Research Conference 2019

Not just for the kids: Adult skills in the 21st Century

School students are not the only ones whose skills need to keep pace with 21st century developments. Adults are living longer and are able to remain active longer. The skills acquired in early life constantly need to be updated in order for people to remain engaged and be able to contribute to society and the economy. International adult skills surveys, in which Australia has participated since inception in the early 1990s, are an evidence-based means of tracking Australia’s performance in this sphere. This session will examine how the assessments of adult skills have evolved since the late 20th century and what we can learn from the results – from different states and territories, from different social and economic backgrounds, and for ages ranging from 15 to 75 years.

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About Dave Tout

Dave Tout is a Senior Research Fellow in Tertiary and Vocational Assessment Services at the Australian Council for Educational Research. Dave has an international reputation in adult literacy, numeracy and maths teaching, learning and assessment, with a focus on developing conceptual frameworks and assessments, professional development and writing curriculum and teaching materials. Dave has over 40 years’ experience working mainly in vocational education and training, as well as with universities, national bodies, workplaces and industry. Dave has also been involved in the development and writing of the numeracy and maths assessments in the OECD’s Programme in Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and Programme for International Student Assessment. Dave is currently the Chair of the Numeracy Expert Group for the next cycle of PIAAC due to be administered in 2021. In the course of his career, Dave has contributed to many state and national curriculum frameworks, such as the Australian Core Skills Framework as well as the numeracy domains of the Certificates in General Education for Adults (CGEA), VCAL and Foundation Mathematics in VCE.