To be workplace literate, then, meant being able to cope with impending changes in one's work environment and one's job. This way of conceptualizing literacy matched a human resource priority at the hospitals which was to create a multiskilled worker. The status quo was that workers specialized. In the case of food service workers, as Pete explained, one could be doing desserts, the other could be on the tray line, and so on. Now the hospitals were interested in cross-training. Pete explained further:
Instead of having the kitchen person be the one who does the food, serves the food, brings it back, and the nursing assistant person be the one who measures the intake and output of who ate for the medical charts, and the environmental services people be the ones who come in and measure this and measure that, and clean the rooms and make sure everything is fine, now they want to assign a cadre of people to that unit and they do all those things.
Bret explained the college's perspective on workplace literacy:
What we are saying [is that] workplace literacy is the basic level skills that employees need to be successful on the job. The traditional view of literacy has been a matter of reading, writing, and perhaps some math skills. And our definition was perhaps a little bit broader than that, but ... it was geared to the workplace and the skills that employees need to be successful.
John responded with this characterization of how literacy ought to be considered in the context of the project.
I think there's a common perception. It revolves around the word literacy. The perception is that when you hear the word literacy, or lack of literacy, in the case that we're dealing with, that we, many people automatically just assume, make the assumption, that we're talking basic skills, reading, writing, and math. But what we're looking at is the differential between basic ... what we would call basic educational skills, reading, writing, and math, and the reading, writing, and math necessary to perform their jobs ... my definitions have changed as we've gone through because it's emerging, and the last one that I wrote is "using printed, written, verbal, and technology-based communication in a work-based context to achieve the goals of the work organization and the individual."
John went on to point out that at the core of the issue of workplace literacy is the need to cope with workplace changes such as new technology or new ways of communicating. The problem is external to individuals. It is forced by the dynamic character of today's workplaces. One has to keep up with the new knowledge and the new technology, or by default come to the condition of workplace illiteracy. He suggested that the solution is to acquire the disposition of lifelong learning.
Jane, a literacy specialist at Redwood, whose additional role was to publicize, organize, and implement the program, explained that the project was aimed at the 20% or so of workers who "can't quite understand the material that is presented through their job--the people that are having just a little bit of trouble with the reading, the writing, the math." According to Jane, while it was not a goal of the course to teach poor readers how to read, they were not turned away:
We didn't turn anybody away. If someone came, and I don't know that anyone has come in the project that flat-out can't read anything--but we had some very low readers and we just helped them out. We helped them through it. But what I'm saying is, if we really had someone who couldn't read, the goal of the project is not to teach them to read. The goal of the project is to help them out with their job, with this workplace and the application of the material that we have [emphasis added]. But if we start them out as a rank beginner who can't read at all, we're not [going to] teach them to read. But they would still take the class, so we had, especially with our ESL people, people that did have difficulty. But they made it through. And they enjoyed it, and we gave them the help they needed. But it's not a teaching you to read class. Even the reading class was not a teaching you to read class. It was taking words apart and a whole different emphasis. [If] you couldn't read word one, this wasn't for you.
These four key members of the project staff had concurred in their conception of workplace literacy. To them, the core challenge for workers was how to cope with the changing work environment and their changing job-tasks. And for the bottom 20% or so of the workforce, this challenge was acute, particularly where their changing job-tasks required added increments of proficiency in job-related reading, writing, mathematics, or communicating. The conceptions they set forth were in tune with the mainstream discourse.
As alluded to above, one of the challenges for the project staff that was imposed by the grant was to differentiate between training (which would be the responsibility of the hospitals and beyond the scope of the grant) and workplace literacy. This was not an easy separation for project staff to make, since training problems that result from change fitted with their operative definition of workplace. Furthermore, responsibility for dealing with supposed illiteracy in the workplace falls to training departments. The difficulties the project encountered here are captured in the following excerpt:
Jane: Because we were careful that we're not offering training courses, we can't just offer classes in learning how to do the math for a specific thing because now we're training people. And the grant is very sensitive about training people. If everyone can't make this, (or) do this math formula, then that's a training issue. It's not a workplace literacy issue.
What Jane was saying here speaks of a fine separation indeed. The teaching of mathematics related to a specific aspect of work was a training, not a literacy issue. But the teaching of workplace mathematics in a general, decontextualized sense wasn't. And indeed, when mathematics was taught in the project, the disposition was to decontextualize and to cluster skills across jobs rather than specialize within jobs.
The grant proposal set forth the view that "training must be derived by way of direct identification, observation, and validation by workers and supervisors" (p. 18). Needs assessment strategies inclusive of task inventorying, job analyses, interviews, and observation of samples of literacy materials related to the job were promised, leading to individualized and outcome-based curriculum design. Specific project tasks set forth for Redwood included
[(a)] development of curricula (organized in multiple self-paced modules); (b) editorial review of these training resources by the project steering committee, workers, hospital representatives, and others; and (c) field tests and evaluations of the training materials.
We were interested in examining this approach closely.
This section deals with how the workplace literacy philosophy articulated by
project staff was actually translated into curricular actions. It is based on
a combination of interviews with college project staffers, hospital
representatives associated with the project, union administrators, and
inspection and analysis of project curriculum documents. Because curricular
approach is so much a part of the unique claims that a technical college can
make about its suitability to conduct workplace literacy programs, we allow
college project staffers to speak at length in their own voices in this
section. For triangulation purposes, their comments are juxtaposed against
that of hospital representatives.
The basic curricular approach adopted by the college was consistent with
functional context theory as articulated by Sticht, Armstrong, Hickey, and
Caylor (1987) and as set forth in the prescriptive works of Phillipi (1988) and
Cornell (1988). Central to the approach was collaboration between workers and
their representatives, managers and supervisors, and project staff. The
project curriculum and literacy specialists conducted on-site needs assessments
by interviewing workers, supervisors, and managers and by shadowing and
observing workers as they performed their tasks. Data so gathered was later
verified or clarified through further meetings. Some workers were voluntarily
tested to determine the reading level to which project curriculum materials
should be aimed.
The curriculum development process was as much political as it was technical. Our inspection of the records of the project staff revealed that they had organized several joint meetings at the hospital, which were designed to get consensus as to what were the problems that needed to be solved. Excerpts from interviews with Redwood project staff provide the flavor of how the needs assessment leading to the curriculum was approached.
John: The approach that we've taken is that when we enter into a project or when we develop curriculum, we are not going to buy anything off the shelf. That's the attitude that we go in there with. Because every workplace is different. What we do is truly customized to that work environment. I can give you some good examples in the hospital project. As we developed the curriculum, we found common needs that could be presented in all four hospitals, that being the modules that dealt with [measurement and mathematics] basically. And we taught basic math skills by using the measurements that they would use on the job--to ... the custodial maintenance group ... the nursing assistants group, and ... the dietetic technicians group.... And those were pretty consistent across the hospitals--those needs. When it came to the written communication part of it, and also the part of it that was [human relations] "Understanding Where You Work," we had four unique organizations. So really ... we had a module written for that written communication, that's the "Writing That Works" module, and the "Understanding Where You Work" modules. We had to do four hybrids. We had the framework. But we had to custom tailor it, the curriculum model that we developed, we had to further customize it to an additional level for each one of the four worksites. And we use the materials that they used daily in their jobs [emphasis added]. They're the materials that these people saw every day, they handled every day, but they never really understood. And it gave, as Bill said, it gave meaning. It kind of, it brought their job alive.
Researcher: Now ... that customizing, is that a part of the tradition of the tech college and the way in which you would do business anyway?
John: Yes.
Researcher: ... that if an employer calls you ... You would go in and see what it is, whatever their occupation is, and then you would work backward from that?
John: Yes. It has to start--the whole process has to start with an evaluation of the workplace, to see what the processes are. And we approach it from the aspect of what things cause you the most problems. Or as Pete [curriculum specialist] would say, where's the pain? What's causing you pain in your operation?
Researcher: So in other words you haven't had to go and learn that part of it. That, in a sense--that has been traditional ... this idea of going into a company or going in to talk to any client and figuring out what the client needs and then working back ... that's sort of the way in which you do business?
John: Absolutely ...
Bret: It's also the background that the technical colleges have, even in regular programming. When we do any kind of a new program we have to go and talk ... deal with an advisory committee.... Even though it's off the shelf [the curriculum], there's still a history, and a background of getting information from the field.
John: The whole system I think--the technical college--whether you're dealing with our day school classes or customized classes or customized training, is really user-driven. And it's needs-driven. By the need of the industry, or in the cases that we're dealing with workplace literacy, by the need of the individual workplace.
Researcher: So in a sense all you have to do here then, because you already have the, shall we say, technology, to go out there and figure out what it is that this workplace or this individual or this whole group needs, and you could just simply ask the literacy question to the extent that that's what is needed in addition to the other things, without missing a step. Because you already know how to do that.... Is that about right?
John: Yes, in a general sense. If we go into the worksite and we're in this discovery process, that's really what it is at first. You're trying to discover exactly what the needs are. You look at many levels. You can't ask just the manager, because all you are going to get are some of the right answers ... You also have to ask the individual who is at the hands-on level, or production level out on the floor what the problem is also. And you'll find invariably that perceptions are different as to what the needs are.
What these project staffers were saying was that their traditional needs assessment technology now served the college in good stead when they performed literacy audits. The basic mechanism of determining the nature of the problem, and designing curriculum to remedy it, was virtually the same.
We asked Pete to provide specifics, as he reflected on his needs assessment processes. The dialogue that follows provides insight:
Pete: We have to spend some time telling them [workers] what we're going to do with them first. In other words, we have to explain that we're looking for the pain.... We have to make it real clear what we're doing and what we want them to help us to do. And then once that's clear [we ask] what are the problems, and that's a questioning process. What is it about your job, for example, that you find most difficult to do? We don't say, "Can you read well, can you write well?" None of that.... You get them talking and the listening starts to accumulate.
Researcher: So you zero in?
Pete: ... we don't want to know all the things that are involved in doing their job.
Researcher: You don't do a task analysis?
Pete: Well, it's a task analysis for the problem, but we don't do a job analysis.
Researcher: You don't do a job analysis for the whole job? ... You zero in on the problem?
Pete: We're looking for the performances that they can't do as well as they should ... the specific performances ... measuring the recipe that is for 100 people and I need it to change to 350.
Researcher: If you do it that way, how many people would you have to [interview] before you know that you had captured what the range of the problem is?
Pete: Well, what we do is we get as many of them as we can get to talk to.... We go back there until we can get a list to give back to them and say, "Is this it?" I mean, "Is this all of what you had, or is there more? Did we describe it right?" So we reflect back what they have told us. And then they sign off on it and say, "Yes, that's it. That's all we've got ... "
Pete continued, explaining that aside from workers, it is necessary during the needs assessment phase of curriculum development to involve management.
And when we talk to management, that is the top management, we start out at the Vice-President level, whoever will come and listen to us. And then we work down to the managers and supervisors of these people and then we actually talk to the people themselves.... Sometimes we've talked to the managers and the people together, sometimes we talk to the people separately. A lot of it at that point is just me not being satisfied that I know enough. And so I'll schedule another meeting with an individual person or a group of people or a supervisor or somebody and say, "I don't understand this." And then we reflect it back to them. That's the key to the whole thing. We say, here is your opportunity to tell us whether we did this right or whether you want to add something because at this point we're not going to do anymore with the needs analysis. Then we'll design the curriculum.
The approach described by Pete here was internalized by hospital representatives associated with the project, as the following excerpt from an interview with two of them (Carmen and Melinda) attest:
Carmen: The people who were doing curriculum development were working as fast as they could work.... [They were] trying to coordinate four hospitals ... commonalities are not great. And so they had to come in and do the needs assessments.
Melinda: [They were] very responsive. They did a heroic effort at touching base. They sent surveys to the managers, they gathered tools from the hospital, you know, forms that we use and so forth.
Carmen: They went into the settings ...
Melinda: They did personal interviews; they were here on-site many times. So they really did a heroic effort.
The approach was also internalized by union officials who spoke of the "very intricate skills assessment" performed by the college's curriculum development team.
To gain another perspective on the curricular procedures adopted by the college, we examined project documents and notes from minutes of meetings (from among the key stakeholders) that pertained to curriculum development. The documentation revealed that the first step taken by the college was to set forth a plan for the curriculum development process (e.g., Table 1). The first three steps, (1) "conduct needs/task analysis," (2) "finalize task listing," and (3) "sequence and modularize tasks," were probably the most crucial and certainly the most political, requiring the consensus of the collaborating parties. We will focus on these three.
Table 1
Curriculum Development Process--Hospital Project
| Steps | Tasks |
|---|---|
| I. Conduct needs/task analysis. |
|
| II. Finalize task listing. |
|
| III. Sequence and modularize tasks. |
|
| IV. Develop plan for each module. |
|
| V. Decide sequence of development. |
|
| VI. Review sequence of tasks with industry consultants. |
|
| VII. Locate appropriate available resources. |
|
| VIII. Develop drafts of selected modules. |
|
| IX. Review modules with consultants. |
|
| X. Revise modules for field test. |
|
| XI. Develop field test modules. |
|
| XII. Develop final draft of modules. |
|
As shown in Table 1 and as discussed previously, the needs assessment process included interviews with job supervisors, training directors, and selected employees. These personnel were urged to consider eight specific questions as they considered the literacy needs of their workers:
We examined the minutes of meetings with personnel from separate hospitals, showing the responses of these hospitals to some of these questions. The minutes show that for one hospital the problems included the following (set forth by department):
The minutes of meetings at a second hospital revealed areas of concern to be
medical terminology, ESL, reading building plans, following verbal
instructions, and mixing chemicals.
Minutes from one other hospital identified recent computerization of certain
hospital operations as a problem area. A further problem area was "how to
relate to patients." At this hospital a problem among cooks was making
conversions between metric and imperial measurements. This hospital was moving
toward multitasking, requiring workers to be able to understand both
systems.
Minutes from yet another meeting showed employee problems such as the
following:
As indicated above, while there were hospital-specific problems, there were
others that transcended them. It can be seen that the problems articulated by
the departments focused on workplace basic skills as set forth by Carnevale et
al. (1988) and in the SCANS report (1991). From the milieu of problems
revealed by the needs analysis process, the curriculum specialists at the
college developed the following six courses: Working With Others,
Reading on the Job, Measuring for Success, Writing That
Works, Getting Computer Comfortable, and Understanding Where You
Work. Table 2 (e.g., Appendix C) provides sample content items for each of
these courses. It can be seen from the table that the content was decidedly
workplace-related and specific to the circumstances of each of the hospitals.
Taken together across the courses, the content was consistent with conceptions
of workplace literacy one sees in the literature. The course Working with
Others emphasized interpersonal and communications skills. Content here
included (1) "answering telephones appropriately," (2) "communicating
appropriately with patients," (3) "behaving properly in elevators," (4)
"working as part of a team/listening skills," and (5) "using good listening
skills." The course Reading on the Job emphasized both "reading to do"
activities (e.g., reading food labels or reading supply order slips) and
"reading to learn" activities (e.g., understanding the relationship between
calories, fat, salt, sugar, and cholesterol in food) (e.g., Sticht, 1978).
This course will be discussed further when we examine each approach to
instruction.
Measuring for Success was what the curriculum developers titled the
course in basic mathematics in order to try to reduce math anxiety among
workers. The content of this course included skills such as (1) "taking food
temperatures," (2) "estimating when product will run out," (3) "mixing
chemicals for cleaning solutions--changing proportions of chemicals," (4)
"reading instrument gauges," and (5) "completing time cards
effectively."
The course, Writing That Works, emphasized skills such as (1) "writing
basic reports"; (2) "writing correct messages from telephone calls"; (3)
"requesting changes in trays and diets for patients"; and (4) "writing basic
memos, incident reports, and grievances."
As indicated in our discussion of curricular philosophy, Pete had explained that a goal of the hospitals was to create a multiskilled worker. Rather than specializing in one aspect of service, each worker in a particular unit would perform several functions. As Pete pointed out, the hospitals were saying the following:
We want to organize the workforce by [units].... So instead of having the kitchen person be the one who does the food, serves the food, brings it back, and the nursing assistant person be the one who measures the intake and output of who ate for the medical charts, and the environmental services people be the ones who come in and measure this and measure that, and clean the rooms and make sure everything is fine, now they want to assign a cadre of people to that unit and they do all those things. And it's just a simple example of the change in the job that prevents people from keeping up because they don't have the prerequisite skills to do all that.
This problem fitted the description of what Pete had described as workplace literacy. The jobs of these workers were changing. We wondered whether the functional context approach was applicable here as well. Could the functional context approach lead to a curriculum geared to multiskilling?
Pete: I can tell you how we do it. If you're mopping floors and that's your job, the first thing we do is to find out what problem areas you have in mopping floors. And there will be areas like mixing the chemicals properly to mop the floors. OK. Then that is a job function, mopping floors. And then we find some other things that you don't have the prerequisites for. So we start with where they are on the job, find out where the needs are there and then [ask], "What else do you do in your job that you're having problems with?" And then we go beyond that and ask, "What's coming down the road?" "What are they going to introduce, what kind of technology?" Anything that's going to be introduced in six months, a week or whatever, in your hospital that is going to change your job and in some cases, prepare for that change. Computers is an example. So we start with where they are and the job they do, find out what the problems are, and expand that into the other.
There was consistency here, from curricular philosophy to curricular approach. Literacy meant the ability to do one's changing job, and the task of the curriculum specialist was to find out what these changes were and to design a curriculum that would ready the worker to perform under these changes.
As described above, one curricular challenge of the project was to fit individual workers so that they could perform multiple jobs. A corollary challenge was preparing workers from a variety of jobs to perform common tasks. The solution here was to decontextualize the curriculum so that tasks that transcended jobs could be pooled. Measuring, communicating, and working with computers were examples of such tasks. The approach was to cluster them into topics, as the following dialogue shows:
Pete: The union groups represent four, five, or six jobs that are sort of parallel--environmental services ... clerical people ... nursing aides.... So those are potential lateral areas. So what we do is we go find out what they all need and then we look at them and we say, "We've organized the curriculum around a topic area." So lets say "measurement." We found that all these groups needed some kind of measurement. So we designed the curriculum to be measuring for nursing assistants, measuring for dietary aides, measuring for environmental services. So if you're now a nursing assistant and you go into this class, you're going to measure chemicals in the class, with the idea that you don't do that on your job everyday but you may be doing it and you may want to be doing that or you may have the opportunity.
Researcher: So what generic stuff, what transfers or transcends all of these areas?
Pete: In the examples we use, then, for teaching each of those things, are the actual things they do on the job.
Researcher: That cut across the three or four things ...
Pete: So let me sum it up a different way. Say, we interviewed Nursing Assisting, Environmental Services, and Housekeeping and we found these five calculation kinds of problems they had in one area, and these four kinds of calculation problems in another area ... [we] looked at them and figured out a way to organize them into one training course. So any one of those members of those three groups that takes the course will get experience in the kinds of measuring that is done in the other jobs. But there are still the problems that they have on the jobs that become the content ... the actual forms, the actual calculations, the menus. We took menus ... right off their menus, and used those as the content of the training. So that's context-based.
To pitch the curriculum to the reading level of participants, a section of the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) (e.g., testing vocabulary and reading comprehension) was administered to a sample of workers on a voluntary basis. Jane expressed the view that the reading levels encountered ranged between the seventh and ninth grade.
Though workplace literacy had to be tightly defined, project staff indicated that they were mindful of needs beyond the workplace. Pete pointed out that "a secondary goal" of the grant was "a general overall improvement of the person's life, personally as well as professionally." The curriculum had to take this goal into account, since it was to be a point of evaluation. He provided an example--the use of calculators--indicating how the curriculum development process met this goal:
Pete: Using the calculator was a perfect example of that. You can do mathematical calculations without a calculator ... but a calculator is a part of these people's lives and their kids are using calculators. Somebody, as a result of our course, [may] be able to go back and have a conversation with their own child about computers, that they now understand is going to improve their lives and their families' lives as well. And that was one of the underlying goals of how we tried to proceed.
As we suggest in our earlier examination of the definition of literacy adopted by the project staff, when taken from the perspective of the worker, literacy must move beyond the functional. In the case reported by Gowen (1992), it was shown that workers often might prefer a curriculum that extends beyond their jobs. Pete was saying that such a consideration was indeed a goal of the project--a secondary goal--one that had to be taken into account in considering the curriculum. We engaged him in further dialogue on this point by expressing a value:
Researcher: Literacy ultimately must mean what you just said there--an improvement in one's life and being, and so on. [This is] one of the reasons why I am looking at the functional context--although you've discussed functional context in a very liberal way that I'm OK with. You're talking about mobility and so on and not "fixed." One of the things that I think that literacy must do for somebody is improve their life--make them freer and freer to move, and so on. So I am happy to hear that sort of thing is in there [Note: in the approach to curriculum].
Pete replied that many would consider the course, Working with Others, one of the six developed for the project, to be esoteric and not within the realm of workplace literacy. But he pointed out that the aim of that course was to
primarily work on building [the workers] self-image--their ability to stand up to a supervisor and assert themselves when they should; their ability to accept criticism when they should; their ability to interact with their fellow employees and their management people.
What Pete was saying here was that a residual effect operated in the curriculum, redounding to the intrinsic benefit of workers. Assertiveness on the job could transfer into assertiveness off the job. As Gowen (1992) points out, the premise of residual worker benefit is integral to the mainstream conception of workplace literacy. What is good for the employer is assumed to be good for the worker.
The problems identified by hospital personnel during the needs assessment phase of curriculum development were elemental. Workers could not read charts and signs indicating danger, menus, and so on. They had difficulty filling out forms and writing reports. These were general problems, not attributed to particular workers. The curricular and instructional solution adopted by the project was to provide heuristics that would make workplace-specific reading, writing, math, and other basic skills tasks more easily comprehensible. The following excerpts provide insight into how basic skills were treated in the curriculum:
Researcher: How, if at all, do you deal with ... reading problems, writing problems, and so on?
Pete: We ... do a sampling of the people that are going to receive the instruction as to reading level. And then we design the curriculum ...
Researcher: You test them? What do you do?
Pete: Yes.... So we get a general idea of what level the group is reading at, and then we design the curriculum to match that level. Now related to your other question ... how do you do the basic writing and so on. If we discover in the needs analysis that writing is a problem that they have on their jobs, we design a writing component ... where they write the things they write on their job.
Researcher: ... functional?
Pete: [Yes]. So, we're doing writing, mathematics, computers, reading, doing all four of those things. But we are not doing it from the point of view of trying to raise their reading level generally. We're doing it by finding out what they have to read.
Researcher [paraphrased]: You're not going to try to raise their reading level?
Pete: We walk in and we say we're not gonna attempt to raise people's reading level. What we're gonna do is give them a methodology for approaching problems ... ability to read what they read.... If they [want to] do GED classes ... we offer referrals ... and the Union Educational Bureau, by the way, will pay for all that.
In discussing the instructional approach adopted by the project, we focused on
one course, Reading on the Job. We decided to discuss one course rather
than all six because of the basic symmetry in approach to courses taken by the
project. Reading was chosen because of its centrality to the discourse on
workplace literacy and because it is a nontraditional program area for
vocational institutions--one for which they are likely not to have much
programmatic and instructional experience or expertise. The course overview
for Reading on the Job is shown in Appendix A.
As for other courses, the project staff developed learning modules for each
participant along with a corresponding instructor's guidebook. The modules set
forth a four step checklist--define, plan, read, and check--to the decoding of
reading materials found in the workplace (e.g., Park, Olson, & Oldham,
1991). Reading in the workplace was characterized as a task which can be
approached systematically. The reader first defines the reading problem
by asking questions such as, "What is the purpose of my reading?" Next he or
she plans a solution to the problem, by asking, "What information do I need?"
The next step is to read. This requires asking, "What cues does the format
suggest," or "What do I already know about the situation that can help me?"
The final step is to check, that is, to ask the question, "Did I accomplish
what I wanted?" Appendix B shows an example taken from the module. Using the
four-step approach, the trainee would have to solve the reading problem posed
by this breakfast menu. To read this menu, the trainee would have to identify
format cues such as bold letters, capital letters, highlighted words,
and words that appear at the top of the page or are set apart.
In the instructor's guide designed for the course, the problem-solving approach as described here was described as being robust enough to help the worker approach any reading task. Pete expressed the view (about which we remain unconvinced) that the technique was transferable into areas of reading beyond the functional (e.g., reading the daily paper). He explained as follows:
The way we approach reading, when they get done with our reading course, they're [going to] be able to read the [local paper] better. Because what we've taught is things like functional cues. If something is in bold, something as simple as it's in bold, it's probably a quick summary of what's underneath it. The thing that's in the first paragraph usually is a summary of what's gonna follow. You know, things like that are part of the reading class ...
We thought that what Pete was describing here required the assumption that one was already a fluent reader. Picking up surface features of the text as cues was efficient when one could already read. But such features would not make text any more penetrable for a poor reader or a nonreader.
Responding to a query about the nature of the compensatory devices he was describing, Pete explained as follows:
We call them contextual cues.... An example, a concrete example. You've got a paper in front of you that you can't read. And what it is [the one we use in class] is a hepatitis [I think it's a] declination.... Where you sign this, and you have said that you won't take the free hepatitis vaccination. These people pick this up, and they look at this thing, and it's got all these medical, technical terms about hepatitis-B and AIDS and all kinds of things. So we teach them this, look, where's the top of it? In big letters. Hepatitis [declination] ... what's that mean? I don't know. OK. But it's important, you know that. So you can ask somebody that. Now what's on the bottom of it? Well, it says signature. What's that mean? It means I have to sign. Oh, if you have to sign it it's important. OK that's a cue.... Now, what's underneath that? Oh ... a witness. Oh. You have to sign it and it's witnessed. This is really important. So don't sign it until you understand it. And then we try to teach them how to understand it, but you can read it and I can read it. I can't understand it. It's legal stuff, you know? So, go ask somebody. Ask somebody who can give you the answer that you're satisfied with so you know what you are signing.... And that's functional literacy, as far as I am concerned. Now you take that back to a context of your income tax, or the [local paper] or whatever, and there are some cues in there that you are finding out. The titles, for example, how things are put in paragraphs, what a first paragraph does and all that kind of stuff ... translate into a lot of other kinds of reading.
While cues do have their place in reading instruction, as we shall be
discussing later in this section, we have found no support in the literature
for their use as devices that poor readers or nonreaders can employ on their
own to improve their understanding of unfamiliar text, or to effect transfer
across text types.
Beyond the use of cues, the workers were taught how to recognize words by
analyzing their structure (the focus here was upon prefixes, suffixes, roots,
and compound words). Words chosen were workplace related, including medical
terminology. Workers were required to complete an exercise illustrative of
mastery of the ability to analyze the structure of five words, namely
subsections, semiannual, bimonthly, interdependent,
and prepare. This exercise also required them to figure out the meaning
of two compound words, namely outlook and overnight.
To complement our understanding of the approach to instruction taken in the
project, we interviewed four of the instructors, including one who had much
responsibility for teaching the reading course. The instructors were involved
in continuous improvement of the courses as the program progressed.
Fundamentally, they were expected to follow the basic instructional design set
forth in instructor guides and corresponding learner modules. They could
interpret and adopt the curriculum as they saw fit, but so far as was evident,
there was no material deviation from the basic plan that we could discern. All
students were required to take a common postcheck to indicate course mastery.
Since it was the instructional materials (e.g., learner modules and
instructor's guides) prepared specifically for the course that were eventually
going to be disseminated for their demonstration value, they were more the
focus than instructor variation.
For the two instructors who ordinarily belonged to the college staff, we were
especially interested in whether there were aspects of that role that served to
advantageous effect as they taught project classes. For one instructor, prior
experience in delivering on-site instruction within a firm was helpful. For
another, it was having to deal with special education students, who require
patience and individual attention. One theme that seemed to be common in the
approach taken by the instructors was that they tried to teach in a way that
was nurturing and anxiety-reducing. To this end, the primary strategies they
adopted were cooperative learning and self-pacing. In a small number of cases,
they allowed workers to test out of courses. This was an important concession,
since there was some evidence (gleaned from interviews and from course
evaluation sheets) that some fraction of the workers found the content to be
too easy for them. While their focus was essentially on work-related examples,
the instructors pointed out that workers were equally likely to bring examples
from home as they would from work.
How efficacious was the philosophy and approach of the project with respect to reading? To come to terms with this question, we set the instructional approach against the backdrop of a bipolar conceptual framework, consisting, on the one hand, of a conception of reading as specific literacy (reading for useful purposes) such as reading at work, and, on the other, a conception of reading as general literacy (or school literacy).
Resnick (1990) identifies useful literacy as one of six forms of literacy practice. This form of literacy involves "the use of written texts to mediate action in the world" (p. 172). It includes "reading recipes, following instructions for assembling or manipulating equipment, and consulting bus and airline schedules" (p. 173). The reader has "immediate goals" in mind, and assumes that the text "is authoritative and can successfully guide action" (p. 173). According to Resnick, the nature of the reading process is shaped by the "action-oriented stance" of the reader. Successful readers can "relate each proposition in the text to a specific set of physical objects, and plan actions on them" (p. 173). Physical objects such as diagrams are enablers.
Dealing with the question of how a person reaches this level of literacy, Resnick suggests that cognitive apprenticeships in the family are conceivable. Children practice along with other family members. Later, they develop these skills in extra-school activities. They make the read-do connection. Some types of school activities (e.g., science labs and vocational classes) enhance it. Resnick notes:
If functional literacy practices are learned mainly outside school, however, certain students--those from families who do not practice much literacy in the home or do not engage their children in such activities--can be expected not to learn them. (p. 176)
What Resnick does here is posit a socioeconomic prerequisite for the learning
of useful literacy. The learning of this literacy is mediated by the type of
family in which one grows up. If that is the case, then it constitutes one
constraint on attempts to teach workplace-related reading such as the hospital
project was attempting. The skills that workers lack should perhaps have been
acquired long ago, premised on a foundation of literacy learned in the family
and nurtured at school. There is no real substitute for this grounding--no
quick way to remedy it.
Diehl and Mikulecky (1980) make some of the same observations as Resnick from
their vantage point of workplaces. Their research indicated that about
two-thirds of the reading tasks performed at work are reading-to-do.
Text serves largely as external memory upon which workers rely as they perform
tasks. For example, a worker may consult a manual in order to adjust a
machine. The manual remains accessible. Reading often is not integral to task
performance, but workers capitalize on the fact that materials are available in
their environment. It seems as though a good strategy for workplaces would be
to make their work environments more information-rich.
As Resnick points out, Diehl and Mikulecky (1980) noted that increasingly
workers had "extra-linguistic cues" in their work environment that were
directly related to their jobs. They needed to make the connection between the
text and their material environment: "Once the correspondence between the
print and environment is understood," it becomes easier to extract information
from text (p. 225). Diehl and Mikulecky contend that workers are able to read
work-related information at about two grade levels above their assessed reading
level. They concluded that reading at work differed from reading at school, in
terms of cognitive gain and extralinguistic cues.
General reading, or reading at school, provides the second pole as we reflect
upon the instructional approach of the project. How does specific reading such
as in the context of workplaces, differ in character from more general reading?
We can understand this better by examining how reading at school is
approached.
According to Durkin (1983), the factors that are known to contribute to
reading ability and which teachers of reading should strive to enhance are (1)
extensive sight vocabularies--that is, a repertoire of words that are
automatically recognizable; (2) the ability to figure out words
independently--that is, the ability to decode new words without outside help
(requiring that teachers be knowledgeable about phonics and word structure);
(3) vocabulary and word meaning development (requiring constant additions to
the sight vocabulary); and (4) the ability to comprehend connected text,
requiring instruction that balances text-types--that is, instruction that
includes narrative discourse (story-telling), expository discourse
(explanation), and procedural discourse (how to bake a cake). Durkin suggests
that the materials supportive of successful reading instruction should include
"anything that displays print ... textbooks, library books, magazines, comic
books, signs, labels, menus, calendars, newspapers, billboards, stamps,
greetings ... " (p. 6). (This liberal conception of what constitutes
appropriate reading materials is, of course, quite different from the
functional paradigm's more restrictive definition).
Because of its centrality to literacy, general reading proficiency is one of
the cornerstones of the socialization process in the United States, as it is in
most cultures. The process of becoming literate in reading is time-consuming,
and must proceed from one's earliest formative years through the school years.
Those who fail to acquire this literacy by the adult years become handicapped.
The competencies they have missed are not easy to retrieve, nor are they easy
to substitute. Workplace literacy programs are useful, but unless they provide
generous amounts of instructional time and are broadly conceived, it is
doubtful that they can imprint upon general reading literacy.
Having briefly explored the nature of reading in its general and specific
aspects, we became better situated in order to estimate the efficacy of the
project's efforts with respect to an approach to reading instruction. A first
requirement is to characterize what the basic objective of the project was
regarding reading. From the minutes of meetings between project and hospital
staffs, it appeared that the initial problem was that some workers had
difficulty reading work-related documents (e.g., signs indicating danger,
menus, and so on). From the instructions in the instructor's guide to the
reading course, the project stance was not to try to raise the grade level
reading score of workers. Rather, it was to improve the on-the-job reading
skills of participants via the problem-solving method described above. This
approach was stated in the instructor's guide to be capable of preparing one to
approach any reading task. Further, it was expected to help workers "to
increase their confidence to seek out and understand the actual kinds of
reading material encountered day-to-day on the job." Since, as indicated
above, the project staff did not establish tightly controlled empirical
measures to ascertain gain, we have focused not on outcomes but rather on
approaches.
In pursuit of its stated goals, it is evident that the project adopted both
generic and specific reading strategies. Practical strategies (such as
reformatting the text) designed to help participants read menus and forms were
intertwined with school-like strategies (the teaching of structural analysis of
words--that is, prefixes, suffixes, roots, and compound words). To teach the
skill of structural analysis, the word transport was examined, chosen
for a functional reason--that it had to do with moving patients within the
hospital. The meaning of the prefix trans was given, as well as that of
the root port. The module suggested that breaking a word such as this
into component parts would help reveal its meaning, which would be clarified
when the word is used in context.
While it is important for workers to understand word structure, it was
questionable whether such an approach could be viable within the narrow
confines of a work setting. More promising might have been an approach that
was closer to traditional vocational pedagogy--that is, one that matches the
printed word with some practical action. The read-do connection needed
to be made (Diehl & Mikulecky, 1980; Resnick, 1990). It is unlikely that
the word transport was unfamiliar as a spoken word to any of the
workers. They would all have known its meaning. Some probably could not
recognize it in written form, and for these the question is which was the more
appropriate instructional strategy--linking the written word with the act of
transporting a patient (or more broadly, transporting goods by train or
trucks), activities within the experiences of workers, or teaching them its
etymological roots via structural analysis. The latter approach would be valid
if the intent were to show the word transport as belonging to a class of
words (transmit, transfer, translate, and
transact), and as a way to build vocabulary, but would have precluded
sole emphasis on workplace-related vocabulary, a disposition which would have
been inimical to the project philosophy.
Our discussion here points to difficulties inherent in trying to utilize
school-like techniques within a functional context frame. Teaching literacy
for transfer requires its own space, time, technique, and philosophy. One
important requirement would be that the examples extend beyond the workplace
into other facets of the workers' experiences.
Another example of combining school-like reading literacy strategy with the
functional was evident in the emphasis on so-called contextual
cues--surface features of text inherent in the text format (e.g., use of
bold type). In the context of the project, these cues appeared to be intended
not necessarily as an aid to reading comprehension but often as a way to
determine the importance of a document whose content one was unable to read
(e.g., a hepatitis declination form--exempting the workers from being
voluntarily tested for hepatitis). Conceived in this way, use of functional
cues would leave unattended the underlying problem behind poor reading. The
act of picking up the text--which is important merely from its surface
features--is, by itself, not reading. When discussed in the literature,
contextual cues are conceived somewhat more broadly than was the case in the
project--not as ways to compensate for poor reading ability, but as ways to
enhance reading comprehension.
In their discussion of instructor-reader interaction strategies, Singer and
Donlan (1989) explain that surveying the title and main headings is a way to
help students read expository text. But their intent goes beyond the
functional. They do not posit the reading of main headings as a way to
determine the importance of documents which one is otherwise unable to read (as
in the hepatitis declination case). Rather, what Singer and Donlan propose is
a dialogue between instructor and student involving prediction and verification
of the content of text. Students must make predictions about the rest of a
story by reading the main heading, or by reading the material in the first part
of the story, and then they compare their predictions with their actual
reading, followed by a discussion of which clues from the text they utilized to
make their predictions (p. 159). Students must come to understand how to make
use of cues. Use of cues in this way is viewed as a metacognitive strategy,
not as compensation for an inability to read and to comprehend.
While the project emphasized format cues only, other contextual cues that are
mainstays of reading instruction could conceivably have been employed.
Contextual cues, more broadly conceived than they were in the project, are a
counterpart of structural analysis, employed, as Durkin (1983) suggests, to
help with the problem of figuring out words independently. They are considered
to be supplementary to phonics and to structural analysis (e.g., prefixes,
suffixes, roots, and compound words). Local context is recognized as being
crucial in helping the reader to figure out the meaning of unknown words. Such
meaning is expected to be derived from syntactic cues (i.e., word order
or positional features of text) and semantic cues (e.g., using the
context and cumulative meaning of a sentence to figure out the meaning of a
word) (Alexander, 1988; Durkin, 1983; Singer & Donlan, 1989). Because no
single cue would convey meaning in all situations, it is advised that a variety
be taught. According to McCullough (1945), context cues may take the following
forms: definition, experience (e.g., the workplace), comparison and contrast,
synonym, familiar expression, summary, and mood or situation. Sternberg,
Powell, and Kaye (1983) recommend examination of external cues in the
surrounding text to figure out word meanings. Categories of external cues they
recommend include temporal (suggesting frequency or duration), spatial (dealing
with location), value (denoting worth), attributive (suggesting size and
shape), functional (suggesting purposes or actions), enablement, class, and
equivalence (e.g., antonyms and synonyms).
Cues have been shown to improve the learning of new words and to improve
reading comprehension with proper instruction. But they are more effective
with those subjects with high reading ability than those with low
reading ability (McKeown, 1985). In the hospital project, they could
conceivably have been used to add vocabulary in sentence completion exercises
as in the following example: "Coffee, tea, and cocoa are examples of _________
(beverages)."
The difficulties inherent in relying upon compensatory cues as aids to reading
have been addressed by Stanovich (1980), who points out that to cope with the
problem of poor context-free word recognition (the problem that a reader
encounters when he or she ventures into an unfamiliar domain without a
background of acquired conceptual understanding) a reader can activate an
additional "contextual expectancy process." In other words, the reader may
rely upon contextual cues. However, this is a conscious and not an automatic
process; fluent reading is supposed to be automatic. As a result, "the
conscious-expectancy process uses attentional capacity and thus leaves fewer
cognitive resources left over for comprehension operations that work on
integrating larger text units" (p. 64). Stanovich concludes that good readers
possess superior strategies for "comprehending and remembering large units of
text" and that they are "superior at context-free word recognition." They can
read across a range of domains. They identify words automatically and rapidly,
whether by direct visual recognition or phonological recoding (p. 64).
As we examined the instructional approach of the project in light of what we know about the nature of useful literacy, the nature of reading at work, and school literacy, Gee's (1988) distinction between learning and acquisition became a useful reference frame. Growing up in Mexico assures that one acquires Spanish by modeling, trial and error, practice, and assimilation. Taking Spanish 101 helps one to learn Spanish by memorizing vocabulary and by learning grammatical and syntactical rules. These two different processes lead to very different types of competencies. The question, then, is--which assumption about the nature of the hospital workers in question is likely to yield better results? The question is hypothetical, but its correct answer could potentially make a great deal of difference in the way curriculum and instruction are approached.
Gee defines acquisition as
... a process of acquiring something subconsciously by exposure to models and a process of trial and error, without a process of formal teaching. It happens in natural settings which are meaningful and functional in the sense that the acquirers know that they need to acquire something in order to function and they in fact want to so function. This is how most people come to control their first language. (p. 20)
He defines learning as
... a process that involves conscious knowledge gained through teaching though not necessarily by someone officially designated as a teacher. This teaching involves explanation and analysis, that is, breaking down the thing to be learned into its analytic parts. It inherently involves attaining, along with the matter being taught, some degree of metaknowledge about the matter. (p. 20)
Gee contends that "acquirers usually beat learners at performance while learners beat acquirers at talking about it, that is, at explication, explanation, analysis, and criticism" (p. 21). We are better disposed to learn when we have a base of acquired knowledge. Learning is the higher state of literate practice, but one cannot get there without an acquired conceptual foundation. Again, this line of argument supports the use of on-the-job training or vicarious experiences such as can be fashioned in vocational laboratories as, perhaps, strategies that are more likely to lead to improved literacy and productivity than school experiences would.
This case featured a vocational institution collaborating with a union and a
group of hospitals to deliver workplace literacy training under conditions
dictated by a federal grant. While the grant was restrictive, imposing
artificial conditions upon the college by separating workplace literacy from
technical training, it did allow somewhat idealized conditions for
experimenting with curricular and instructional ideas, not the least being a
time frame of eighteen months. This was an incomparable opportunity for a
vocational institution wishing to hone its skills in what was a new area of
programming.
While, for reasons discussed earlier, we did not focus on whether the project
achieved its stated objectives (e.g., increased productivity), we did, however,
gain insights which can help us to evaluate claims that Redwood might make
regarding its suitability as a workplace literacy provider. Measuring such
claims against hypotheses set forth earlier in the conceptual framework for
this study, the following points appeared to be supportable:
Beyond these basic capabilities, which were consistent with our hypotheses,
the college also showed, in the particular context of the hospital project,
that it could collaborate successfully not only with management but also with
labor.
We saw enough evidence in this project to be able to offer the view that
Redwood, and colleges like it, can legitimately claim to be workplace literacy
providers and to have a comparative advantage in so doing, largely on the
strength of their vocationalist traditions--their inherent ability to work
collaboratively with industry to convert workplace needs to curriculum and
instruction. Where there appeared to be tentativeness, as discussed earlier,
it was in the fashioning of instructional strategies related to reading in the
workplace. Unlike other basic skills such as mathematics or writing, which
have traditionally had a place in the fabric of the vocationalist curriculum,
reading per se is a new area. Acquiring capability in its teaching
appears to be an important challenge that these institutions must contend with
if they are to fortify their claims as providers.
In seeking to acquire capability in this program area, vocational institutions
such as Redwood have in their favor a tradition of linking theory with
practice. They could capitalize on this tradition by approaching reading
instruction on the assumption that workers possess schemata based on experience
and a store of technical knowledge and skill. Instruction could probably focus
on establishing the read-do connection between basic skills and hands-on
technical skills and on providing opportunity for practice to help activate
schemata. Reading instruction premised on technical knowledge and skill could
then provide the basis for reading instruction of a more generalizable
nature.
This case reports on a basic skills program conducted by North Oaks Technical
College, a two-year postsecondary vocational institution on contract for
Pinewood Technology, a neighboring high-tech manufacturing company, both
located in Elmgrove, a small midwestern town. Pinewood is headquartered in the
town, and has a second plant across the border in a neighboring state.
Elmgrove lies an hour and a half away from the state's metropolitan center.
Its population is almost 100% white. Pinewood Technology is its second largest
employer. In the fall of 1991, the company embarked upon an initiative known
as Skills 2000. This initiative was prompted by the firm's in-house quality
thrust, aimed at reducing process variation. This push for quality improvement
in its process had increased the sensitivity of the firm to the rhetoric
regarding the absolute necessity of the human element in today's competitive
job market, the rapidly changing nature of jobs with the concomitant need to
train workers continually, the increasing need for attention to be placed upon
the literacy needs of workers, and the need for workers to be lifelong
learners.
Beyond the question of quality, the company wished to ensure that it was in
compliance with chemical right-to-know legislation that required workers to be
aware of their workplace environs. If workers did not possess the basic skills
necessary to understand and avoid workplace hazards, the company could be
liable. Some workers held jobs which had position descriptions which called
for basic skills. The company wished to reconcile stated skills with actual
skills.
Pinewood has a history of supporting the training of its workers. It has a
policy of open enrollment training and tuition reimbursement for courses taken
on the initiative of individual workers. Such courses do not necessarily have
to be tightly linked with workplace activities.
The company set forth three primary purposes for Skills 2000:
These purposes were consistent with the view that the new technologies would
engender less process variation, allowing employees to work to their full
potential.
The company devised a plan for realizing Skills 2000. This plan included
building employee support; conducting needs assessments involving job and task
analyses to determine whether there were skill gaps; conducting literacy audits
to resolve any gaps between the level of workplace materials and the reading
level of workers; and, importantly, determining the educational level of each
employee in reading and math. Information gathered from this process was to be
the basis of a training curriculum.
To help implement the project, the company contracted with North Oaks
Technical College on the basis of a long-standing collaborative relationship
between their respective institutions. Through its customized training
services, the college had worked closely over the years with the company's
human resource department in delivering technical training. The company
sponsored a computer laboratory at the college, which was used in its regular
programming and for company-specific training. Workers from the company had
also participated in the college's Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs. North
Oaks was invited to be a partner in the very foundational stages of the idea.
As spelled out in the company's newspaper, the college was expected "to assist
us with appropriate processes and validity of the assessments, individual
development plans, and coursework needed to upgrade skills."
We were invited by the project's literacy consultant to consider evaluating
Skills 2000 within the framework of our work. Upon examination, we found that
the case bore features that were consistent with our guidelines for selection
of cases (discussed earlier). This was a high-tech manufacturing firm with
world-class standing that had decided to embark upon a literacy audit of its
workers and to fund the training from its own coffers. This firm was actively
engaged in a quality initiative, seeking to reduce process variation. Indeed,
a goal was to win the Malcolm Baldrige Award for Quality. It had contracted
the services of a vocational institution to conduct the literacy audit, to
design the curriculum, and to deliver the training. The workers in question
were not in the at-risk classes that Carnevale et al. (1988) have identified.
The focus of the audit was basic skills. The project consultant had put in
place controls that enabled the firm to examine gain. All documentation for
the project was to be made available to us; we would have access both to the
company and to the college. We felt that in view of our guidelines for
selection, here was a quintessential case. We decided to include it in our
study.
Our purpose was to examine the role of North Oaks in this collaboration with Pinewood Technology, in order to acquire further insight on the possibilities for vocational institutions as partners in workplace literacy programs and as deliverers of basic skills.
The method included a combination of site visitation, document inspection and
analysis, and formal and informal interviews of key informants. Documents were
made available by the college's customized training staff, by the company's
education and development staff, and by the project's literacy consultant.
Materials provided included several interim reports on the project; memos
exchanged between representatives of the company and the college and between
the literacy consultant and college staff; copies of form letters designed for
correspondence with workers; samples of instruments (e.g., an employee basic
skills survey questionnaire and forms used to determine the reading and math
requirements of jobs and the readability of workplace materials); copies of
curriculum and instructional materials; a copy of the company's 1993 annual
report; and copies of relevant issues of the company newspaper that pertained
to the project.
Two site visits, each lasting two hours, were made to the college, during
which the head of customized training and that unit's lead curriculum developer
and ABE instructor were interviewed. In addition, several telephone interviews
were held with these staff to clarify issues. One two-hour site visit was made
to the company, during which we interviewed its education and development
specialist (who had direct responsibility for coordination with the college)
and its maintenance manager (who was intimately connected with the origin of
Skills 2000). A prime resource was the project's literacy consultant with whom
we held extensive conversations over a period of months and whose materials
from the project were all turned over to us for examination.
In developing the case, we first examined the company's background and its
stated reasons for engaging the college in its Skills 2000 initiative. Next,
we briefly described the college and expressed reasons offered by its
customized training staff as to why it was suited to delivering basic skills.
We then discussed the approach of the college to the project, including its
needs assessment and curriculum development activities. For the rest of the
report, we reflected upon the case, and tried to draw inferences from it that
might be instructive about possibilities for vocational institutions as
partners in the workplace literacy enterprise and as deliverers of basic
skills.
Pinewood Technology produces suspension assemblies for computers. These assemblies are "very precise metal springs that hold the recording heads at microscopic distances above the disks in disk drives" (from the company's 1993 annual report). Suspension assemblies are quite critical to the operation of disk drives. The company's world-class standing can be gleaned from the estimate in its 1993 annual report that its market share is "seventy percent of the worldwide supply of disk drives produced by all significant disk drive manufacturers." The company sees itself as benefiting from two trends--(1) increased sales of computer systems (particularly PCs and portables) and (2) the growing importance of suspension assemblies in enhancing disk drive data storage capacity and reliability. Its annual report shows company sales to be $198,734,000 with a gross profit of $44,423,000.
North Oaks Technical College is one of the few colleges in the statewide
system of two-year postsecondary vocational institutions that has a deliberate
customized training focus. Indeed, college personnel claim that it was the
first to embark on such an initiative. Also somewhat unique to the college is
that it is an on-site provider of ABE. Staff associated with ABE run the
college's developmental studies program which complements their regular
curricular offerings and includes classes in areas such as reading,
communication, grammar, punctuation, math, and study skills. Students may take
such classes for credit, or they may take them remedially. As part of
remediation, students may be tested to determine their assessed grade levels.
The developmental studies program has attracted workers who may pursue such
studies at their own rate and at times that are convenient to them. North Oaks
also has the additional capability of offering distance education through
interactive television. Such a capability allows it to reach customers beyond
its walls in locations that can include workplaces.
In the view of Beth, the member of the college's staff most intimately
connected with the project, "it was natural" for North Oaks to inquire as to
whether they were willing to take on the role of provider of basic skills in
the Skills 2000 project. This was because of the long tradition of partnership
in training. It was her view that, while the company would normally comparison
shop, "generally we're the provider of choice."
As indicated above, Pinewood had embarked upon a project called Skills 2000,
the rationale for which was detailed in an issue of the company newspaper. To
get a firsthand account of the company's way of thinking, we interviewed Randy,
Facility Maintenance Manager, and Nicole, Education and Development Specialist.
Beyond the basic rationale for the program, we were interested in the
explanation as to why North Oaks was seen as a suitable partner in the
enterprise.
Randy explained that a number of years ago the company had begun an internal
quality focus which involved team activities. Workers were at that time
expected to do more writing and calculating. This internal focus on quality
revealed that some people had difficulties which appeared to be the result of
their lack of basic skills. These perceived deficiencies were also evident in
interview processes for supervisory staff. Some people had difficulty
negotiating writing tasks. Others had difficulty working their way up through
the organization into the management staff.
Management had been attuned to articles about the literacy crisis which
appeared in trade journals and periodicals to which the company subscribed and
wondered about the extent of its own situation. It was decided that an
initiative to be called Skills 2000 might be a useful vehicle. A basic skills
enhancement program was to be part of this initiative. The company felt it
needed external assistance in determining if it indeed had a basic skills
problem; to this end it engaged the services of North Oaks Technical
College.
When asked why North Oaks--and not another provider--was engaged, Randy explained that there already was a good relationship between the institutions that had been "groomed over the years." They had worked with the college on the development of a technical skills training program "where they worked with us and helped develop the curriculum for our needs with our equipment and put it in place." Then there was the sponsored computer lab. Furthermore, the company did not have sufficient staff within its education and training department to facilitate the training.
North Oaks was engaged by Pinewood to implement the basic skills aspect of the
Skills 2000 concept. The college's customized services unit assumed the
responsibility, along with its developmental studies staff. To augment its
staff for the project, the college immediately encouraged the company to engage
the consulting services of a workplace literacy specialist, a professor at the
major university in the state. There was a long-standing relationship between
the customized services staff at the college and the consultant, who had been
invited there previously to teach a workplace reading course for the benefit of
the college staff.
The explanation for engaging the services of the consultant for the project
was that she would have "double the focus of having had the experience in many
industries, and a variety of places in the country, and being at the university
in adult education." The consultant joined the discussion between the company
and the college from the beginning and outlined a course of action which they
accepted. The work was to be embedded in the framework of Skills 2000. Main
features of that plan included (1) an employee interest survey, (2) testing,
(3) assessment of the grade level of workplace reading and math materials, and
(4) assessment of the reading and math level of workers in selected units.
The college, in conjunction with the literacy consultant, developed a survey designed to get employees to indicate how important they thought basic skills were to their job and to show their level of interest in signing up for basic skills courses (e.g., reading, writing, and math). They were also asked to indicate whether they wished classes to be on-site or at the college and to express preference for the delivery mode, instructional time, and so on. The company targeted 224 workers from its high-tech group, its maintenance group, and from its "out-of-state" plant. Of these, 108 were interviewed. The results showed that there was agreement that basic skills were important. Understandably, the maintenance group was less inclined to agree than were the high-tech and out-of-state groups.
Following the employee perceptions interviews, the college sought to establish
the level of the reading materials used by workers at the plant. A report
submitted by the project's literacy consultant indicated that the audit was
performed on "all the materials used on the job and in training to evaluate the
reading difficulty of the materials, their importance to the job, frequency of
use, and the exact reading, writing, and math skills needed to understand
them." A memo from the company's education and development department showed
that workers involved in the program were asked to bring "anything that they
read, write, or calculate with" to scheduled interviews.
Based upon the audit of materials, it was found that the most important and
most frequently used reading material was the job breakdown. Also important
were engineering forms and control charts. These materials were measured at a
seventh grade difficulty level. Reference materials, less frequently used,
were at a higher reading level. The employee handbook, infrequently used,
measured at grade twelve to thirteen. The training manual, used frequently,
was measured at the twelfth and thirteenth grade levels.
The company's managerial staff read most often and at the highest level.
Materials here ranged from grade seven to grade thirteen. No reading
deficiencies were found among this class of worker when they were tested.
Technical workers (e.g., skilled workers, engineers, electrical workers) had to
read high-level reference documents such as manuals and code books, materials
that tended to be at the twelfth grade level. They all tended to read at the
post-high school level when tested. Reading was not as important to the jobs
of general maintenance workers, as it was to the other groups of workers
tested. Here, lead workers read more than their subordinates. For this group
of workers, of particular difficulty were material safety hazard sheets, which
measured at the college level, between grades thirteen and sixteen on the
Flesch Readability scale.
Math skills used on the job included basic computations (e.g., addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division); conversion of fractions to
decimals; basic statistics; knowledge of charts and ability to plot graphs; and
knowledge of how to read measurement devices (e.g., calipers, scales, gages,
and blueprints). Knowledge of the metric system was becoming a priority in
order to meet international standards.
College personnel had an active role in the audit process. As Beth described,
all people in the division met in groups; then some met individually. A
consequence of this audit was that the literacy consultant was charged to help
the company rewrite some of the higher grade-level materials so that they were
nearer the grade-level norms of employees.
A sample of the results of the audit is summarized in Table 3 (see Appendix
C).
Once the grade level of the materials in the workplace was determined, the college staff proceeded to test workers in reading and math to ascertain their grade levels and to discern any gaps between these assessed levels and the measured levels of workplace materials. Workers were administered the Level 2 Adult Basic Learning Examination (ABLE).
Of 108 high-tech workers, three tested below the ninth grade in reading, eight between grades six and eight, and one at grade 3.2. The vast majority tested at post-high school. Of eighty-nine maintenance workers tested, two were at the ninth grade, two at the eighth grade, and six at various levels below the eighth grade. The majority of the remainder were at the post-high school level. At its out-of-state plant, of thirty-six workers tested, two were at the eighth or ninth grade level; two more were at levels well below the eighth grade.
In math, the average grade level score for high-tech workers was tenth grade,
with most scores falling between the eighth and twelfth grades. However, ten
were below the seventh grade, and sixteen below the eighth. For maintenance
workers, the average score was at the ninth grade. In this group, five
individuals tested at the fourth grade, four at the fifth grade, two at the
sixth, eleven at the seventh, and four at the eighth. The remainder were at
the ninth grade level or above. For out-of-state workers, the average was at
the eleventh grade, with one worker testing below the sixth, three at the
eighth, and the remainder at the ninth or above.
Based upon its program of testing, the college was able to set forth a profile
of math skills that different categories of employees lacked. As can be seen
in Table 4 (see Appendix C), these skills were decontextualized from jobs.
In general, the findings did not reveal a problem of the order that has fueled much of the discourse on workplace literacy. But, as figures reported above show, there were workers whose assessed levels were at the eighth grade and below. Such workers were deemed by the project consultant to be at risk and in need of remediation. The basic skills enhancement need was more evident in math than it was in reading and more among maintenance workers than other workers.
On the basis of its needs assessment activities as described earlier, the college, in conjunction with its literacy consultant, made a set of recommendations to the company, which required (1) that individual reading assistance be provided for the single employee reading at the forth grade, (2) that "efficient reading" classes be established for those reading at or below the ninth grade, (3) that "brush-up" math classes be offered to the forty-two or so workers who tested at below the ninth grade, and (4) that reading materials for hazardous chemical materials should be rewritten.
Having completed the needs assessment phase of its work, as detailed above, the college proceeded to convert their analyses into curriculum. The focus was on math and reading. We describe approaches to both.
The math program was characterized as a refresher. The curriculum for the
class was framed by measured skill deficiencies as shown in Table 4 (Appendix
C). College personnel wrote to individual workers informing them of their
selection for the program. Individual interviews were held with workers to
discuss their test scores and their instructional needs. The college staff
used a math text, but they encouraged workers to bring work-related problems to
class, and efforts were made to match math skills with actual work situations.
The staff calculated that they could provide the brush-up skills needed by
workers in eight to nine weeks. A tenth week was added at the request of the
company to allow for a posttest. There is evidence from company records that
there was some variation from this model. The evidence showed that 63 workers
were provided with up to 19.5 hours of training (13 sessions of 90 minutes).
Their pretest scores were generally at or below the ninth grade, consistent
with reported figures. The posttest scores for these workers averaged at the
post-high school level. All employees showed grade level increases, with the
average being four years of high school. A majority of workers were able to
attain the exit goal. Some workers were able to progress beyond the basic math
curriculum to problems in measurement, graphs, and geometry.
Regarding grade level gains which were substantial, the college offered the
caveat that increases might have been a result of latent knowledge which lay
dormant because of lack of use, which the opportunity to participate in the
course had rekindled. This was a plausible explanation.
As discussed earlier, the needs assessment phase of the project identified the
type of reading materials used in the workplace by different groups of workers,
the grade level of these materials, and the grade level of workers. The
reading materials shared by workers with college personnel during the
assessments were to form an important part of the reading curriculum. As Beth
pointed out, workers were encouraged by their supervisors to bring work-related
material. This process yielded a variety of materials including college-level
books, chemistry texts, and so on.
Reading was confined to the facilities maintenance group, the group of workers
that provided the most workers reading below the eighth grade, considered to be
the at-risk marker. The curriculum outlined for the reading course (which was
taught twice a week for sessions of ninety minutes over a period of seven
weeks) was as follows:
A memo from the project showed that the goal of the reading program was "to teach the students how to read critically to solve workplace problems by following a four-step strategy." As with the hospital project discussed earlier and included in Item 4 in the curriculum outline shown above, this four-step approach consisted of the following steps: (1) define the problem, (2) plan your solution, (3) read, and (4) check. It was hoped that the method would transfer to the workplace, and indeed, it was taught in conjunction with workplace methods. As to reading materials utilized, the following memo from Beth to Nicole is instructive:
The class included a wide variety of reading materials. We used Reading for Workplace Success as the basic text; in addition, we used selected materials from another text from [the literacy consultant]. We progressed from these texts to [Pinewood] reading materials that our students might use: IDEAS form, [acid] bath room checklist, non-standard requisition form, job-posting application, Accu-Mix label and directions, and the [company] manual. Difficult vocabulary was defined and discussed.
As is evident from the preceding discussion and the course outline, North
Oaks' basic approach to reading instruction was similar to that adopted by
Redwood Technical College (Case 1) to the extent in which they both relied on
the text Reading for Success (Park et al., 1991), with its four-step
problem-solving approach and emphasis on generic reading skills such as
structural analysis (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, and roots). For the same
reasons we offered in our critique of Redwood's basic disposition to reading
instruction, we questioned the pedagogic merit in North Oaks' teaching these
generic strategies within the narrow context of jobs and in a reading course of
such short duration.
Since both colleges took their instructional cues from the same reading text,
Reading for Success, it was necessary to examine the provisions of that
text to better understand their instructional stances. The text does indeed
offer structural analysis as a fall-back strategy to be used by a worker when
he or she is unable to decide on the meaning of a word by sight or from its
context (Park et al., 1991, p. 142). But when a worker cannot recognize a word
that derives directly from the context of his or her job, the problem would
more likely be a lack of conceptual knowledge, requiring a different solution
than ability to analyze word structure.
Reliance on structural analysis alone creates its own problem--the requirement
that workers acquire a large enough storehouse of prefixes and suffixes.
Prefixes and suffixes are utilized in reading instruction for their transfer
power, not just to solve isolated verbal puzzles in narrow contexts such as
workplaces. Thus, an unwitting shortcoming of the text is that it appears to
offer these devices as alternatives to conceptual knowledge--in other
words, as another workplace-bound literacy strategy, rather than as ways to
move meaning making from the workplace into other spheres of life. If the goal
of instruction does not include transfer of literacy skills beyond the
workplace, then the reason for teaching structural analysis (e.g., prefixes,
suffixes, and roots) disappears.
Beth reported that, in retrospect, the workers "weren't as poor as we might have thought they'd be." There were no nonreaders. Participants did not have problems sounding out words. One of the texts was used to help them work on how to find information that was needed. There appeared to be progress. Beth gave the following illustration:
And then we got to the end and ... I dug some worksheets out of the employee manual which was written at the twelve to thirteen level. They were able to find that. Well, now, that's really what reading is all about. If you can read to find information that you need, you've got things fairly well under control.
What Beth was implying here was that these workers could at least read to
do. She felt that there was truth in the notion that workers read at one
or two grade levels above their assessed level when the materials are
work-related (Diehl & Mikulecky, 1980). This accounted for why the workers
in the reading program fared better than typical ABE participants.
Unlike the math program, for which there was an exit target standard, the
emphasis in reading was whether any gain was made. College personnel refrained
from measuring gain in terms of generic reading skills which were not a focus
of instruction. They also refrained from measuring grade level gain. This
probably was just as well, since there was not sufficient time here for such
gain. On this count, Beth observed that if a worker wanted to pursue further
reading beyond the workplace focus of the course, that worker could continue by
enrolling in ABE at the college, with the tuition being completely reimbursed
by the company. This was an important structural feature of the connection
between the college and the company and an important worker-centered feature of
the basic skills program.
It appeared to us that Beth was making a distinction between reading in the context of work and more generic reading. Reading in the context of the college's ABE classes appeared to assume a different coloration than workplace-based reading. We inquired about how reading was taught at the college and, indeed, the approach described was idealized, allowing not just for workplace-based reading but for more generic remedial reading. Beth noted the following:
We discuss ... maybe we read a story. And before the story begins, there's some vocabulary. We have adult reading books in our room. Lots of them. And if someone wants to improve their reading, if we know that their skills are quite low, we would work in improving their phonics. We use the Orton Gillingham method for phonics for the great part. Works well. Adults with reading problems generally have a learning disability of some sort that caused them not to be able to read well. And so we would use that approach, teaching them some word attack skills. We have some books that go right along with that, that develop it ... more practice, practice. We have them write. We have them read. And then we also have--for reading comprehension--we have a series of books that are made for adults. There's vocabulary instruction skills, break-down first ... and talk about what the word means, how to pronounce them, now read the story to find out. Maybe there's one underlying thing you want them to find out ... talk about ... what did you find out? Tell me about this, that, and the other thing.
Beth went on to point out that, typically, there are exercises in the text so that instructors do not have to manufacture all of their materials. For the Pinewood program, however, they had to "go to a little different source if [they] wanted it to be workplace related." She mused that it would have been nice to use a regular adult reading approach in the program, but that was not done. Asked why not, Beth explained:
Because that was not the goal. It was to help them improve their reading for the job.... We're going to read to find information. Because that's what they do at work. Now if they could not have done any of that [generic reading], then we would've had to go back to "go" and start to do some word attack building.
What Beth appeared to be saying here was that specific literacy must be goal directed. But she appeared also to be saying that such reading ought to be premised on an assumption of a foundation of generic literacy. If general literacy skills such as word attack or vocabulary building are not in place, then these have to be the focus prior to workplace- specific instruction. We agreed with this philosophical and pedagogical stance.
It was clear from the basic approach to curriculum and instruction taken by
the project that there was sympathy for the idea that workplace basics were
something pragmatic. There had to be a tie with what one experienced in one's
job. The purpose of reading in those circumstances was to extract information
for use. There was clear sympathy here with functional context theory. But
there was evidence of a second value at work, premised on a more generic
conception of literacy. This value, we surmise, was conditioned in great part
by the fact that Beth and her staff were fundamentally reading and ABE
teachers. They knew, as Beth alluded to in our site interview, that the
teaching of reading is difficult. The ABE focus required a broader approach to
the basics than focus on the workplace allows. If a worker was perceived to
not have fundamental skills (e.g., word attack skills), the solution was seen
as providing that worker with these basics in the context of general literacy.
This ethic was evident in the view expressed by Beth that "workplace literacy
leads to family literacy," a contentious view which, as Gowen (1992) points
out, suggests that what is good for management is ultimately good for
workers.
But we sensed a sharp difference between the tone of the King Memorial project
that Gowen describes and Skills 2000. Workers who wished to go beyond the
functional had the opportunity to so do in the Skills 2000 project. Beth spoke
with some satisfaction of workers saying that a benefit of the program was that
they could help their kids when they brought home their books.
One plausible effect of the involvement of vocational institutions in workplace literacy programming is that lessons learned can redound to the benefit of the regular curriculum. We asked Beth to consider this assertion. She agreed that the college had learned from the experience. They indeed know a bit more now about contemporary workplace conditions. They have acquired new capabilities with respect to reading literacy, which has helped them to be even more effective in diagnosing and remedying the basic skill needs of students.
What needs to be reflected upon here is whether North Oaks' role in the Skills 2000 project has been instructive for vocational institutions. What can other vocational institutions learn from the project? To address this basic evaluative question, we reflect upon (1) the disposition of the college as a literacy provider, (2) the processes embarked upon during the project, and (3) outcomes of the project.
A positive lesson to be learned from North Oaks is that, like Redwood Technical, it had over the years established a customized services capability that allows it the flexibility to collaborate with corporate clients to deliver training. But beyond working with corporate clients, the college had developed the capability to work with adults not only in meeting their technical skills training needs, but also their general education needs, through its ABE and developmental studies programming. The college had deliberately sought to improve its capability here through staff development efforts that drew it into partnership with university-based expertise. The college could now draw on this expertise as needed. This willingness to partner, and the professional relationships thus forged, provided a key link in the approach to the project. Hiring a literacy consultant was a progressive move that becomes evident as one examines the processes employed by the college during the project, notably, the controls that were put in place (such as pre- and posttesting of workers). When called upon, the college was ready to respond because it had the trained staff it needed, along with access to high quality advice on workplace literacy issues and procedures.
The noteworthy processes in which the college was engaged included the following: (1) working collegially with the education and development staff of the company, (2) dealing directly with workers in their workplace (e.g., holding worker interviews to determine the nature and level of workplace reading materials, (3) pre- and posttesting, and (4) curriculum design.
A crucial aspect of the partnership between a vocational institution and a company is that rapport be established with the human resource personnel of the company. Companies rely on their human resource departments for guidance on training issues such as the engagement of a suitable vendor. Rapport with these departments allows a closer scrutiny of company needs and of what is possible (e.g., the amount of training time that the company will tolerate, modes of delivery that suit workers, and other cultural factors pertaining to training that human resource professionals would have come to know). North Oaks' staff had cultivated such rapport with the education and development professionals at Pinewood. This collegiality created a proper framework for the college that allowed it to perform tasks (e.g., interviewing and testing) that could otherwise have been logistically and politically difficult.
To understand worker needs it is necessary to gain firsthand knowledge of their workplace circumstances. The college demonstrated capability to do this by having its customized training staff work directly with workers and their supervisors in their work settings in order to gain data that would lead to more credible and relevant curricula. Working in concert with workers in this way assured a degree of political support for and ownership of courses. That important safety-related documents were rewritten on the basis of direct contact with workers in the workplace could only have enhanced the credibility of the college staff, making the promotion of the instructional program easier.
A major feature of the project was the establishment of a framework that allowed the measurement of gain. The college was able to do this by establishing baseline data through pretesting and a collection of normative data through an assessment of actual levels of basic skills required in the workplace. These controls enabled the company to see gain (especially in math) and, thus, to feel that their investment was justified. While the establishment of pre- and postmeasures on their own does not assure the elimination of error in forming judgment about the efficacy of such programs, it does allow at least a crude measure of the effect of instruction. The establishment of such measures would seem to be a feature that colleges should include in the structures they establish when they become involved in workplace literacy programs.
Consistent with functional context theory, the college made a direct link between materials used in the workplace and the curriculum. What made the design noteworthy was that it was premised upon generic literacy skills such as word attack being in place. If these were not in place, then the design was such that a worker, at company expense, could attend classes at the college to acquire these generic skills, independent of a workplace focus. This premise of specific literacy being contingent upon generic literacy was noteworthy.
Under this heading, we draw attention to the practice of decontextualizing
workplace skills for the purpose of curriculum and instruction. While there is
a case for abstracting math and reading skills across occupations for
efficiency purposes, it might be sounder pedagogy in some instances (e.g.,
reading a rule, a micrometer, or a blueprint) to not abstract these skills and,
instead, to teach them in their natural confines, that is, on the job (Diehl
& Mikulecky, 1980; Gee, 1988; Resnick, 1990).
The more vocational institutions take the approach of decontextualizing
workplace-based curricula, the less they draw on their own unique strengths, at
the forefront of which is practicality. In short, basic skills should be tied
to technical skills as much as possible, or else the work of the vocational
institution would not be distinguishable from that of another provider.
To illustrate this point dramatically, our visit to Pinewood revealed that the company had embarked upon a new approach to basic skills training that was less dependent on the college. They had invested in a new interactive computer system, allowing for self-paced instruction on-site at the discretion of workers. They were experimenting with this new instructional model. The following excerpt from our interview with Nicole (company trainer) is instructive:
Researcher: Now, is the project still ongoing?
Nicole: The most recent group that we just had go through were the chemical technical technicians. There were eight of them, and they went through each of the steps of the process. It was determined that five needed to take some additional math training and one needed to take some training in reading. Now the difference here was where they got the training [emphasis added]. We have an interactive self-paced video learning lab here in the plant. And it was just operational December 5 of this last year. So it's only been up for a few months, about six, seven months. And with this group, we decided to pilot our basic math, reading, and writing skills program using them. And so they went through this interactive video series here in-plant. That's how they received their training.
Researcher: Interesting ...
Nicole: It's Beyond Words, [a commercially available] program. And we just got really high, high marks from the employees who went through on that program. They liked it. They liked being able to go at their own pace and on their own. The confidentiality so nobody else knew what it was that they were working on or if there were things that they were struggling with it, and [if] it took them longer to get through a lesson, nobody else needed to know that. They were completely on their own. They also scheduled their own time in. When they had time available, they got to do it on work time also, but they had to judge for themselves when they could get some free time or get somebody to cover for them to go into the lab to spend time.
Researcher: Now that curriculum, was that canned, or was that designed by the tech college too?
Nicole: No, that's canned curriculum. It was developed for eighth to twelfth grade level skills. And its intent, I guess, originally, was to prepare people to take the GED if they had not graduated from high school. But anyway, it takes them through what's normally taught through the twelfth grade level.
Researcher: So these people here had no real contact with the tech college?
Nicole: No. Correct. Well. They did in this part. They were surveyed, and then they were interviewed, but not for the class.
Researcher: OK. So what the tech college did here was to identify these people through the needs analysis?
Nicole: Yes, identify what needs were by looking at the materials that they needed to use on the job.
Researcher: But then, since the curriculum was canned and computerized... prescribed maybe by grade level, but beyond that ... one of the things it would seem they can't get would be the relatedness with their work ...
Nicole: Correct. Right. That's missing. If they don't get the job specific they have to figure out the application themselves [emphasis added]. So whereas with the chem tech, they're doing things like adding chemicals so that as things evaporate or are used up or whatever that the bath stays the right percentage of different chemicals. So they check that out and they have to add different amounts of chemicals, and that's an example that would have been real helpful in the technical college. They could have talked about those specifics. Well, if the tank is at this level and we have to figure out, I don't know what all they do, but anyway, they could have explained, and the tech college would have come up with some examples using that specific job-related type of example. And so that was missing. What we did have was a person in this area (now that made it real nice for this area) who is a math expert. He was a math instructor at the college level beforehand. And he was available as a resource for these people if they ran into problems. Of course he works right in that area so he could help share some examples of how they could be able to apply it on the job. That worked real nice in that area. We know we don't have that in all areas. And he's not available for all areas. He helped there because it's their people. So we may, and I've talked with the technical colleges about this, we may need some tutoring help with people as they go through these math, reading, and writing classes where, when they run into problems with the interactive video and there's no instructor there to answer their questions, we could send them over to the technical college.
Further conversation with Nicole revealed that the company was thinking about
fulfilling all or most of its basic skills requirements according to this pilot
model. She explained that since people have different learning styles, some
workers may not relish working on a computer, and these workers could go to the
technical college. The role of the college would be confined to needs
assessment, testing, and tutoring.
Interactive equipment is a high-tech way to substitute for the services of a
technical college. But there are less sophisticated solutions. The college,
after all, relied on standard classrooms and expert instructors. If the
problem is to deliver decontextualized basic skills, other providers, such as
public schools, can plausibly lay claim to the same skills.
As in Case 1, this case revolved around a vocational institution, North Oaks Technical College, and the philosophy, dispositions, and processes it brought to bear in fashioning a workplace literacy program according to the designs of a high-tech manufacturing company. In our view, based on evidence, such as was found at Redwood Technical College, North Oaks Technical College could point to some potential advantages that it might have over other providers. These advantages include the following:
Beyond these advantages which it shared with Redwood, North Oaks had an additional important capability--a tradition of offering ABE side-by-side with regular vocational programming, along with remedial capability for vocational students when needed. This ABE function had resulted in the college acquiring capability in reading instruction, not only at the functional, but also at the generic level. This was a very significant dimension of the claims that North Oaks has made regarding its comparative advantage in the workplace literacy enterprise.
The Banking Services and Hotel Services cases to be subsequently described here (Cases 3 and 4) were conducted by the same provider, which we will call the Workplace Education Center (WEC) (not its actual name). WEC, a private not-for-profit agency, is a relative newcomer to the scene, becoming involved in the delivery of workplace literacy services to private sector manufacturing and service firms in 1988, at the height of the debate on the need for increased literacy in the workplace. Because many businesses (mainly because of their small size) do not have the capacity to provide for the educational needs of their employees, WEC has thereby found a niche. Its mission is to assist such businesses in planning and providing workplace basic skills programs. Services that it offers include (1) readability analysis of workplace materials; (2) basic skills/job-task analysis; (3) workforce assessment; (4) customized curriculum development; and (5) customized courses including ESL for work communication, reading and writing for the workplace, and math for statistical process control.
WEC's director reported that as a result of four major trends in the workplace, employers now request job context-based literacy instruction. These trends were (1) international quality standards for products and services, (2) increased concern for customer satisfaction, (3) workplace organization and reorganization, and (4) new workplace technology. She explained further that, in the past, management tended toward a philosophy of "compartmentalization," but now they were partial toward "cross-functional" organization. To succeed, this change would depend upon worker training. There was also the question of technology's impact on work. The director listed some of the new developments to which WEC has had to respond as follows:
There has been introduction of new technology such as CNC [Note: Computer Numerical Control] [and] calculators--you will be surprised that some of the older workers are not comfortable using a calculator. They went to school before calculators were widely used and never got to learn how to use one in school. Computers are being used more and more. Our new training has been in SPC [Note: Statistical Process Control], customer services, work processes, and teamwork in manufacturing firms. Many firms are preparing for ISO 9000 certification, which emphasizes quality and requires workers to use Statistical Process Control techniques. Workers also have to deal more and more with written instruction, especially [of] machine procedures. Customer satisfaction has become more important.
A training manager in one of the manufacturing firms served by WEC explained the following difficulties associated with introducing new techniques:
We are preparing for ISO certification, as you can see. (He showed the ISO promotion badge on his shirt pocket.) One of the things we intend to implement is SPC. When we began training, our machine operators on SPC we found that they did not have sufficient mathematical skills to handle it. We were forced to provide some basic math training in areas like decimals, division, mathematical means, and graphing before the employees could undertake an introductory course in SPC. This is where the WEC came in.
WEC's goal is to deliver quality literacy instruction. However, like other providers, the staff judiciously avoids the use of the term literacy in conversation with employers and employees. As Jones, Locsin, Lynch, Mrowicki, and Olivi (1993) explained,
The term literacy can bring to mind someone who is totally unable to read or write, whereas the participants in a workplace education program may possess sufficient skills to carry on daily tasks, including reading of local newspapers, but lack the special literacy skills for a changing workplace such as reading complex line graphs and lengthy procedural manuals. In such a workplace the term literacy may insult many of the actual workers who the program will be attempting to recruit for participation. (p. 6)
An entrepreneurial perspective was apparent among the staff who characterize themselves as players in the competitive field of training. Their survival depends on their ability to recruit and satisfy the educational needs of clients and write successful proposals that get state and federal funds to support WEC. Although, in the past, this goal was sufficient to motivate WEC to strive for the highest quality of service possible, a new factor has recently been added. WEC is having to compete with multinational firms for funds and sites to provide workplace literacy programs, especially at sites where the employers want to reorganize the workplace and implement Total Quality Management (TQM) methods. The training enterprise is business-like enough to have its own trade secrets, indicated by reluctance on the part of the director to reveal the contents of funding proposals or final reports to grant agencies. A great deal of effort is devoted to producing a good funding proposal, a task in which WEC's director is specialized. How to promote their operation has become a new preoccupation for the director.
Researcher: How do you promote yourselves? How do companies know about your services?
Director: Actually, that is one of the problems we have. We do not advertise our services. We depend on our reputation and contacts in this city. This is an area in which we need ideas.
Despite this lament, the company has a large number of client firms. It has established itself as a provider of choice.
WEC's policy is to seek input in program planning from all of the stakeholders. Although plans are developed cooperatively with active involvement of the training provider, representatives of the employer, and employees or their union, the actual process varies from program to program. After the plans are developed and agreed upon, WEC submits a proposal to the employer for the services that it will provide, including job-task analysis, testing and other literacy assessments, and curriculum development and instruction, and then enters into a contract to implement the plan. The contributions of the participants in the program process follow.
The coordinator, who is employed by WEC, participates and acts on behalf of WEC throughout the planning stage of the initiative. He or she meets with the employer, employees, and, where appropriate, union representatives to collect preliminary data required for proposal writing. When the proposal to conduct the literacy initiative is accepted or approved, the coordinator assesses the employees' basic skills (also called a literacy audit) and analyzes job-tasks (which sometimes involves job shadowing). The coordinator then develops the curriculum and submits it to the employer for approval before scheduling instruction. The coordinator often doubles as instructor, as one WEC staff member pointed out:
I am the coordinator of this program. I am also the instructor. Sometimes we hire part-time instructors for a specific program. In some programs, the instructor and coordinator may be two different Center staff. I prefer that the instructors be present during the literacy audit so that they may observe the real context and be better able to understand the employees' needs.
At the completion of instruction, the instructor assesses the employees' learning and reaction to the program and later interviews supervisors to assess transfer of learning to the job. WEC uses a team approach. Each member of the permanent staff is capable of assuming any of the aforementioned roles in any of the general training categories, including ESL training. For this reason, staff may interchange roles from project to project, or they may operate in tandem at different stages in a given program. WEC director is involved at critical stages in the planning, especially in proposal writing, final stages of the literacy audit, and employees' skills assessment. WEC assigns a coordinator to each initiative to consult with the employer on a regular basis in order to assure the plan was followed. Some of the senior WEC staff serve as instructors at one site and coordinators at another. This role reversal is intended to enable each staff member to view planning and instruction from more than one perspective and, therefore, heighten the level of sensitivity to the concerns of instructors and employers. The coordinator was the person the employer/client contacted whenever a problem surfaced during a program.
The employer identifies a literacy problem and sets out to resolve it by
contacting WEC. The employer then facilitates the literacy audit by scheduling
interviews between supervisors, training staffers (where there is a training
department), and WEC staff. Employee testing and counseling sessions are also
scheduled by the employer. The curriculum is approved by the employer; finally
(and oddly, in our view), impact assessment after the end of the program is
largely the employer's responsibility.
Emphasis is on forming a partnership between the business and the educational
provider. Employee unions play a major part in planning workforce literacy
programs that are conducted by WEC. Table 5 depicts the complementary nature
of the roles assumed by WEC, the education provider, and the business for which
it conducts workplace literacy programs.
Table 5
Partners' Roles--Notes on a Private Provider
| Business | Educational Provider |
|---|---|
| Identifies the contact person. | Facilitates the committee meetings. |
| Forms a basic skills committee. | Provides input on policy decisions. |
| Makes policy decisions regarding the purpose and scope of the audit. | Provides input on the company awareness campaign. |
| Plans a company awareness campaign. | Participates in the company awareness campaign. |
| Identifies appropriate managers, supervisors, line staff, and workers to participate in the audit process; schedules interviews. | Interviews key people. |
| Assembles written materials. | Analyzes the written materials. |
| Arranges for job observations. | Conducts a job literacy task analysis. |
| Reviews the findings. | Prepares a report from the findings. |
Source: Jones et al. (1993), p. 10.
While each employer assumed these roles, some employers showed greater levels of involvement and interest in their literacy programs than others. For example, some employers preferred to let the training provider handle the details, while others delegated managers to sit in during classes to find out what was taught and how it was taught. Even when employers supported the program, some instructors indicated that supervisors were not always supportive, as the following dialogue indicates:
Researcher: We have heard that at other sites some supervisors are somewhat unsupportive of workplace basic skills programs. What was your experience here?
Instructor: I had quite a problem in the beginning. They were very suspicious. People didn't want to give me the information I needed, but I went ahead and started. After a while they realized that we were here to train, and we did not have a hidden motive. When they realized this, they became very cooperative and gave me everything I wanted: documents, blueprints, forms, memos.
Employers were motivated to provide literacy programs for different reasons. Some employers sought training programs intermittently to deal with an immediate problem. Others had a long-term view and implemented training in anticipation of future changes in the firm such as the introduction of SPC techniques.
The input of employees is typically encouraged after instruction begins. Employees may make their needs known to the trainer. They may verbalize very precisely those job-tasks that they felt inadequate to perform and aspects of literacy in which they felt the need to become more competent.
Where a firm is unionized, union support is sought for training programs. In one such case we observed, the union representative simply gave approval but provided little input into the planning of curriculum. WEC staff reported that this situation was not unusual. The following excerpt from an interview with a WEC staff member, who was the instructor at one site, provided further detail:
Researcher: Are the unions involved in planning programs?
WEC staff member: It depends on the site. There are strong unions in some companies but not in others.
Researcher: Was the union involved here?
WEC staff member: Yes, to some extent. We informed them about it and asked for their approval. Their part was quite limited. Sometimes there are no unions at all, or there could be one that is weak. In this plant there was some resistance from employees. They are quite comfortable here with very good pay and benefits. Many of them have been here for fifteen years or more. When they were told about the proposed program their reaction was: "We are fine. Why do we need to learn new things?"
WEC depends primarily on state and federal contracts. State funding through
the Secretary of State Workplace Literacy Grant Program is subject to
regulation regarding the level and type of skills that may be taught and the
length of the program (Ryan, 1993). Technical skills are excluded (a
stringency which makes WEC credible, but which, as was discussed in Case 1,
frustrates vocational education providers), and programs are restricted to
"adult employees who read, write, comprehend, and/or compute below the tenth
grade level" (p. 1). This grade level limitation is not very clear-cut. In
some WEC programs, content is difficult to place using this grade school
criteria. An example is the area of problem solving which was included in some
programs.
Funding is usually available for twelve months with no automatic renewal. The
allocation of these funds is done on a competitive basis by a Literacy Advisory
Board appointed by the Secretary of State in accordance with relevant state
law. This state program is one of WEC's main sources of funding. Each grant
has an upper limit of $10,000, and the training provider must provide a written
agreement in which the recipient firm agrees to provide matching resources.
Matching is usually done by providing space and paying employees for the time
they spend in class (paid release time). Grant writing is obviously considered
pivotal because of the competitive nature of grant funding. As indicated
previously, this task fell almost solely to the director.
Services offered by WEC have been alluded to earlier. WEC subscribes to the functional context approach to curriculum and to competency-based instruction. WEC staff make a distinction between competencies and skills (generic skills), as the director's response with respect to the SCANS report (1991) illustrates:
We ... refer to the SCANS report but we use it as a guide. We do not use their recommendations directly because the SCANS report deals with (generic) skills while we are competency oriented. Competencies are directly related to job-tasks.
WEC views generic skills as being transferable to a range of situations while competencies refer to demonstrated ability to perform a task successfully in a workplace context. Competencies could be subdivided into specific skills. This focus on competencies rather than generic skills seemed at odds with the company's basic argument for its existence, which is that workplaces are in flux.
The curriculum development process starts with a list of competencies, which is then used as a basis for generating a list of specific skills. A WEC instructor explained the process as follows:
After the interviews and my observation of the actual job-tasks, I came up with a list of competencies. What we do is look at each competency and decide what skills are needed in order to carry out the task involved in the competency. For example, we might decide that some basic math is needed in order to perform a certain computation on the job.
This process can be quite elaborate. The curriculum objectives address both
the learners' and the company's needs. According to one WEC manual (Jones et
al., 1993, p. 29), the goal of the curriculum is to describe what is to be
taught and is achieved using the following four steps: (1) identify
competencies, (2) write a course syllabus, (3) develop a customized
pre-/posttest, and (4) develop instructional materials. It is worthwhile to
describe in detail how the typical WEC syllabus is structured. It includes the
following:
Basic Skills Competency: Under this heading is a list of competencies
approved by the basic skills committee.
Core Basic Skills: This section identifies which specific skills are
used to perform a competency. It is the center of curriculum development and
lesson planning.
Company Specific Terminology: This component of the syllabus lists
company materials that support each competency. Examples of these materials
are (1) company policies and procedures, (2) forms employees read and fill out
to do their jobs, (3) safety signs and labels, and (4) names of
products.
Pre-/Posttests: Customized tests that evaluate employees' performance
of the competencies are used. The competency-based approach consists of pre-
and posttesting--that is, using the same test for placement of employees and
evaluation of achievement of the competencies. Testing for achievement of
competencies is done after each competency is learned and at the end of the
cycle.
Instructional Material: These are customized worksheets and
instructional paraphernalia developed by instructors to teach the competency.
The instructor selects company materials that are appropriate to the level of
the course to be delivered. Depending on the course and the level of the
participants, worksheets can be used to practice, review, reinforce, and enrich
the competency. Instructional paraphernalia include posters, collages, or
journals.
WEC programs typically extend over a period of thirty-six contact hours.
WEC attempts to provide support services to workers. A primary support service it offers is making referrals to community ABE providers where workers can learn needed skills not covered in the workplace education program. Examples of these skills are basic reading, writing, and mathematics. Information regarding available community services is provided to the employees during counseling after initial skills assessment. Many employees needed encouragement to overcome their reluctance to make the initial visit to neighborhood adult education classes.
WEC's staff consists of eight people, all of whom have college degrees. Some are multilingual; others were former public school teachers. Two had served as Peace Corps volunteers--one in South America and the other in Africa. This experience seemed to have had a large impact on their views regarding assisting the disadvantaged. Staff members are encouraged to attend professional conferences such as those of the American Society for Training and Development, in order to expand their perspectives and deepen their knowledge of the field.
Having outlined the philosophy and operations of WEC, we next illustrate two cases involving this provider. These cases are a basic skills program at a branch of a large bank and an ESL program at a major hotel. Of interest here is that WEC presents a new configuration of a vocational institution, its model being that of a flexible, itinerant private vendor, specializing in workplace literacy. Within the realm of human resource development, vendors of this order typically offer managerial, sales, and supervisory training. As such, they tend not to be in competition with vocational institutions, whose customized services tend to be of a technical nature. But in the realm of workplace literacy, an entity such as WEC is in direct competition with vocational institutions, their operations being made valid by the fact that state and federal authorities unwittingly mandate the separating out of literacy and technical skills. This challenge forces the latter to focus its claims. What does a vocational institution bring to workplace literacy programming that an entity such as WEC cannot? Are vocational institutions better equipped to offer such programming?
This program was conducted by WEC at a downtown branch of a major corporate
bank in a large midwestern U.S. city. The bank has 17,000 employees working in
an estimated 100 locations across the country. The branch is one of eight such
locations in the city and is part of the corporate banking division
specifically dealing with remittance banking. Checks that come to this
location are addressed directly to the bank, usually in self-addressed
business-reply envelopes containing the destination bank's zip code and a box
number that identifies its corporate client. The box into which the checks are
deposited in such a service is called a "lockbox." Each corporate client that
uses this service provides the bank with written instructions outlining how to
handle its checks. Employees at the lockbox division needed to be able to read
these instructions and enter data into computers according to the client's
instructions. This data entry process became a focal point of attention
because of frequent errors. These errors added to the bank's expense because
systems had to be put in place to catch them. One such system involved having
each check amount entered both in numeric and verbal form, numeric by one
worker, verbal by another. If the two did not match, the software would
indicate an entry error.
This system of data entry not only increased the workload, it also required
that employees improve their skills in speed of entry of written numbers. This
is a skill that involves reading the amounts in words on each check and
translating the words into numerals for keyboard entry. In addition, the
employees in question needed to be able to read the written instructions
provided by clients regarding how their account was to be managed. The bank
decided that workplace literacy training was required for its nonexempt
employees, that is, employees who are paid hourly. Such employees comprised
85% of the establishment; the other 15% are salaried. WEC was engaged as
provider for the training program, which was titled Non-Exempt Education and
Training (NEET).
The bank has traditionally provided for the training needs of its salaried
employees. This training, which sometimes leads to a formal degree, is
approved by the bank's training coordinator. According to the training
coordinator, 85% of the training dollars are typically spent on the top 15% of
the corporation's employees. Most of their training consists of enrolling in
formal education courses for which the bank pays. NEET was for workers who
were deficient in skills needed for their work but who did not receive training
through other programs. The banking services program which will be described
here was administered by WEC in close partnership with the bank's training
coordinator as a part of NEET.
The NEET program began in 1991 with employees of the lockbox section. In 1992, employees in the remittance section were included. Three classes totaling twenty-nine people completed the training. Classes were scheduled to coincide with the end or start of the employees' work shifts for minimum disruption of the organization's work schedule. This case is based on observation of a training program involving employees of the bank's remittance section.
The planning of this program was carried out by WEC in close cooperation with
the NEET coordinator from the bank. It followed the pattern of other programs
run by WEC with the advantage that NEET had its own full-time coordinator from
the bank who initiated contact with WEC. As usual, an informal needs
assessment was done to determine program viability and to collect preliminary
data to be used as a basis for proposal writing. Subsequently, the proposal
received state funding from the Secretary of State Workplace Literacy Grant
Program. A literacy audit to determine the skills required for the nonexempt
employees was performed, followed by a formal employee skills assessment using
the TABE as a pretest and a screening tool. The TABE is one of the recommended
standardized tests for the state-mandated pre-/posttesting. The assessment was
on a voluntary basis. Those employees who scored at the 8th grade or below
were asked to join the new program although they were not told about their
grade level test scores.
The program designers had to promote this program internally, taking into
account the sensitivities of workers regarding their being targeted for
literacy training.
The literacy audit was performed using the WEC model previously described.
Management was consulted to determine the bank's short-term and long-term goals
that the program would need to integrate into its course objectives.
Interviews with supervisors were conducted to obtain a description of the
employees' jobs and to identify competencies that were required for
satisfactory work performance. Workplace materials were collected, including
forms, manuals, and instruction sheets. The audit yielded an initial pilot
curriculum that was to be used as a prototype to gauge the ability of employees
to overcome their fear of returning to the classroom, in some cases after many
years.
The coordinator's comments indicated that needs assessment had another agenda
apart from determining what competencies the employees needed. It also served
to formulate strategies for convincing higher management of the need for such a
program--a program which interrupted employees' work in order to allow them to
go to class on paid release time. Indeed, some management found it difficult
to link training with data entry errors and needed to be convinced.
Employee skill assessment followed WEC's pattern. The NEET program coordinator provided the following account:
There are about 250 nonexempt people at the [Jackson] Street location. These were initially told about the intended program and asked for voluntary assessment. One hundred and sixty employees took this assessment based on the TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education). This was privately scored, and those who scored eighth grade or below were asked to join the program. The grading was not mentioned to the employees. They were only told about their strengths and weaknesses.
As indicated earlier, the employees were not told about their grade-level scores which, it was felt, would be interpreted negatively by them. Instead they were told only about their strengths and weaknesses and how joining the program would help build their strengths and address their individual weaknesses. At the time of our observations, twenty-nine employees had moved beyond the assessment process.
The literacy audit resulted in a customized course dealing with a number of
skills which were designed to improve (1) speed and accuracy in transcription
of numbers; (2) math skills such as working with decimals and round numerals,
and for work on time cards, time zones, and military time-telling; (3) reading
skills such as skimming and scanning documents; and (4) problem solving. The
course we observed had four modules, as follows:
Module One: Vital Number Skills
Module Two: Math Refresher (decimals and percentages)
Module Three: Reading and Writing
Module Four: Problem Solving
Classes observed were on the vital number skills and problem-solving modules.
As was usual for WEC programs, the courses consisted of nine weeks of
instruction for a total of thirty-six contact hours. The curriculum was, for
the most part, workplace-relevant, though applications from outside of the job
were entertained, especially in the problem-solving class. Examples from life
outside of the bank were frequently used, but the focus was on improving
job-related skills.
The following three categories of training materials were observed: (1)
custom-made materials designed for this specific program by the trainer; (2)
materials adapted from printed commercial sources; and (3) job-related
materials such as memos, forms, and manuals. The trainer relied heavily on
worksheets and exercises she had designed. In addition to the formal
curriculum, she repeatedly provoked trainees to be more proactive and
aggressive in pursuing their ambitions. Adopting a Freirean stance, the
trainer seemed to be concerned about the impact of the program not just on the
immediate work situation, but on the lives of the workers as well, showing
workplace education as a tool to further oneself in life.
The trainees brought to class actual examples of problems from their jobs so
that the trainer could use them to teach work-related problem-solving
techniques. Alternative solutions and approaches to problems were sought. In
a class exercise, for example, the trainer provided a list of problems and
separate solutions and had the trainees link each given problem with a suitable
solution. The problems were categorized as personal, practical,
communication, or value conflict. Participants were then asked
to identify problems occurring at work and then to identify the categories into
which they fit.
Part of the problem-solving training involved teaching participants to enquire
(i.e., to ask questions or write memos asking questions) so that they could
clarify issues at work. This was especially so for the materials used on the
job such as the report forms that employees regularly filled out. These forms
contained many cryptic abbreviations which had meanings even the supervisors
did not always know. The instructor got trainees to find out what each
abbreviation meant. Examples of how to construct a memo to solve problems were
given. Steps on how to do so were taught to the participants as follows:
The trainees were also trained to anticipate problems and have contingency plans. Practical life problems were used as references. For example, if an employee's babysitter failed to turn up, then he or she should have a "plan B" in the form of a back-up babysitter. Other examples of contingency plans were (1) keeping emergency phone numbers handy, (2) keeping spare cash handy for unpredictable emergencies (e.g., having no paycheck at the end of the month), or (3) always having coins to use in a pay-phone if one got stranded.
In this module, literacy and numeracy were taught within the context of their
application to tasks that were part of employees' jobs. For instance, in one
session we attended, the focus of instruction was on reading and writing whole
numbers, especially with regard to writing checks. Additionally, common errors
in spelling words such as forty (often misspelled fourty) were
discussed.
In one exercise, the instructor read numbers aloud to trainees, who wrote each
number down first numerically and then in words, ensuring the correct spelling
and use of hyphens and commas. The numbers were 48; 8306; 99; 1907; 1612; 777;
206001; 10909; 2808498; and 433805. The last number, for example, would be
433,805. In words, it would be written as "four hundred thirty-three thousand,
eight hundred five." On completion, the instructor went over the exercise with
the students, who made necessary corrections. Finally, the rules governing the
writing of numbers were reviewed and stressed.
In another exercise, rules for writing a check were taught. The following are
examples:
The class sizes were small. In the problem-solving session we attended, there
were four participants; while in the math refresher class, there were five.
The instructor said she had no way of telling how many participants out of the
total enrollment would turn up for a given session. There was no evidence that
poor attendance bothered the management. But if poor attendance was not a
bother, then how much faith did the management really have in the training in
the first place? And if they were indifferent to poor attendance, what message
would that carry to workers about the relevance of the training? And what
would be the rationale, then, for the state to invest in such a project?
Still, an advantage of the small number of participants was that all were able
to receive individual attention. Although the workers were actively engaged in
the class and shared examples from their work or home settings, their
enthusiasm appeared to be low.
A feature of this session was that the trainer placed much emphasis on
self-improvement in areas beyond the work context. For example, she encouraged
participants to use NovaNet (formerly known as PLATO), the computer-assisted
learning system, during their spare time in order to improve their skills and
knowledge. NovaNet was available at the bank, and a tutor was available three
times a week to assist employees, particularly those seeking to upgrade skills
such as math. The courseware available on NovaNet was generic--not specific to
the bank. The instructor also encouraged participants to pursue courses at a
nearby community college in order to gain credit towards future promotion.
Employees in the NEET program consisted of clerical staff, mail room staff, and drivers. Those observed were clerical staff. We were informed by the trainer that a high school diploma was a requirement for employment on the clerical staff, so all trainees had been through high school, even if test results indicated that their actual skill levels were at eighth grade or lower.
Evaluation of the NEET program was implemented at three levels: (1) learner reaction, (2) learning, and (3) transfer of learning to the job. Trainees were asked to complete reaction questionnaires at the end of the course. Learning was measured using a customized test designed for this specific program by WEC. A posttest was performed using the TABE in order to satisfy state requirements. During the course of the training, the program coordinators talked to the trainees' supervisors to try to determine the extent to which trainees used their newly acquired skills on the job.
This trainer had a liberal arts degree and brought to the WEC team experience in the banking industry and in computer applications. She strongly believed that work skills could not be separated from life skills. Her teaching indicated that she viewed the learning process as an empowerment process. As Gowen (1992) points out, the philosophy and disposition of trainers have much to do with the nature of the workplace literacy curriculum. The natural tendency in such programs, consistent with the functional context paradigm, is to assume the point of view of the employer. When the stance is from the point of view of the worker, as in the case being described, the emphases change. The curriculum becomes subversive. Workers are sensitized to their standing and to their possibilities. The disposition of this particular WEC trainer can be gleaned from the following anecdote she related:
Earlier during the literacy audit, we noted that there were forms that employees had to fill out regularly, on which there were several abbreviations. When we tried to find out what these abbreviations meant, we found that supervisors did not know! When the course started I got them [trainees] to find out what these abbreviations mean. Now they know. When others [those not in the program] need to know what these things mean, they know who to ask.
The trainer repeatedly emphasized to the trainees that if they had any ambitions of advancing on the job, they would be well advised to learn all and every job detail such as those abbreviations because, according to her, they would need the knowledge if they were to be able to train their own people when they became supervisors themselves (implying that this should be their objective). To this trainer, knowledge is acquired in order to confer power upon the worker. As discussed above, some of these ideas became interwoven into her teaching, within the framework of worker empowerment.
Evident from the above description is that WEC embarked upon a course of action in the NEET project that in its outlines did not appear to differ materially from that offered either by Redwood Technical College (Case 1) or North Oaks Technical College (Case 2). This provider had learned how to collaborate with industry and had mastered the technology of the literacy audit (e.g., on-site visitations, job-shadowing, task analysis, testing, and functional context curriculum). To be resolved, then, is whether such a provider poses a serious challenge to claims of uniqueness or of comparative advantage that can be advanced by vocational institutions. At a minimum, the answer here will have to take into account the important factor of cost effectiveness. Furthermore, much will depend on resolution of the issue as to whether technical training should be factored into the workplace literacy equation.
This client is a four-star hotel situated in the downtown area of a major metropolitan city. The hotel is part of a large international chain. This location employed approximately 1,500 employees, 350 of whom were housekeepers. The employer recognized a need for a workplace literacy program when the majority of the housekeeping staff shifted from American to immigrant, mainly Mexican women. Most spoke English only haltingly. A small number spoke virtually no English. The employer estimated that about 60% of the housekeepers required training. Most of the people who supervised the housekeepers were native English speakers who spoke little or no Spanish. There was a clear occupational hierarchy, premised along immigrant/nonimmigrant lines. Housekeepers were often unable to communicate with their superiors or to report such things as a leaking faucet, torn drapes, a broken lock, a burned-out light bulb, or a stain on the carpet.
The duties and responsibilities of the housekeepers included cleaning the
hotel's guest and meeting rooms and hallways; keeping an itemized record of the
sheets, towels, and cosmetics that are dispensed in guest rooms; keeping a
record of their work time; reading their daily work assignment sheets and
weekly work schedules; and filling work orders for broken items in need of
repair. They were expected to know and obey hotel employee regulations such as
which entrances to use during working hours, areas of the hotel that they were
prohibited from entering, and how they should walk down hallways when in
groups. The housekeepers' work frequently brought them into close contact with
the hotel guests, to whom they often could not provide answers to basic
inquiries because of their limited-English proficiency (LEP).
The WEC initiative was designed to teach them to use English well enough to
communicate with English-only speakers, to read work-related documents such as
daily work assignments, to report broken or malfunctioning furniture or
equipment, and to comprehend customers' requests for services.
The employer sought to resolve the problem through training in the form of a workplace literacy program that would teach the housekeepers to use English in the context of their jobs. Since it did not have its own capability, the hotel contracted with WEC to conduct the initiative. A proposal to conduct a Housekeepers English Language Program was prepared by WEC staff, and submitted to the State Literacy Grant Program (Office of the Secretary of State). The proposal won a grant of $10,000.
After funding was received, WEC staff began their four-step implementation process: (1) literacy audit, (2) participant recruitment, (3) curriculum development, and (4) instruction. An extract from an interview with the program instructor/coordinator provides a glimpse of the processes that occurred before instruction began. This staff person was chosen for the instructor/coordinator role on the basis that she was fluent in Spanish.
Researcher: How was the program planned?
Instructor/Coordinator: We normally decide who the target for training is and how many people are involved. After this was done, we conducted a literacy audit including assessment of employees.
Researcher: What is involved in a literacy audit?
Instructor/Coordinator: We talked to the HRD people and four or five key persons in management in order to find out what their goals were and understand the problem better. We interviewed supervisors to identify problems that the housekeepers had and get to know what the housekeepers' work was all about. We looked for very specific answers.
Researcher: What about the assessment?
Instructor/Coordinator: We had a one-on-one interview with every employee that was interested in the program. The interview lasted about twenty minutes and was conducted using the FSI (Foreign Service Institute) oral interview format. We counseled employees regarding their skill level and gave information about community adult education services when necessary.
Researcher: What happened next?
Instructor/Coordinator: I followed a housekeeper around to see what they do. After the interviews and my observation of the actual job-tasks, I came up with a list of competencies. What we do is look at each competency and decide what skills are needed in order to carry out the task involved in the competency. For example, we might decide that some basic math is needed in order to perform a certain computation on the job.
I am the coordinator of this program. I am also the instructor. Sometimes we hire part-time instructors for a specific program. In some programs, the instructor and coordinator may be two different Center staff. I prefer that the instructor be present during the literacy audit so that they may observe the real context and be better able to understand the employees' needs (instructor's clarification). After the audit I went back to the office [WEC] and came up with about twelve competencies. I then went back to the supervisors and consulted with them regarding these competencies. They okayed them.
Of note here is that the literacy audit in this program was performed by the assigned instructor. The instructor explained that it was important that the person who is going to provide the instruction be involved in conducting the needs assessment and basic skills audit because to do so increases her or his understanding of the context of the worksite. This seemed to be a useful insight.
Based on the information gathered from the literacy audit, the WEC staff identified twelve competencies that served as bases for the general objectives of the initiative. The detailed curriculum was based on these competencies. This list of competencies was presented to the managers and supervisors for their comments. In this program, the instructor reported that the supervisors agreed with her list of competencies. She emphasized that it was very important to obtain the supervisors' support.
There was no difficulty recruiting employees to participate in this initiative. Of the eighty employees assessed, sixty-nine were found to be in need of training. The program could accommodate only thirty-five, who were selected--after much deliberation by the employer and WEC--on the basis of seniority, a criterion that did not necessarily match the level of need. Being assessed for training was a novelty for these workers, some of whom participated with some trepidation. A staffer pointed out the following:
Some of the needy employees were afraid to come [for assessment]. These [housekeepers] are the neglected employees in the organization. Higher-up employees are offered excellent training. This kind of training [for housekeepers] is partly to address skill deficiencies and partly PR.
The trainees were grouped for instruction on the basis of their level of English language proficiency (or lack thereof). Three groups were formed using this criterion: (1) beginners, (2) intermediate, and (3) relatively advanced. This case is based on observations on the group which had the least initial proficiency (beginners).
To select participants, a twenty-minute interview was held with each of the eighty employees to assess their English language abilities. The oral Foreign Service Institute (FSI) interview protocol was used to obtain a global measure of language proficiency. It assessed five aspects of language: (1) accent, (2) grammar, (3) vocabulary, (4) fluency, and (5) comprehension. The FSI was regarded as a standardized test. The instructor said the following:
The assessment indicated that there were several levels of English competency. We identified three levels for this program including beginners, intermediate, and relatively advanced. It has been possible to offer courses to different competency groups. The present group were the beginners, although they are now advanced beginners.
The roles of the employer, WEC, and trainees were spelled out in the grant proposal. The partners were required to hold to these. WEC staff was to provide the overall administrative guidance, collect the data, develop the curriculum, develop the workplace context-based instructional materials, and deliver the instruction. The employer and representatives (e.g., supervisors) were to provide information on the employees, their jobs, and their perception of housekeepers' needs. They were also to provide some job-related materials that the trainer could incorporate into the training. During the literacy audit, it was the employer contact person who scheduled interviews with supervisors and organized the employees for the skills assessment interviews. The following are extracts from interviews with the instructor about participant involvement that provide some insight:
On employers: They like to get credit but do not want too much work. They are tied up by lots of other matters. I am trying to get the Housekeeping Department because they know the real needs as opposed to the Human Resource Department who are a bit remote from the realities of the housekeepers' jobs.
On supervisors: Some supervisors are very interested in what trainees learn, but some are not. It is very important to get their support for the program.
On trainees: I always ask them what they want to learn.
Though their input was sought, the experience was that, by and large, trainees
tended to agree to whatever they were offered at the outset, but as instruction
progressed, they would begin to give input and make special requests to be
taught what they felt they needed to know. There was evidence of this during
classroom observation of instruction.
WEC held weekly staff meetings at its offices to discuss and review the
progress of all the workplace literacy initiatives that were in progress.
Staff frequently shared information about their experiences at worksites, what
they thought they had learned from their interaction with diverse groups of
workers, and what they thought the implications were for conducting literacy
classes.
Part of the initial agreement between the employer and WEC was that classes
would be scheduled during the housekeepers' workday and that the employer's
matching funds would cover hourly pay during the classes, the provision of the
instructional site, facilities, and the cost of instructional materials.
Scheduling the classes during the employees' workday assured good attendance
and avoided the need to provide support services that employees may have
otherwise needed such as child care and transportation.
The employer took the lead role in deciding when to schedule classes. Based
on the volume of customers, the hotel has a high season and a low season. Both
were to be avoided. The hotel's high season is when the volume of work is such
that it requires that all employees work long hours. The low season is when
hourly employees are, at times, required to work fewer hours or not at all.
Scheduling classes became a search for an intermediate period, neither too busy
nor too inactive, a search that was often a source of frustration for the
instructor.
The initiative, like others funded through the same state grant program,
consisted of nine weeks of instruction for a total of thirty-six contact
hours.
As indicated above, the literacy audit had identified twelve competencies (learning objectives) on which the detailed curriculum was based. These competencies were as follows:
By a mapping process, these competencies were translated into a set of
teachable skills. This was done by studying each competency and making
decisions on the set of skills required to master the competency. These skills
were then decontextualized into five categories: (1) reading, (2) writing, (3)
speaking, (4) listening, and (5) culture.
WEC has developed the procedures for developing a customized curriculum such
as this (Conrath, Jones, Larsen, Locsin, Lynch, Mrowicki, & Schnell, 1991).
These procedures include
These steps lead to a syllabus whose core components include (1) course competency, (2) core basic skills, (3) company-specific terminology, (4) activities, and (5) resources and materials.
The curriculum, which was partly developed prior to the start of instruction, was used flexibly, and allowances were made for additional content or changes in approach during the course of instruction. The most frequent reason for such adjustments was employee needs as perceived by the trainer. The training was highly work-specific, partly due to the funding requirement, partly due to the perceived purpose of the program from WEC's perspective. However, the nature of the skills that were to be addressed made it easy for the trainer to select illustrations that were relevant both in the trainees' personal lives and the workplace. The following excerpt of conversation with the instructor/coordinator is illustrative:
Researcher: Do you include life skills in the curriculum?
Instructor/Coordinator: The curriculum is very work-specific. We are sensitive about this because the employer is paying the employees to attend class. However, the work here is easy to relate to the home environment because a hotel room is very similar to a bedroom. A bathroom at home is much like the one in the hotel. They [trainees] learn things that are also relevant to their private lives. Curriculum materials are usually not all completed in advance of the course. It has been the hope of the Center [WEC] that packaged materials could be used, but so far we haven't succeeded. It is still necessary to custom-produce materials for each program. We use some commercial materials like picture dictionaries.
Typically, classes we observed started off with informal conversation about
the employees' jobs and homes or about a general topic such as the weather.
Large group instruction was the prevailing mode; however, it was often
supplemented with individual work. The lessons were structured into segments,
each lasting about fifteen minutes. Each lesson was similar in format and
technique. The trainer presented a picture of a hotel room to every trainee.
The objects in this picture were numbered, and below the picture each was
named. They included items like nightstands, quilts/comforters, doorknobs, and
headboards. The trainer would say the name of each object, then ask the
trainees to repeat after her and to match the word with the corresponding item
in the picture. This part of the lesson combined vocabulary with
pronunciation. The trainer used a question-answer method extensively, asking
each trainee in turn, "What is number ____?," and so on.
Using the same picture, she went on to discuss the position of objects in
relation to others, asking, for example, "Where is the night stand?" The
trainees seemed to have some difficulty with this aspect of language and with
constructing answers like "behind the bed" or "above the sink." The younger
employees seemed more willing to answer questions than the older women, who
were shy and did not want to make mistakes that had to be corrected by the
trainer.
Another exercise consisted of written statements that matched with drawings or pictures. The session would proceed as follows:
Instructor: I want you to read the statement below each picture and tell me whether it is true or false. For example, the first one says, "There are four tooth brushes in the holder. True or false?"
Trainee: True.
In a third activity, the trainer gave the trainees the following list of words related to the workplace:
She said each word in English and asked the trainees to repeat after her. The trainees did not know the meanings of some of the words, so she explained each and asked them to mime their meanings, for example: "smelly" (hold your nose), or "noisy" (cover your ears). Some trainees also had difficulty with pronunciation and so the trainer spent some time getting them to repeat the words several times. We observed that by this point in the lesson, a few trainees had begun showing signs of tiredness, evidenced by yawning. The more lively trainees, however, were quite enthusiastic and seemed to enjoy the activities.
Next, the trainer asked the trainees how they cleaned bathtubs. Through repeated questioning, hints, and suggestions, the class came up with a list of steps describing how to scrub a bathtub, a task that was part of their job description. The session went as follows:
Instructor: How do you clean the bathtub in the room? What do you do first?
First trainee: You put soap on the green pad, then scrub the tub.
Second trainee: You put on plastic gloves, then put "Softscrub" on the green pad.
Instructor: Do you wet the green pad first?
First trainee: Yes. You wet the green pad, then put "Softscrub" on it.
Instructor: Then what do you do next?
Third trainee: You turn on the hot water faucet.
Instructor: So, first you put on plastic gloves. Let's write this. First you put on plastic gloves. Then you wet the green pad. Then you put "Softscrub" on the green pad. Turn on the hot water faucet. What happens next?
First trainee: You scrub the tub, then rinse it with water.
Instructor: OK (writing on the white board). You scrub the tub, then you rinse the tub with water. Do you do anything else?
Fourth trainee: Yes. You have to dry the tub.
First trainee: You dry the tub with a hand towel, then put a bathmat on the tub.
Eventually, after many interjections and probing by the instructor, a
procedure for cleaning the tub was obtained. This was written on the board,
and trainees took turns reading through the list with the teacher (and other
trainees), correcting those who had difficulty pronouncing the words. The sole
Tibetan student sometimes answered questions in Hindi, causing others to ask
her to repeat the word and explain its meaning in English. The others seemed
interested in her language and made efforts to teach her Spanish words. This
side exchange became a part of the lessons, though the teacher was not involved
in it. Many times there was some cooperative learning, with less proficient
trainees asking others the translation of a word from Spanish into
English.
During the fifth part of the lesson, with the trainer's assistance, the
trainees each drew a labeled diagram representing a vertical section of the
hotel building. She then asked them to point to the locations of various
places such as the Plaza Level or Ballroom. When they were fairly confident
about these locations, the instructor took up the role of a guest asking
directions. For example:
Instructor: Excuse me, where can I get a hair cut?
First trainee: Go down to the Plaza level. Walk through the Green Tunnel to the other wing of the hotel. There you will find the Business Center. There is a barber there.
Instructor: Where can I find a cash machine?
Second trainee: Go down to the Concourse level. You will find a cash machine near the elevator.
The role-play ensured that each trainee got an opportunity to practice her
skills and improve her knowledge of the geography of the hotel. Many needed
guidance as they attempted to give directions. Some of the directions were
quite complex. The more complex they were, the less fluent the trainees'
responses became as they paused to picture the directions or find the right
words and phrases. It was apparent that many of them were pleased by this new
skill they were acquiring. The last few minutes of the lesson were spent in
review.
In another lesson, the trainer presented picture stories and had the trainees
explain what was happening using complete sentences, or asked them to identify
a problem depicted in a picture. These illustrated problems included a leaking
toilet, a torn curtain, a burned-out ceiling light, and so forth. In all such
instances, the trainer taught pronunciation, meanings of words, vocabulary,
correct spelling, and correct ways of saying and reading things to ensure that
each trainee was understood by others and could read and understand
instructions, signs, and so on.
While instruction was delivered in English, to enhance understanding the
teacher sometimes allowed brief conversations in Spanish which all but one
participant spoke. The instructor was fluent in Spanish. In one unit in which
trainees were taught how different hangers matched with different garments, the
names of items of clothing were written below the drawings of hangers in both
languages. For example: blouses--las blusas; jackets--los
sacos; skirts--las faldas. The instructor said that this approach
is sometimes needed to help students make the transition between the two
languages.
The instructor had collected some job-specific material and scenarios from
supervisors, and these were used in language instruction. For example, the
following list of bathroom rules was used during one of the lessons on
reading:
At times content was introduced by trainees. For instance, students often identified words encountered in their work environment for which they did not know the meaning. The meanings of these words or phrases were identified in class (e.g., "The elevator is out of order."), and students practiced using them in sentences about job-related situations.
The state-mandated pre-/posttesting was performed using the Foreign Service
Institute (FSI) oral interview which, as explained previously, yields a global
measure of language proficiency by assessing five aspects of language: (1)
accent, (2) grammar, (3) vocabulary, (4) fluency, and (5) comprehension.
Beyond the FSI, informal assessments based on comprehension of job-related
materials were used throughout the program, especially at the end of each unit.
Units were organized around the objectives and competencies. The trainer gave
a mid-course test in which the trainees assessed themselves. This was intended
to enable them to identify their particular strengths and weaknesses.
The following "fill-in-the blanks" exercise titled, "How To Clean the
Bathtub," was administered following the language proficiency lesson:
How To Clean the Bathtub
1. Put on plastic ________________.
2. ____________ the green pad.
3. Put "Softscrub" on the green _____________.
4. Turn on the hot ______________ faucet.
5. Next, ______________ the tub.
6. Rinse the tub with ________________.
7. ________________ the tub with a hand towel.
8. Put ________________ on the tub.
This type of informal assessment of trainee language proficiency achievement was used regularly and was designed to suit job-related tasks. A more formal customized pre-and postassessment was used at the beginning and at the end of the course to measure learning based on the twelve competencies. The trainer explained that assessment in ESL was more difficult than, say, math, because of the problem of specifying the required standards in easily measurable terms. She said that language is principally a speech skill which is more subjective in nature than other basic skills with which WEC deals. Other issues about measurement of learning are brought out in the following comments from interviews with the instructor:
Researcher: How do you assess how much learning has occurred during the program?
Instructor/Coordinator: We prefer to use customized tests for our own purposes, though state and federal funding mandate the use of standardized tests. Customized tests are based on company materials. It is difficult to get the grade level for customized tests. The state has its recommended tests for math, reading, and so on. I like to give a midterm test which I may or may not correct. It is intended for self-assessment of trainees. I feel that pre-/posttests encourage teaching to the test. What if needs change? I like flexibility.
All of the participating trainees were immigrants. The class was made up of eight Mexican women and one Tibetan woman. All except two were married. They had received very limited education in their native countries, usually up to the level of lower elementary school (third to sixth grade); therefore, in most cases, they could not write well even in their native languages. One of the participants, despite having been in the United States for twenty-five years, spoke very little English. Spanish speakers in this city were served by a Spanish cable channel and a Spanish FM radio station. As the instructor explained:
There is a self-contained Spanish community in ______ [name of city]. They can go literally for days without hearing a word of English. I only hope they have English speaking neighbors. I like mixing people up and getting them to interact.
Since the Mexican women lived in a Spanish neighborhood, they could literally
function without hearing a word of English. This meant that they needed
English only at the workplace. However, some of the women reported language
problems at their children's school and at the stores.
Three of the participants dropped out of the class for reasons that we were
not able to determine. Usually, two to three trainees were missing from each
class session, mainly because work was not offered on that day due to few
guests. When they were not on duty, some did not attend the classes; others,
however, attended even on their days off. Hence, attendance seemed to be tied
to the volume of work at the hotel. It was difficult in these circumstances to
believe that the training was viewed as important by management.
The following two situations were recounted by the instructor about some of the difficulties that were a direct consequence of the hotel policies:
Incident one: The women come in or go out through the rear entrances. They are not allowed to move to certain areas. As a result, when guests ask for directions the employees will often reply, "Don't know," because they do not know the geography of the hotel well. One of the first things we did with the group is take a tour of the hotel. The management were amazed that the housekeepers knew so little about some parts of the hotel.
Incident two: There was an incident that really upset the women. One day when I came in they were all crying. One of the ladies' husband had been involved in an accident when lighting a stove. The stove exploded, seriously burning both husband and son. The husband survived for three hours, but the boy died on the way to [the] hospital. A message was delivered to the hotel about the accident, but the housekeeper concerned did not get the message until the end of her shift. By then it was too late; the husband had passed away. The women were very upset about it, saying that their coworker would have seen her husband alive if only the message had been delivered immediately.
The latter incident brought out some of the inequities that the housekeepers experienced at the job. It emerged that some of these situations were a result of the relatively unassertive nature of the women. The instructor reported that she took this opportunity to motivate them to aspire to better jobs and to learn English as a way to move ahead. A majority had not considered that possibility, which may explain why some of them had not been motivated to learn English.
An important support service provided by WEC was to link trainees with neighborhood adult education providers for any additional basic skills training that they desired outside of the planned curriculum. This was done by providing the trainees with information about neighborhood training services, and providing encouragement to give trainees the courage to walk into these places to sign up for courses.
Program evaluation took the following four forms: (1) participant reaction, (2) participant learning, (3) transfer to the job, and (4) personal use. We report on each in turn.
WEC used reaction questionnaires that were completed by the trainees at the end of the course. They were, however, considering the use of alternative means, such as focus groups, to overcome what they called the "glowing rating" syndrome whereby trainees were found to be reluctant to criticize a course or an instructor because they felt that it would reflect negatively on them or their company. As a result, employee responses to the reaction questionnaire were not very useful to the instructor. It was the view of the instructor that in the minds of the trainees, the instructor was always right.
The state requires that a posttest be done, using one of the state recommended standard tests, but the workplace education provider preferred to use customized tests to assess the trainees' strengths and weaknesses with respect to the desired competencies. This testing was based on job-related materials and was not easy to relate to grade levels. Learning was measured principally by customized testing. The instructor did not favor pre-and posttesting because she felt that it encouraged instructors to teach for the test because good test results would reflect favorably on the instructor. In addition to testing at the end of the course, the instructor used a midterm test which was often graded by the trainees themselves and was principally designed to indicate the amount of progress made by trainees without being intimidating.
Supervisors were asked to complete evaluation forms as a means to assess the transfer of competencies to the job by judging the change in employee performance with respect to the relevant competencies. Some of the changes noted were not directly related to these competencies. For example, the supervisors (anecdotally) reported a general improvement in job performance which the instructor thought resulted from increased motivation and self-esteem as well as a new determination. Class discussions about promotion and the need to improve one's job position came up when referring to general life and job-related problems. The instructor encouraged the trainees to talk about their life outside the hotel as a way to motivate the learners to put more effort into improving their English skills.
Unknown to the instructor, two of the women were attending additional English classes in their own private time. It amused the remaining women when they noticed that these two were also the only single women in the class. According to the rest of the group, they (single women) had the time because they did not have family commitments.
The hospital services case showed WEC as being in the role of provider of ESL training, working with Spanish-speaking adult students. As Carnevale et al. (1988) note, immigrants constitute one segment of the population that is deficient in basic skills. They also constitute one of the faster growing segments of the American workforce. WEC was, therefore, at the cutting edge of human resource development in the new economy. By showing capability in working with such a population, WEC was illustrating expertise beyond what can normally be expected of mainstream vocational institutions. To claim comparative advantage in the workplace literacy enterprise, these institutions will have to become versed in serving new clientele, many of whom will be non-English speaking.
This case is a description of the workplace literacy activities of the Twin
Cities Opportunities Industrialization Center (TCOIC) (actual name), an
alternative vocational institution, incorporated in 1966 for the specific
purpose of providing job training for the disadvantaged. TCOIC is an affiliate
of OIC America (referred to as OIC), a community-based organization. It is
located on the periphery of the city of Minneapolis, adjoining public housing
projects, a location that in itself bears testimony to its principles.
According to its president, TCOIC was initiated by the local religions
representing the African-American community, with oversight by the National
Council of Churches. The churches came together "with citizens from all walks
of life." In keeping with the mission of the parent body, TCOIC set forth, in
the words of its president, to "train and retrain poor people for jobs that
existed and were futuristic in terms of their longevity. Jobs that were going
to last." The approach was to be three-pronged: to train students
"academically, psychologically, and technically." This was especially
important, because the clientele was to be nontraditional and, for the most
part, at-risk. As the president of TCOIC explains, the clientele was to be the
economically disadvantaged, whether on educational, ethnic, social, or racial
grounds. Corporate partners were sought out from the start and have been an
important mainstay of the institution. TCOIC has an annual operating budget of
$1.2 million. Of this, corporate sponsors provide $200,000 through donations.
Corporations also provide in-kind contributions in such forms as computers and
computer peripherals. Throughout its existence, TCOIC has graduated some
20,000 students.
Though it came into existence when the cries regarding the problem of
workplace literacy were not as plaintive, TCOIC, because of its basic design,
has over the years accumulated much experience in workplace basics programming
for a clientele among whom, by the weight of the literature, can be found the
quintessentially workplace-illiterate (e.g., welfare recipients, those in
trouble with the law, the unemployed, and immigrants). We were attracted to
this institution because it seemed to be doing naturally what vocational
institutions in the mainstream now had to learn to do--that is, provide basic
skills together with technical skills to diverse, marginalized populations.
This report provides an in-depth look at how this institution addresses the
complex problem of preparing marginal populations for today's workplace. We
examine, among other things, its mission, clientele, and processes from
perspectives that include management, administrative and instructional staff,
and students.
The original concept of OIC was grounded in African-American self-help, though initiatives were to be open to all. Excerpts from Sullivan's Build Brother Build (1969), the document that set forth the OIC concept, reveals some of the original thinking:
It was going to be necessary to develop a whole new system of prevocational training--a new composite of teaching and social learning techniques arranged into a curriculum. We were going to have to curriculumize (sic) mental initiative by creating a program like nothing that had ever been done before. We would have to prove the years of educational and environmental inadequacies and deficiencies could be overcome in the briefest span of time. The challenge really was to prove that we could make a man or woman feel born anew--almost overnight. (p. 99)
Continuing, Sullivan explains the underlying thinking--the idea of OIC as a training institution:
The mechanical formula for success is simple enough. Get a man, put him in the feeder, build his ambition, help his attitude, feed him into an OIC skill center, give him a skill, build his self-respect, find him a job, and give him post-training if he wants it--then watch him rise. (p. 99)
As to the nature of the feeder, Sullivan explained:
Essentially, the feeder provides a trainee with learning tools that include reading, writing, and arithmetic--but we never called it reading, writing, and arithmetic. People don't want others to know that they want to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic, so the courses are in communication skills and computational arts. Those words describe what we really want to do. (p. 101)
It is evident here that this organization was somewhat ahead of its time, targeting a deprived group, and recognizing the link between literacy, vocationalism, and jobs. This fundamental thrust continues to drive TCOIC, whose mission is set forth in its course catalog for 1993-1995 as follows:
TCOIC's mission is to train and retrain people in preparation for employment and employment advancement with special emphasis on those persons who are not or will not be served by other training institutions ...
TCOIC operates on the whole person concept of service. It is not enough to teach vocational, related education and academic skills. The personal attitude, family, and societal barriers to an individual's success must be addressed to further heighten the learning experience and the capacity for an individual to get and keep a job. (Course catalog, 1993-1995, p. 5)
TCOIC is run by a thirty-member volunteer board, about three-fourths of whom are corporate representatives. Many of the major corporations in the state (including the 3M Company, Cargill, and Dayton Hudson) are represented on the board. The remainder includes community members and a student representative. The president reports to this board. The staff includes a vice-president who has responsibility for day to day operations and three supervisors who are responsible respectively for (1) outreach and admissions; (2) supportive services, namely counseling and job placement; and (3) vocational programs, including supervision of all instructional staff.
As explained by the vice-president of operations, TCOIC has five "primary
sources" of funding: (1) JTPA funds, accessed through placement contracts with
Minneapolis--TCOIC must place at least 81 people in unsubsidized jobs, in which
they must remain employed for a minimum of 183 days (or six months) to meet the
performance specifications of the contract (an additional $22,000 per year is
available if they overperform the contract); (2) federal grants-in-aid in the
form of Pell funds and similar funds available to citizens through the
Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) (if students qualify for
either of these types of assistance, it is used to pay their tuition); (3)
monies from the OIC State Council, described as "an organization funded by the
state legislature to provide technical expertise and money to OICs located in
the state;" (4) lease income, through rental of building space in the TCOIC
complex to nonprofit agencies, most notably the Minneapolis Public School
system (which conducts ABE and GED classes on the compound and which provides
basic skills teachers); and (5) contributions from the private sector
(comprising about one-quarter of operating costs).
In addition to these sources of funding, TCOIC actively seeks out in-kind
contributions from corporations. Exemplifying this is their relationship with
IBM, which has supplied two basic skills labs--a Principles of Alphabet
Literacy System (PALS) lab, for the teaching of basic literacy skills up to the
fourth grade, and an adult basic skills Relevant Education for Adult Learners
(REAL) lab, which continues literacy training from the fourth to the ninth
grade, leading to the GED. These labs are used to provide prevocational
training.
TCOIC was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools as a "special options" vocational school in 1984. It offers three basic kinds of vocational programs: (1) one-semester courses (sixteen weeks) in areas such as building maintenance, general clerical, and hospitality training; (2) two-semester programs for occupations such as accounting clerk, bank career training, and microcomputer applications; and (3) three-semester programs in areas such as executive word processing secretary and microcomputer support personnel.
The president of TCOIC points out that the program has been responsive to change. He noted the following:
In recent years, as the labor market has changed through the evolution of technology and the advancement of robotics and other technical changes within the world of work, TCOIC changed its program offerings to accommodate those industrial changes. That kind of change continues today. We continue to change to meet the present and future labor market demands as we look at which occupations to train in. But one of the things that has been consistent is our belief that good psychological development, good attitudes, [and] good understanding of the world of work is essential to any kind of technical and academic training.
To operationalize its basic philosophy, TCOIC operates on a continuous admissions basis, a new group of a dozen or so students being admitted every two weeks. All programs are self-paced. As its course catalog points out:
The Twin Cities OIC recognizes that every adult does not learn at the same pace. Therefore, our curriculum is designed with the individual learner in mind. All courses at the Twin Cities OIC are competency based. While all programs have specific course requirements, students progress through their program at their own pace. (Course catalog, p. 5)
This open enrollment, multiple-entry policy incorporates the feature that a student can stop at any time and return at a later date without having to go over ground already covered. This flexibility synchronizes with the policy that students who find a job in the middle of their training may leave a program without loss of credit. The following exchange with the vice-president of OIC provides clarification:
Researcher: What percent of students graduate, roughly?
Vice-President: We place about 80% of the students who graduate from our programs. However, our graduation completion rate generally falls in the 65% range. The reason for that is that many of our students obtain employment before completing the program, you see. So, they do not complete.
Researcher: And that's OK with you?
Vice-President: That's OK with me because the bottom line of our operation is employment, you see. That's why we're here.
Researcher: And they can come back?
Vice-President: They can come back and if they stay on the job, say an individual's gone a year for two-thirds of the time required to complete a course ... if they stay on the job for the 183 days or six months, we award them a completion certificate.
(The reference to 183 days or six months reflects the time frame for successful performance of a JTPA placement contract.)
Another professional reflected upon the open policy as follows:
Sometimes that very openness causes us some problems that we would rather not have.... But it's a situation where that gives the student the flexibility where they can start, stop, start, stop, without having to worry about the fact that I'm stopping in the middle of something and when I come back I'm gonna have to go back five steps because of the fact that I stopped in the middle of this particular step.
This openness reflects an understanding of and sensitivity toward the clientele.
TCOIC's student body reflects the basic OIC mission, which is to train and
retrain those citizens who, for a multiplicity of reasons (including low SES,
ethnicity, race, and low levels of education) do not find traditional
vocational institutions in the state to be a good fit. Indeed, the clientele
epitomizes all of the classes of members of the workforce known to be lacking
in the basic employability skills that employers want (e.g., Carnevale et al.,
1988, p. 6). The 1991 annual report for TCOIC reveals that about three-fourths
of the clientele were African American and about 15% white, with the remainder
divided somewhat evenly between Asian American, Native American, Latino, and
Hispanic. Slightly more than one-half of the cohort tends to be unemployed. A
further 40% or so are on welfare. Regarding educational level, about one-third
are high-school dropouts. A majority (more than 80%) are between the ages of
twenty-two and forty-four.
Included among the clientele are many who have had brushes with the law.
Indeed, TCOIC has an ongoing program in one of the prisons in the state.
Prisoners are taught job-seeking and job-keeping skills and are encouraged to
contact TCOIC upon release. Many do, seeking training and job placement.
The following exchange captures the philosophy with respect to the clientele:
Researcher: Who are your students, and who do you try to attract ... ?
Administrator: We're basically looking at economically disadvantaged students.... The ideal student that we would be looking at is a student who has been on some form of assistance (such as AFDC, general assistance, social security) and is presently not in the workforce or has never been in the workforce, with the idea of giving them some basic skills ... to get them back in the workforce.... It's basically anybody that needs some training to get back into the workforce that cannot attack it from a traditional standpoint.
The following excerpt from the conversation with the president also captures the attitude toward the clientele:
Researcher: Can you talk about the clientele that you've attracted over the years and just briefly the makeup of that clientele and why it is that OIC seems to be particularly attractive to the clientele.
President: The basic characteristic, the most common characteristic of our clientele is they're all economically disadvantaged. They're all poor. They have other disadvantages also: educational, social ... I think ... the people that come here come basically because they can't afford to go to traditional institutions, or they have given up. They don't have faith in the traditional institution. And that is faith in terms of the traditional institution understanding, having the kind of patience they need, tolerance I should say, that these people need in terms of having enough time to do the work, having an instructor that will go over a particular thing over and over again. Not to say that this is the tenth time I'm gonna tell ya ... say well, if you don't get it the tenth time you'll get it the twentieth time. But we're going to keep after it till you get it, OK? We're gonna hang with them. That is a characteristic, I think, that sets us apart. We give them time to learn, to understand, where other traditional institutions are more lock-stepped, as we call it ...
The other thing about our clientele is a kind of a love association in this organization. Our clients know that we care about them. They are absolutely sure of that. Because we do a lot of things to demonstrate that to them. And when that compassion is there for an individual, you generate a greater possibility of success ...
To keep in touch with the many communities represented among its clientele, TCOIC has ties with grassroots community organizations. Many of the staff members at the institution reflect the diversity of the clientele. Indeed, a translation service is included among the services.
When a student first enrolls at TCOIC, he or she must take the ABLE
level-three test. The test is administered either at TCOIC or through the
Minneapolis Public Schools. There are four parts to the test: (1) reading
comprehension (which is weighed separately), (2) vocabulary, (3) number
operation, and (4) problem solving (which are weighed together as a group).
Asked why reading comprehension is set apart, one administrator explained that
the TCOIC program is "reading intensive." Since the program is competency-
based, reading is a big part of it.
If a student's test results place him or her below the seventh grade level in
either of these two parts of the test, then remediation is prescribed to help
that student upgrade his or her skills. It is here that the prevocational
education offered in the PALS and REAL labs comes into play. Both labs are run
by the Minneapolis Public Schools, who independently have their own clients on
the spot, but also cater to OIC clients. Students who test at the fifth grade
or below are referred to the PALS lab. If they test at the seventh grade
level, they are given "split time"--that is, they are allowed to pursue a
vocational area (e.g., they could work on typing skills), even while pursuing a
remedial course in the anticipation of attaining the ninth grade level. It was
explained that this opportunity serves as a hook--an enticement that helps to
minimize the frustration that students feel having to pursue prevocational
studies. Those who test at the ninth grade level get into full-time vocational
programs.
The question then arose as to the mismatch between what a student intended to pursue at TCOIC and what the test scores might indicate.
Researcher: But there are some people who want to do something for which they are not suited ... ?
Counselor: Right, then they probably would have had to have taken the ABLE test ... and at that point we look at the ABLE scores, we can say to the [student], "Your ABLE scores indicate that you are at the fourth-grade or at a fifth-grade level. I have to recommend that you not go into the microcomputer application. It's a lot of reading comprehension. You're not going to get a lot of help from the instructor. He's going to give you this information and you're expected to sort it out. If you can, in fact, improve your reading comprehension skills by going back to the REAL lab and then maybe we retest and you've improved those skills and they're up to at least seventh or eighth grade (because all materials are supposed to be written at a seventh grade level which I think is a state law), if you can prove then that you're up to a seventh grade level, maybe we can take a look at you going into microcomputer class."
Note: About seven in ten students will test at the ninth grade level; two in ten will be at the seventh; and one in ten below the seventh.
Students who test below the seventh grade level are referred to the public
schools, who are on-site. The public schools, as indicated above, lease space
in the building and run their own program, sharing facilities. They staff the
PALS and REAL labs (see pp. 130-132). When students are referred to them, they
become public school students. The public schools receive income for their
services.
The question, then, is whether this arrangement for dealing with literacy
works. Do students in fact raise their grade level in reading comprehension
from the seventh to the ninth grade? Do any make the leap from the fifth to
the ninth? In a good discussion of this issue, Mikulecky et al. (1992) make it
clear that literacy gains do not come quickly. They report that the most
effective workplace literacy programs require fifty to seventy hours for one
grade level gain. They seem to suggest also that for maximum gain, the reading
materials must be work related. Informal conversations we held with Mikulecky
(at a literacy conference held in St. Paul) brought out these same
sentiments.
As a preamble, it should be stated that instruction in the REAL lab is not
done in a functional context. Canned computerized programs are used. But
there remains the lure of completing this prevocational program and enrolling
in a vocational program.
The following conversations about grade level improvement are instructive. Two views are detailed. First, an administrator is asked about remediation; then a counselor is asked about grade level gain.
Researcher: Now, does that happen? Do people actually improve a grade level here?
Administrator: They do. The problem that we have is because of the clientele we're working with. It's not an easy process to go from, especially a very low grade level to a seventh- or ninth-grade level.... It doesn't happen overnight to be very honest with you [emphasis added]. The folks that we have quite often get frustrated and then we lose a large number, unfortunately.... That does not create a great feeder program for us.
What we're looking at is, hopefully, we can help them a little bit this time..., and then they may quit and six months later they may come back.
This explanation seemed plausible, and is consistent with the literature as cited above. On this same theme, the counselor told a success story:
Researcher: That seems hard ... to raise a grade level in reading?
Counselor: No, it can be done. I've got people who came to me with a fourth grade education and who had completed their GED and did it in a year's time.
Researcher: In about a year or so? ... In about a year's time?
Counselor: In a year's time she went from fourth grade to completing her GED. It can be done. She was here every day, OK! She was absent only when her children were ill. So she was rarely absent. You have to come. OK. And you have to be diligent about what you are doing. You can't come and go sit in a cafeteria and smoke cigarettes for two hours. She really wanted to get this done. She came with a fourth grade level; her sister came with an eighth grade level. She finished her fourth grade level before her sister finished her eighth grade level ... and got her GED.
Researcher: ... Some people were saying that ... that can't be done. You can't raise a reading level. It takes nine months just to raise one grade level.
Counselor: That depends on how bad they want to do it.
Researcher: So that's a factor then ... motivation. If somebody really wants to do it, you're saying ...
Counselor: If somebody wants to do it, they can do it.
What the counselor had to say here seemed plausible too. One year of constant study could well lead to gain of the order described, if only because of the supportive climate that OIC presents, and the lure of enrollment in a vocational course that can lead to a job.
As indicated above, the PALS lab is primarily for prospective students who
test below the fifth grade in reading. Conversations with one of the PALS lab
instructors revealed that the lab primarily attracts new immigrants, mostly
Asian Americans, who can read and write, but who use the lab to work on their
spoken language until they can "communicate in American society." The approach
is to allow such students to "feel free to write the way they speak and in the
course of them expressing themselves uninhibitedly without worrying about
spelling. We can bridge that and talk about what they bring from their
country...." When they are able to become conscious of differences in the
linguistic patterns between their native language and English, they can become
editors of their English. According to the PALS lab instructor, they can "make
a conscious choice to adjust."
For students who are trying to get to the fifth grade level of
reading, according to the PALS lab instructor, the focus is to help students to
become competent enough to "write as well as they speak ... and also to get a
sense of confidence in communication skills. And certainly once they can read
and write anything they want to ... they can make those connections in the work
setting." Thus, reading material could be the newspaper, literature--anything
of interest to students. Students can write their own stories, then have them
converted to standard English. We saw many samples of such stories on display.
Many were personal, set in the context of family.
Continuing, the PALS lab instructor explained that the intent is to "help students not be afraid of the written word." The approach is general, not functional, literacy. The instructor reiterated, "The student comes away comfortable using writing for anything they can say; comfortable in learning new vocabulary; comfortable in not knowing everything, and knowing how to learn, how to approach something that they do not know." The instructor gave the following example from the class as illustration:
We were reading from Robert Fulton's book, Everything I Ever Really Needed To Know .... This piece was about Mother Theresa ... really not easy, certainly not fifth grade, maybe about sixth-grade level reading, but we're reading it, and we're tackling it, and the students, they're going at it slowly. If I were to read something about engineering, I would go very slowly ... and even then I may not have the prior knowledge ... or the background to understand it.
The message was that it was acceptable to go slowly when one was in an unfamiliar conceptual terrain. We then raised the issue of functional context directly:
Researcher (paraphrased): In the literature on workplace literacy there is the idea of functional context. I think it means in terms of the workplace that if you are a carpenter ... why not talk about hammers and boards and the rest of it that's contextually relevant ...
PALS Instructor: If I were teaching at a particular workplace, that's exactly how I would do it in the context of what the student, the worker needs to know [to perform] the job.
She pointed out though that the skills one needs to learn specific vocabulary such as figuring out how a word sounds are the same skills one needs to read a newspaper. The workplace provides a good opportunity to teach literacy, but the aim must be generalization, as the instructor continues:
I don't know that everybody would agree, but I think [we're] talking about more than just competence in the workplace; [we're] talking about citizenship, we're talking about community, we're talking about parenting, raising a family, talking about attitudes toward self ... self-esteem.
The instructor opined that literacy pedagogy should "validate the life
experiences and the strengths that one brings to this endeavor ... whether they
came from the top of education ... whether they are not up-to-par, whether
they fell through the cracks."
These humanistic sentiments are in keeping with the ideas set forth by
Sarmiento and Kay (1990) and by Gowen (1992). They tend to be the literacy
philosophy one sees at TCOIC.
The REAL lab deals with basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics between the fifth and seventh grade, leading to the GED. The instructor explains that the math starts with counting and addition. The lessons are canned, but the instructor is on hand for consultation. As with the PALS lab, it tends to attract ESL students for the most part.
The curriculum of TCOIC issues from the mission statement. As indicated earlier, it looks at "the whole person." As such, it has to be observed in action to be fully comprehended. Earlier, it was pointed out that the program is multileveled--a PALS lab for those deemed to be functionally illiterate, a REAL lab that teaches adult basic skills, and a vocational program that teaches technical job skills. The PALS and REAL labs focus on literacy explicitly, but workplace literacy skills are evident throughout, as will be explained below.
Since TCOIC is competency-based, an underlying thread in the curriculum is reading. As indicated above, this was a reason for initial diagnostic testing and for setting the ninth grade as the level for full fledged acceptance into vocational programs. The following excerpt from conversation with one of the TCOIC supervisors explains:
Most jobs nowadays they require ... they actually think that you're gonna learn it by yourself. And that's kind of the way we're set up ... is we give you information ... self-paced booklet kind of form that has emphasis done by the instructors and lecturers sometime. But it's primarily the students. They read the book; they follow the instructions in the book.
Except for hospitality training, all programs at TCOIC include a basic keyboarding course. This emphasizes the value placed upon this skill. Those in the hospitality program do have the opportunity to gain keyboarding skills in the literacy labs.
All students at TCOIC must take two credits of Comprehensive Opportunity for Promoting Employment (COPE). This course is offered during the first two weeks of training. Students enter in cohorts of about twelve, and COPE allows them the opportunity to bond--to form a support group. The intent of COPE was explained to us as follows:
Researcher: What is COPE? What does COPE do? What do you try to do in the COPE program?
Instructor: Our goal is when a person leaves COPE, they'll be ready for any department in the workforce. What does it do? We try to help motivate, try to give a person self-esteem, try to enhance their listening skills in case they have something hidden like anger, we try to bring that to the surface so they can deal with it. We deal with fear, a lot of feelings, a lot of personal things. They cannot succeed if they have a lot of skeletons in their closet ... a lot of ghosts hanging around, and so we try to get them to surface those ghosts and deal with them so that they won't use that as a barrier for failing ...
Researcher: And you do not want them to fail at OIC?
Instructor: Or anywhere. Not just OIC because once they leave OIC, we want them to succeed in the workplace, because when they look good, we look good.
We probed further about the philosophy of COPE:
Researcher: Now why is it so important with people who come to OIC to be focusing on that whole issue of not feeling?... Is there something about the clientele here that you think makes it important that you have that kind of emphasis so early in the program?
Instructor: I think a lot of the people we get are not reinforced, maybe in their home.... Some of them have not been reinforced or validated in the community, and so when they do something of accomplishment, even when they give a speech, we give them what we call "strokes," and we applaud them.... A lot of them come from negative environments and we try to give them a positive setting and let them know that there's another side.
Researcher: So right off the bat, you're trying to say to these people that here is a welcoming place? What are you trying to say to them?
Instructor: Well, most of the schools you go to, you go in there and you don't know anyone. We want to give them a support group.... If one of the people is missing, someone in their support group is going to call them and say, "Hey, where are you? We miss you."
Researcher: So ... now there's a reason it comes so early in the program and not later?
Instructor: Um-hmm. Because we want them to get through school, and many people have not been to school for maybe ten, fifteen, twenty years. And so to get them acclimated to the school setting again, we have COPE. This is like their "dressing up" place. You get used to doing homework; you get used to speaking in front of an audience. You get used to interacting with people of diverse backgrounds.... So after they succeed these two weeks, it's not hard for them to do it later on.
As the conversation continued, it became clear that the COPE program bore many of the features that the literature tells us are constituents of workplace literacy, broadly conceived. The instructor explained that occasionally students drop out of COPE (meaning they have dropped out of TCOIC), even though they are only into the first two weeks of the program, such is the volatility of the clientele. She explained that this is preferred, rather than their waiting till later. They can, of course, return if they wish. The instructor spoke of an evaluation at the end of COPE, and we inquired as to its content and purpose. She explained:
It's an observation, but also you know whether they have a good attitude, whether they try, whether they use a lot of excuses, whether they're on time, whether they take a lot of days off, whether they're going to be a team player, whether they are going to come up to the dress code ...
As the conversation continued, we asked about this emphasis on attitude:
Researcher: So attitude, punctuality, and regularity ... being a team player and dressing ... and being able to blame yourself, if things aren't right?
Instructor: And being able to work with anyone, with any lifestyle, any cultural background, and religious background.
This instructor further explained that working with diversity was a major part of the TCOIC curriculum: "Diversity is the theme of our school, I mean, we are a very diverse school." From our observations based on months of traversing the corridors and classrooms of TCOIC, we concur that this is indeed a school of diverse cultures and peoples, more so than any other of the more traditional technical colleges in the state. This very nature of the school engenders outcomes that can be called workplace literacy.
At the end of their programs, all students must participate in COPE-Plus, following a curriculum that includes job-seeking and job-keeping skills. The course includes designing resumes, cover letters, follow-up letters, mock videotaped interviews, and so on. Employers are invited to come in to speak with students. Students go on field trips and get the opportunity to shadow workers. This capstone counterpart to the initial COPE-Plus is intended to round out the attitudinal part of the curriculum.
An important part of the curriculum--what one may call the "hidden" curriculum of the TCOIC--is "dressing for success." This somewhat unique aspect of TCOIC curriculum is evident as one walks the corridors and observes students as they pass by. Dressing for success is emphasized early in the COPE-Plus program. The vice-president of TCOIC explained the concept as follows:
Vice-President: We have a dress code for our students with which we try to encourage students to dress for success. Since most of the training that we have involves training for jobs in offices and so forth, we ask students to dress in a professional manner, meaning young ladies in more professional attire, no shorts, no halter tops. Males, we ask that they wear (not so much in the summertime) a shirt and tie along with a jacket for most of the year. We try to discourage students from wearing jeans and the more mod attire that you find people on the street wearing and so forth.
Researcher: Well, would you say that this is a part of your curriculum?
Vice-President: It is. It's stressed from day one that you dress for success, and we accept contributions from individuals and businesses, wherever, of clothing. We have what we call a clothing shop where students can go in and pick out whatever we have available to help them develop their own style.
The counselor speaks of an entity known as "The Clothing Connection" that for a charge of five dollars monthly allows a student to pick out one outfit per month. They can volunteer one hour in lieu of that money. This focus on clothing is reinforced when corporate visitors comment on the professionalism of students--something that apparently happens frequently.
The president of TCOIC explains that, over time, technology (robotics and so on) has forced changes in their offerings. The current emphasis is on jobs that will be around for the next ten years. These are jobs in microcomputing, accounting, secretarial skills, hospitality, and building maintenance. To stay in touch with the labor market, each course has a technical advisory committee.
The vice-president explains as follows:
Each course has a technical advisory committee.... Technical advisory committees are set up for every training area. They are staffed by board members and people from industry. It's their job to evaluate each course to determine what's being taught is relevant and to make certain as closely as possible that each course, the equipment, and the wherewithal to operate effectively. When we find a course is no longer ... well, when the job market will no longer support the course, we have the flexibility, unlike many of the other vocational schools that are part of the system, the state educational system, we can drop a course on a moment's notice. We don't have a bureaucracy that any other institutions have in terms of being able to change a training area or what have you. When new courses come along, there's a lot of research and development that goes into that course before it's ever started. We make certain that the job market is there, that all the other elements in terms of financing that course can be self-sustaining. So we have a number of courses on the drawing board now that we're considering, and that research and development is in process right now.
The president concurs. He too posits the role of advisory committees in the context of links with industry and the changing nature of the world of work. He explains as follows:
One of the big things about OIC is that we have this very strong tie with industry, and consequently, we have what is known as technical advisory committees, comprised of personnel directors from the various companies and people from research and development departments from all these companies.... These professionals sit on our technical advisory committee and advise us as to what is being researched and what is likely to be a product next year or in the near future. And we train to that product. We train people to service that product, to work on that particular assembly line, market that particular product ...
All of the technical courses of study include basic skills. Examination of
sample programs help illustrate this. A two-semester building maintenance
course appears to be designed for flexibility--a hallmark of workplace
literacy. The catalog promises a wide variety of employment opportunities such
as caretaking, commercial and industrial building maintenance, landscaping, and
maintenance specialties. This flexibility is evident in the curriculum, which
includes an array of basic skills courses plus a number of basic technical
courses. Thirteen of thirty-six credits are for coursework in English, and one
credit is in mathematics. Beyond this, there is opportunity for basic computer
competence. The course of study is as follows:
Courses (and credits):
To build flexibility into the course, a workplace literacy feature, the course of study presents conceptual courses across an array of technical specialties such as the following:
It also offers courses that transcend technical areas, such as
Other courses observed follow that basic format.
When one observes TCOIC classes in session, one will notice a lot of small-group activity--with students on task and instructors present. However, the instructors are not commanding the attention of the entire class. Instructors operate from the sidelines--but they remain accessible. The supervisor of instructors explains that some classes are more instructor-led than others. He gave a personal example:
My intro to DOS class is more instructor-led than any of the other classes that I have. And then on the support side ... support curriculum, my set-up and installation class is more instructor-led. Otherwise, I basically give them the text, and if you have any questions, if you have any problems, then we get together and go over. But they're just following the text, the examples, and then I give them exercises and quizzes and tests to see how they've picked that up.
In a similar vein, one administrator, cited earlier, indicated that the program is competency-based. Using a lecture style would not work because students are at different places in their competency level.
Researcher: It's hands on?
Administrator: Much more hands-on. It's sitting up on the computer, doing the work, with the instructor being basically in the class.... So if a student runs into a problem where they don't understand something, then it's strictly a one-on-one situation as opposed to being a classroom situation.
Competency-based instruction means that often students in the same class are more or less advanced than others. In one mathematics class we monitored, students clearly were at different places in their competency level. They came to the instructor individually as needed. There was no group recitation. The communications teacher pointed out with respect to her classes that "everybody is in a different place; they work at their own level and their own pace. So you don't have everybody in just one English. You've got various ... levels of English ... in the same class." This is the norm at TCOIC--an instructional approach found at only one of the mainstream technical colleges in the state.
As indicated above, the president of TCOIC stresses that the institution is prepared to go the long haul with students--that it is prepared to give them time. There is theoretical support for this policy, set forth by John Carrol (1963). Certainly, time is a major factor when addressing the problem of workplace literacy. As Mikulecky et al. (1992) point out, time is crucial if one wants to show grade level gain in reading or any other literacy skill. From an instructional standpoint, it can make all the difference for students who have not had histories of academic success, or who must try to negotiate a second language. This philosophy of giving time is exemplified in the following story told by the communications instructor, which explains the special problem of teaching oral and written communication skills to Asian immigrants:
I helped a girl yesterday.... This is after four o'clock. I had other things I needed to do, but she wanted some help and she was writing a letter to a friend back in Laos. She said, well, I would like for you to help me ... to see if I have it worded right and spelled ... right, and so I did. She did quite well. So she's practicing her English in sending a letter home to her country in English.
This story is in keeping with the value assigned to giving students time as they negotiate literacy.
We saw a mixture of functional context and general literacy at TCOIC. In a mathematics class we sat in on, the examples were from the business world--calculating sales and stock reports. But there were also many math exercises that presented general problems, not necessarily workplace-related, though practical. In the communications class, the instructor used workplace relevant examples but did not feel confined to them. She explains as follows:
We can't only deal with terms that will be found in the workplace. Spelling ... we might also deal with terms that sometimes people just take for granted ... even abbreviations. We see a lot of them.... We might take a list of abbreviations that people don't know about. For instance ... they see common stations on the television, this is CBS. Well, what does CBS stand for? Some people don't know that zip ... you know ... you put your zip code ... "Zone Improvement Plan." You might not read that in a book, but there's things out there you know, I'm trying to make them aware [that] ... words are around us all the time.... I try to make it relevant to everyday life, to the business world, to home life, school life. Language is rich.
This teacher was prepared to use newspapers, magazines, billboards, whatever,
to get the point of reading across--to foster literacy.
What's critical here, then, is not direct connection with work, but the
vocational hook. The fact that a reading lab is down the hall from a
computer applications lab or a building maintenance lab, and that one can go
from the one to the other, makes all the difference. A student may be pursuing
fifth grade math in the lab today, but the reward is enrollment in a computer
class that's clearly accessible, once remediation is complete. This vocational
hook may be acting as a sort of proxy for functional context.
As indicated, OIC is job-oriented. All of its efforts are focused on employer needs. Since much of its funding depends on placement, it spends more time on job placement issues than the traditional technical colleges in the state. As the vice-president of TCOIC notes, 80% of students are placed. We were interested in their interpretation of the skills employers want, how TCOIC comes to know about these on an ongoing basis, and how they respond to these needs in the curriculum. We spoke with the placement officer in an effort to gain insight here.
Researcher: What do employers say to you, what do they want, and how do you try to meet that?
Placement Officer: Basically what they look for is a person who is trainable, someone who is computer literate. Someone who has business-writing skills. Those are your basics, what they are looking for ....
Researcher: So you are saying that the employees do not only want this skill, whether it's typing or whatever, but they also want somebody who is trainable and computer literate and who has business-writing skills. Are they saying that?
Placement Officer: Yes, especially for this secretary part. If you are asked to write a letter or if you're asked to do some sort of correspondence, then they would have to, of course, have some sort of writing skills, and I get a lot of those jobs that come through here. Sometimes that's what stops a lot of people from getting jobs. You know, some of their writing skills and their communication skills also ... stops them from getting the job, from becoming marketable.
"Trainability," then, in the placement officer's estimate, was the value that employers emphasize. This called to attention the question of transfer--a hallmark of literacy. We probed along this line, as the following dialogue indicates:
Researcher: What does OIC have to do, I wonder, to make people know that, at least ... that employers want people that are trainable ....
Placement Officer: What that means is that in addition to you learning your basic skills here, that it may not necessarily be the same thing you learned on the job. So you'll have to be able to say if you can do ten-key, you can type. But Norwest wants somebody to be a proof operator, which is something totally different than what we have taught you here ... I mean, just different types of information that you have to put in, the speed, things like that. Well, it's not set up that way here ... but if you can type 91 strokes per minute ... and if you can type 35 words per minute (that's basically what they learn here) ... they'll take those two skills together and teach you to be a proof operator. So that's what I mean by being trainable on a position.
We were curious about how matches were made with employers. How did the placement officer decide which student would be suited to which employer who had made a request? When asked about this, the placement officer spoke of evaluating students based on informal conversations and observations over time. She spoke of looking at their records. When asked the question, "What do you look for?" the placement officer indicated the following:
Basically I look for attendance. I look for their skill level. I look for advancement, from the time they walked into the door until the time they kind of finish up. I look to see what their progress is ... to see how literate they are, you know.
I basically watch for that, and what I normally do is I talk with a student and I talk with him on a number of occasions before I decide which category I'm going to put him in. But I don't ever go by paper. I sometimes try to, you know, make sure I get to know the student well, find out what they're looking for, get to know a little bit about their home life, too ... and I usually try to listen for complainers, people who complain a lot. Those really aren't the people you want to refer for jobs. I mean, I will find you a job, but it may not be the job you want. And I'm real strict about that.
This placement officer spoke about the COPE-Plus program that comes at the end of programs. She was going to be the instructor, teaching job-seeking and job-keeping skills. The curriculum would entail the following:
Placement Officer: I'm going to be ... having a class that's every day, starting September ... an hour a day that will cover the résumé, the cover letter, the thank-you letter, the interviewing skills, job problems, I mean the whole nine yards. I mean professionalism. The things that you would encounter on a job.
We examined samples of job postings linked to recent requests made by employers to OIC, in order to grasp some of what the placement officer was observing. One job posting for a clerical/receptionist, a job that offered $6.00-$7.00 per hour, required the following:
Qualified candidates will have good communication skills, previous clerical and receptionist experience, accurate typing skills, and be attentive to detail. Prefer some knowledge of dBase.
Another request from the same employer, this time for a clerical/office assistant, required the following:
Qualified candidates will have previous clerical and receptionist experience and knowledge of WordPerfect 5.1, Lotus, and dBase programs on IBM compatibles.
A request from a second employer for a "Class B secretary" had the following "minimum requirements":
Ability and desire to use a microcomputer. Excellent written and oral communication skills. Well-organized and efficient. Accurate, with close attention to detail. Ability to work with minimum direction. Ability to work on more than one project at a time.
These few examples illustrated points the placement officer was trying to convey to us. These workers had to be computer literate. They had to know at least one application. They needed to be able to communicate orally and verbally, to pay attention to detail, to be autonomous. Clearly the literacy needs here were high. TCOIC understood the sector of the labor market in which they had specialized and appeared to have aligned their curricula with the skills that employers in that labor market segment wanted.
We sought to learn more about the TCOIC experience by listening to the voices of students. As indicated above, the student body is ethnically and racially diverse. We tried to speak with a cross section of students, mainly to hear their stories of what led them to OIC, what their goals were, and so on.
Mike is an African-American male. He reported that he came to TCOIC because
all the jobs I've had have been dead-end jobs, and I was ... going nowhere .... I wasn't getting nowhere. I was not climbing nowhere, you know, so I decided to come here ....
He explained that he was a high school graduate. The jobs he had since
graduating included sorting and delivering fabric, cleaning downtown offices,
and dishwashing. He enrolled at OIC, financed via a Pell Grant, passed the
ABLE test at the ninth grade level, and was accepted into the one-year
microcomputing program.
At the time of the interview, Mike indicated that his courseload included data
entry, WordPerfect, office procedures, math, English, and typing. He had been
in the program for five weeks. He had been through the COPE-Plus class and had
been assigned a counselor.
In the math class, Mike was studying decimals and percentages. He said that
although this was a refresher course for him, it was needed. He hoped he could
finish the course. From what he had been told, a recruiting employer would
visit TCOIC, and there was the likelihood that he would be hired. He said he
was hopeful about employment prospects and getting out of the cycle of dead-end
jobs.
Judging from his difficulty with standard English, Mike appeared to us to be
some distance from meeting the communications skill requirement of most
employers, especially in environments requiring computer expertise. But this
was early in the program. The TCOIC curriculum would present many
opportunities for him to practice and at least become aware of his deficiencies
in communication skills.
Harry was also an African-American male. He had a job driving for a courier company. He had received tickets for driving violations, and he had suffered an injury in an accident. Now that he wanted to reenter this former occupation, his telephone calls were not being returned. He decided to enroll in the building maintenance program at OIC because it was consistent with his prior training in carpentry. He had attended classes for six weeks. He tested well on the ABLE. Harry described a day in his life at the school. His first class was typing. His second hour was professional writing on the computer. His third hour was mathematics. After lunch, he again had mathematics, and the remaining time was devoted to building maintenance. Harry said he took typing to gain keyboard skills which he needs for working with computers. He explained his choice of building maintenance and his prospects as follows:
I like choosing a skill or job that I know will stay in existence forever or until my life span is over with, you know. So that's why I chose buildings ... people have to be housed.... So I chose Building and Maintenance as a means of going anywhere in the country, anytime, to get a job across the U.S.
This seemed to us to be remarkably astute labor market sense. He spoke of taking coursework in computers so that he could become multiskilled: "I might get tired of building and maintenance one day so by me being exposed to computers right now, I could be [a] computer programmer, processor, (whatever), maybe."
Lin was a Taiwanese national. She enrolled at TCOIC because she was having
difficulty finding a job. She surmised that this was because of her poor
facility with English. She had a close friend who had come to OIC and had
found a job. This was her hope. She came to OIC and was tested and performed
well. She was taking a course in accounting at OIC. She was simultaneously
taking an ESL course in one of the public schools in the evenings. Since she
had experience as a secretary in Taiwan, she had found a job as a bookkeeper
and was working at the time of the interview. She valued the experience, but
did not plan to keep the job very long. She was going to graduate in a month's
time but would be taking two extra computer classes. She planned to forego
trying to get a job in accounting for one year and, instead, to enroll at one
of the city's mainstream technical colleges.
She was of the view that OIC had provided her with valuable computer and
English skills, along with helped her break down the culturally imposed walls
that had inhibited her communication with others.
San was from Laos. He had heard about TCOIC through a friend. He tested in math and English and was pursuing a course in microcomputer applications at the time of the interview. He would graduate in two months but was planning to take another course. At the time of the interview, San had been working at a part-time job at a fast food restaurant. His job was to take orders on the telephone.
Gloria was from the Dominican Republic. She was brought to OIC by a relative. She tested in English and math, went through the COPE-Plus program, and then chose the general clerical option. English did not prove to be an impediment for her, since she had studied it for two years or so in her home country. At the time of her interview, she had been at TCOIC for less than a year. She planned, upon graduating, to get a data entry job at a bank. When asked what skills she would need in order to find such a job, she explained that she had "WordPerfect, data entry ... recordkeeping, graphics, English 1, Math 1, keyboarding ... and DOS." Gloria was seventeen.
When the activities of TCOIC are juxtaposed against hypotheses set forth in the conceptual framework of the study, which is to consider claims of a comparative advantage in the workplace literacy enterprise, the following appear to be the strengths of the institution:
Other factors which appear to situate this institution well within the context of the workplace literacy enterprise are its strong ties with the inner city community in which it resides and the human face that it shows to its clients.
We set out in this project to attempt to understand workplace literacy
programs better by examining five selected cases in detail. Our interest in
such programs sprung from the fact that they have become ubiquitous, a new
addition to the vocational education and training landscape. The view of them
as a key to improved economic competitiveness is evidenced by the strong
federal stake in their efficacy, operationalized in the form of the National
Workplace Literacy Program. As two of the cases we have discussed here have
shown, funding support for such programs has been forthcoming from the state
level.
For all their ubiquity, and the fact that they constitute a form of
vocationalism, the research into their operation is still fledgling. Our probe
was, therefore, designed to shed light on these five programs in a way that
would illuminate their premises and procedures and allow inferences to be drawn
about the limits of a role for conventional vocational institutions and how
such a role could affect vocational education policy and practice. We were
particularly interested in the question of whether vocational institutions can
claim comparative advantage in the workplace literacy enterprise. We seek in
this final section to reflect upon what the cases--taken individually and
collectively--have revealed. We also reflect generally upon the nature of
workplace literacy programs.
The hospital project in which Redwood Technical College had the role of
literacy provider enabled us to see a vocational institution assume such a role
under the idealized conditions of a federal grant. The intent of the grant was
that the approaches employed in the partnership would be of demonstration value
to other entities embarking upon workplace literacy projects. Of course,
Redwood's role would be especially instructive for other vocational
institutions.
This project illustrated that vocational institutions (such as Redwood) with
customized training services expertise and traditions can use these effectively
in fashioning workplace literacy curricula. Such institutions know how to
derive curricula from the workplace, and how to make workplace instruction
relevant. They understand workplace culture intimately, and can communicate
with employers about their needs and with workers about their jobs.
The project further revealed that beyond their known traditions and expertise,
these institutions have a subtler claim as workplace literacy providers, which
is that they may be preferred by adults (to providers such as high schools or
ABE programs) because their context is postsecondary education which does not
remind them of prior failure. Adult workers wish to be spared the stigma of
having to go back to regular school.
This case also allowed us to see a vocational institution collaborate with
unions. This is atypical, but it has become a needed competence for these
institutions as they strive to carve a niche in the workplace literacy
enterprise. Literacy is a controversial and political workplace issue. For a
worker to admit to basic skill deficiencies is to become vulnerable. Working
with unions is a way to minimize worker suspicion about the likely hidden
agendas behind such initiatives and to win their confidence and cooperation.
Redwood's ability to work collaboratively with union representatives and
unionized workers was one of the major accomplishments of the hospital
project--one which is of important demonstration value for other vocational
institutions.
While vocational institutions typically offer some workplace basics as
adjuncts to their technical courses (e.g., technical writing, welding math, and
business English), such offerings do not ordinarily include the teaching of
reading, except where institutions offer ABE classes. We saw in this case that
the approach to reading was tentative, characterized by an attempt to teach
generic reading strategies within the limiting confines of the functional
context paradigm. We also saw an instructional approach that featured the
teaching of strategies (e.g., picking up cues from surface features such as
bold type) intended to help workers understand the importance of text they
could not otherwise comprehend. Even if such strategies were to work, thereby
aiding workers to perform jobs, our concern was that they would leave the
underlying reading deficiency unattended.
It was our view that for a traditional vocational institution, the teaching of
reading might constitute a major limit on their capability to deliver workplace
literacy programs. Consistent with Perfetti (1989), we are of the view that
reading is a generalized ability--that is, one that can manifest itself
independent of specific domain knowledge. This basic skill, therefore,
requires foundational deductive treatment that needs to be in place long before
one reaches the age of entry into the workforce. Workplaces can provide a hook
for the acquisition of general reading competence, but it is not meaningful to
think of specific reading (e.g., "welding reading," "electronics reading") in
isolation. The teaching of reading requires specially trained staff, along
with a teaching culture that understands the nuances that attend its teaching.
Finding ways to acquire capability here would be a challenge for those
vocational institutions that are so inclined.
This case also featured a traditional vocational institution, North Oaks
Technical College. It revealed that for such institutions wishing to offer
workplace literacy programming, customized training services capability
combined with ABE experience enhances their potency as providers. As with
Redwood Technical College in the hospital project, North Oaks Technical College
also had a viable customized training services function augmented by distance
delivery capability. But, in addition, it also offered ABE courses as part of
its regular fare. We believe that this ABE capability gave the college an
important edge. Some staff were specially trained as ABE providers and,
through the "developmental studies" program of the college, were routinely
involved in providing remedial training in the three Rs to students in need.
This staff could use their ABE experience as a backdrop for evaluating the
skills of workers. Their expertise in teaching adults to read enabled them to
diagnose deficiencies. They could provide both generic reading and also
reading within a domain. But they understood that the latter was meaningless
without the former. Thus, they could tell whether the deficiency a worker
exhibited was foundational (e.g., deficiency in word attack) and not likely to
be remedied within the context of the typical (short) workplace literacy class.
They could so advise the worker and then offer remedial help on an
individualized basis, without the pressure of time, in the context of ABE
classes.
This case also provided a glimpse of the outlines of a model that would
confine the role of a technical college in on-site workplace literacy programs
to the literacy audit and to tutoring on an ad hoc basis. Curriculum
development and instruction (major aspects of the current offerings of
vocational institutions in workplace literacy programs) would be provided via
canned individualized multimedia computer programs, aided by an in-house
subject matter expert. Such a model, of course, is premised on the idea that,
for the most part, the basic skills needed for the workplace could be
decontextualized and packaged much like traditional school learning. Should
this premise prove to be of merit, the case for vocational institutions as
unique workplace literacy providers would have become that much more difficult
to argue or demonstrate.
Cases 3 and 4 introduced a private provider (the Workplace Education Center)
which delivered basic skills training to hourly-paid workers at a branch of a
large bank and at a popular chain of hotels. The basic approach to curriculum
and instruction utilized by this provider did not differ materially from that
utilized by the technical colleges in Cases 1 and 2. There was the literacy
audit, in which the provider worked collaboratively with the employer and
workers to decide on problems and priorities and to connect the curriculum with
actual workplace materials; then, the content was decontextualized to a form
that enabled instruction under school-like conditions. Included was the pre-
and posttesting of workers.
This provider had learned the technology of the literacy audit and had shown,
thereby, that traditional vocational institutions have no monopoly here. Thus,
where the Education and Development Department of Pinewood Technology was
experimenting with an approach that would limit the role of the vocational
partner to the literacy audit and tutoring, now this private provider was
illustrating that the literacy audit--a capability that is characteristic of
vocational institutions--was not the sole province of such institutions. These
institutions, thus, have to look deeper to find an explanation of their unique
claims and, perhaps more to the point, they have to illustrate that they are
better and more cost-effective than other providers in offering workplace
literacy commonplaces.
An interesting feature of this case was the demeanor of the provider toward
workers. We saw here a concern for worker autonomy (called "empowerment" by
WEC staff), expressed in terms of encouragement to seek out further educational
experiences that could lead to advancement in the job. There was empathy for
the worker. As we have pointed out in discussing the hospital case,
ideological stances of this order had been a source of tension in the workplace
literacy project described by Gowen (1992). Ideological stances, of course,
influence curriculum and instruction. If the goal is worker autonomy and
eventual progression up the occupational ladder, then the efficacy of the
functional context model is thereby called into question.
Traditionally, vocational education institutions have prepared workers to the
specifications of employers or jobs. They are driven by labor market
requirements. Their natural tendency, therefore, is to approach workplace
literacy from the employer's point of view. For them, the curriculum is a
technical matter, not the subject of ideological debate. Here we can
appreciate the private provider better, and we see another area that
constitutes a potential limit for vocational education institutions. Can they
come to view literacy in terms that transcend work--that is, from the point of
view of the worker?
In Case 4, WEC demonstrated capability to communicate with workers for whom
English was not their native language. Having instructors who could
communicate in Spanish, and who were also sympathetic to the peculiar
difficulties that lack of facility with English caused these workers, was a
clear asset for the provider--one which appeared to set them apart from other
providers, traditional vocational education institutions included. Here again,
there appeared to be a limit, or at least a challenge, besetting vocational
institutions which proposed to become involved in workplace literacy
programming and which claimed uniqueness and comparative advantage.
This case was an examination of the operations of the Twin Cities
Opportunities Industrialization Center (TCOIC), a community-based,
nontraditional vocational institution--an enterprise which we believe has much
to teach vocational policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels, and
also to traditional vocational institutions, regarding an approach to the
education and training of marginalized populations. TCOIC kept a close
connection between the technical and basic skills that employers wanted. But
perhaps what makes this institution unique among vocational institutions was
that it specializes in the very clientele who are deemed most
likely to be lacking basic skills in the workforce. That its operations are
located within the community it predominantly serves speaks to its
customer-orientation and its legitimacy. This orientation is further
illustrated by the one-stop shop approach that is built into the basic design
of the institution, a design that closely connects literacy with vocationalism,
featuring literacy testing services, translation services for immigrants,
public school classes for those seeking a high school diploma, literacy labs
for those with such deficiencies, vocational labs to provide technical skills,
and counseling and placement services. These services combine with multiple
entrance and exit points and self-pacing.
While we do not wish to draw blind inference from this single case, it may be
that one lesson it teaches is that a vocational school can be a powerful
purveyor of adult literacy, if it is prepared to be flexible in its approach to
programming and to forge ties with, or draw upon, the resources and expertise
that reside in the community, including agencies (e.g., public schools) that
specialize in complementary services (e.g., ABE and ESL programming). This
case also illustrates that within their local communities may lie solutions to
the basic skills difficulties of marginalized groups.
Taken together, the cases unearth some critical features which, if present, seemed to strengthen the case for a vocational institution claiming uniqueness or comparative advantage over other providers in the workplace literacy enterprise. Among these features were
Table 6 (Appendix C) provides a summary of the cases, with an emphasis upon key variables.
It was striking that, among the four workplaces we examined, whatever may
have been the stated problem--whether new legislation, new technology, a focus
on quality, a move toward multiskilling, or a desire to make workers more
promotable in a high-tech manufacturing company, among hospital food and
laundry workers, in a bank, or for immigrants who knew little English--the
solutions were remarkably similar--short courses in basic reading, math, and
written or oral communication. To be sure, problem solving, working with
others, and so on were implemented. But at the core, the solution to literacy
deficiencies was basically the three Rs.
This predictability--if this is the case elsewhere across the workplace
literacy enterprise--raises questions about the premises of that enterprise.
Not the least of these questions is whether the focus on workplaces is not
ill-considered, whether it does not obscure a larger, deeper problem--the
problem of adult illiteracy. Developed countries such as the United States
have traditionally been reluctant to concede to having an adult illiteracy
problem. Illiteracy has been viewed as a preserve of the Third World, where it
has been viewed as a barrier to full political expression and freedom. A
discussion of illiteracy in the developed world reduces the distance between
these worlds. In the United States, for example, a discussion of illiteracy
leads to consideration of its social correlates, leading to challenges of core
ideas such as that of equality of opportunity for all.
Considering the circumstances, it is appealing to particularize the problem of
illiteracy by framing it within the context of work. The frame is shifted from
the social and political to the economic. It is not so much that society and
schools have failed as it is that workplaces must now face new global economic
realities (e.g., Bhola, 1988; Jones, 1990; Limage, 1990). But if workplace
literacy emerges as essentially no different from school or fundamental
literacy (and our evidence does not suggest otherwise), then it may well be
that this enterprise toils in vain and is in need of reappraisal.
A reappraisal of the problem of workplace literacy, and the attendant
discourse, may begin with consideration of the definition of workplace
literacy. That the definition of workplace literacy is problematic follows
from the fact that the definition of literacy itself is problematic, as
literacy is a social construct (e.g., Graff, 1991; Scribner & Cole, 1981;
Venezky, Wagner, & Cilberti, 1990).
What really is workplace literacy? Issues here were examined earlier within
the context of our conceptual framework, when we pointed out that workers and
their representatives may have different conceptions of workplace literacy than
corporate managers. Some see the issue in Freirean terms, viewing workplace
literacy in terms of critical consciousness--of voice.
But the dominant conception of workplace literacy has been one that conceives
of jobs in functional, reductionist terms, subject to discrete analysis.
Functional context theory has been the dominant explanation of the nature of
jobs. This theory has driven the technology of workplace literacy, the
centerpiece of which is the literacy audit. The workplace literacy curriculum
emanates from the literacy audit.
We agree with Kalman and Fraser (1992) and Gowen (1992) that the assumptions
and premises here might be faulty. The literacy audit has much face validity
because it pays attention to actual workplace examples (e.g., forms, memos,
manuals, menus, notices, and math problems). But the tests used in these
audits (and in the four workplace-based projects we saw) to assess worker
deficiencies (e.g., the ABLE, TABE, or Foreign Service Institute interviews)
are standardized and are focused on generic and not workplace-specific
competencies. They are not tests of workplace literacy at all--except, of
course, that by workplace literacy is meant school or basic literacy. We see a
disconnection here between the problem, the diagnosis, and the remedy. Our
sense is that when such tests are used in the workplace, they are invalid if
the purpose is other than what they are designed to measure.
In the workplace-based cases we have examined, actual problems and examples
from the workplace did substantially inform the curriculum and the approach to
instruction. This workplace focus was good pedagogy. But the more practical
purpose was to narrow the scope of what was to be taught, a practical strategy
given that such programs always operate under rigid time constraints. For
example, if it were known that the worker had to read a particular menu, or
fill a particular form, or convert numeric dollar amounts to words, then those
particular skills were taught. But a worker who has difficulty reading a menu
would also have difficulty reading a story to her children. Thus, the focus on
workplace examples, while good pedagogy, was no guarantee that the underlying
problem would be resolved.
We saw no direct parallel between instruction that particular workers needed
and tasks they could not perform. The unit of analysis in workplace literacy
audits was the group rather than the individual. There was no connecting of
remedy to problem.
If, as is our view, workplaces merely help us to observe the manifestations of
basic literacy deficiencies in the workforce and in the adult population at
large (e.g., Kirsch, Jungeblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993), then to rely on
workplaces themselves to solve the problem might be misguided policy. The
problem might better (more accurately) be framed not in terms of workplace
literacy, but in terms of adult illiteracy (e.g., Benton & Noyelle, 1992).
Workplaces were not invented to purvey basic literacy. They cannot do so
efficiently. They were meant to use literacy to good effect to produce goods
and services. When called upon to address the problem of literacy, they resort
to the only mode they know--which is the training mode--where problems can be
addressed quickly, in a matter of days, and in ways that do not disrupt the
rhythm of production. But basic literacy demands more in terms of expertise,
strategy, and time. Vocational institutions may yet have a role to play here,
on the basis of their tradition of working with adult learners. TCOIC showed
such a tradition, as did North Oaks Technical College, with their ABE
capability.
The cases we have examined here prompt the view that in the extent that
workplace literacy programs hold to the basic technology of literacy audits
leading to decontextualized curricula and instruction under school-like
conditions, vocational institutions have no particular claim to that
enterprise. We have seen that even without the infrastructural support that a
vocational institution embodies, a private provider has been able to master
this technology and to offer itself as credible to companies, as well as state
and federal authorities. Furthermore, as computer-assisted literacy
instruction becomes more commonplace in companies, the importance of vocational
institutions in the workplace literacy enterprise, at least in on-site
programs, would seem to diminish. What these observations suggest is that
vocational institutions must find a rationale for a role that transcends the
basic workplace literacy technology, and they must illustrate that they are
more cost-effective than other providers in offering workplace literacy
programs.
What is the case, if any, for a unique role for vocational institutions in the
workplace literacy enterprise? We are of the opinion that there is such a case
to be made, premised on these institutions holding to their tradition of
teaching basic skills in close relationship to technical skills (e.g., welding
math and business English), whether under the conditions of customized
training, ABE, or in their regular programming. When these institutions hold
basic literacy and work in close proximity, they play to their strengths. They
must, therefore, not divorce workplace literacy training from technical skills
training. When they assume the role of basic skills provider outside of a
practical context, they forfeit those strengths and any claims to uniqueness or
comparative advantage. In order to be unique and cost-effective and to show
comparative advantage, they must accentuate their strengths, which feature
hands-on applied learning accompanied by considerable opportunity for
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Table 2
Sample Content Items Needed for Skills for Tomorrow Courses--
Hospital Project
| Course Title | Sample Materials Needed |
|---|---|
| Working with Others |
|
| Reading on the Job | Labels and Danger Signs:
|
Charts and Forms:
| |
Work Routines:
| |
| Measuring for Success | Metric:
|
Recipes:
| |
Temperature and Gauges:
| |
| Understanding Where You Work |
|
| Writing that Works |
|
| Getting Computer Comfortable |
|
Table 3
Results of Workplace Materials Audit--High-Tech Project
| Reading (Grade Levels) | Math | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Material Range | Appropriate Level | Material Range | Appropriate Level |
| Manager | 7-16 | 12 | Calculator, decimals, accounting, gallons per square foot, algebra, specific gravity, basic math, volume square footage | 10-PHS |
| Plant Engineering | 12-16 | 12 | Calculus, temperature, linear algebra scales | PHS |
| Administrative Support | 8-12 | 10 | Basic math graphs | 7-9 |
| Electrical | 9-16 | 13 | Formulas, linear algebra, basic math graphs | 9-PHS |
| Systems | 7-16 | 10 | Formulas, linear algebra, basic math graphs | 9-PHS |
| Fabrication Shop | 10-12 | 10 | Metric, decimals, calipers, charts, measurements, basic math, fractions, blueprints | 7-10 |
| Office Layout | 8-12 | 10 | Square foot, basic algebra, tape measure, blueprints | 9-12 |
| Training Coordinator/ WC Administrator | 12-16 | 13 | Basic math, graphs, percent, calculations, decimal, formulas | 10-PHS |
| General Maintenance | 7-9 | 9 | Fractions, rules, basic math, square footage | 8-10 |
| Planners | 8-13 | 10 | Basic math, pricing, blueprints | 9-PHS |
| Plumbing | 10-16 | 12 | Measurements, decimals, basic math, fractions | 9-PHS |
| Water Systems | 8-13 | 10 | Volume, basic math, calculations, graphs, formulas, calculators | 10-PHS |
| Mechanical Services | 6-13 | 10 | Basic math, formulas on the computer, use of calculator, addition, subtraction, decimals, fractions | 8-10 |
| HVAC | 9-13 | 10 | Linear algebra scales, temperatures | 10-PHS |
| Grounds | 8-10 | 9 | Basic algebra, tape measure, square yard, blueprints | 8-10 |
| Facilities Services | 8-10 | 9 | Basic math, percents, decimals, fractions | 7-9 |
Table 4
Analysis of Skills Pinewood Technology Employees Lack in Math
| Skill | Average Number Having Difficulty | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division 1 | Division 2 | Division 3 | Total | |
| Reading and writing numerals | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Factorization | 9 | 8 | 3 | 20 |
| Using 0 as an operator | 3 | 8 | 2 | 13 |
| Interpretation of fractions* | 10 | 14 | 8 | 32 |
| Scientific notation* | 11 | 10 | 8 | 29 |
| Ratio, Proportion*, Percent* | 11 | 11 | 7 | 29 |
Computation
| 4 2 5 5 6 | 6 3 5 4 5 | 4 0 2 2 5 | 14 5 12 11 16 |
Fractions
| 12 11 13 12 | 9 12 14 15 | 7 8 9 8 | 28 31 36 35 |
Decimals
| 3 4 7 11 | 1 4 9 13 | 0 2 2 7 | 4 10 18 31 |
| Algebraic equations* | 10 12 | 12 12 | 6 9 | 28 33 |
| Integers* | 11 | 11 | 6 | 28 |
| Powers and roots* | 12 | 15 | 6 | 33 |
* Should be included in the math class
+ Review needed
Table 6
Synthesis of Cases
| Type | Case Institution/Firm | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Hospital | 2-Pinewood | 3-Bank | 4-Hotel | 5-TCOIC | |
| Service | Manufacture | Service | Service | N/A | |
| Funding | Federal (National Workplace Literacy Program) | Company | State matching grant Bank | State matching grant Hotel | Mixed:
|
| Project Title | Skills for Tomorrow | Skills 2000 | Nonexempt Education and Training (NEET) | N/A | N/A |
| Provider | 2-yr. VoTech | 2-yr. VoTech | Private provider | Private provider | Specially Accredited VoTech |
| Clientele | Median age 39 66% female 30% minority | <10% female <1% minority | Hourly paid | Spanish speaking women | Age: 22-44 85% minority Economicallydisadvantaged Immigrants Unemployed |
| Problem | Multiskilling Job performance | Quality focus Team communications Hazardous chemical--right to know | Job performance | LEP related Job performance Hotel layout | ESL Unemployed |
| Needs Assessment | Job shadowing Employer interview Employee interview Document analysis Standardized test (TABE) | Survey Employer interview Employee interview Document analysis Standardized test (ABLE) Readability analysis (Flesch) | Employer interview Employee interview Document analysis Standardized test (TABE) | Employer interview Employee interview Document analysis Standardized test Foreign Service Interview (FSI) | Standardized test (ABLE) |
| Courses | Reading Writing Math Interpersonal skills Computer literacy System awareness | Math Reading Communications | Vital number skills Math refresher Reading/writing Problem solving | ESL:
| Interpersonal skills Technical skills Reading Math |
| Course Length | 10 hours (each) | 19.5 hours (each) | 36 hours total | 36 hours total | Varies |
| Instructional Approach | Learning module Small group Peer tutoring Classroom | Small group Classroom | Small group Classroom Problem solving | Small group On-the-job Individual | Small group Self-paced Reading CAI Math CAI |
| Evaluation | Mastery test Worker reaction Supervisor reaction | Mastery test Standardized test Employee reaction Supervisor reaction | Mastery test Standardized test Employee reaction Employer reaction | Mastery test Standardized test Employee reaction Employer reaction | Job placement |
| Outcomes | Self-esteem Confidence | Self-esteem Math grade level gains | N/A | N/A | >52% placed |