2018 Conference Date - Friday 7 December

The 2018 NSWALNC Conference will be held on Friday 7 December. Put it in your diary. Registrations will open in August.

Seminar - 5.30, Tues 8 May 2018 - Erik Jacobsen's article "Workforce Development Rhetoric and the Realities of 21C Capitalism"

       The Council has had feedback from several members that they are finding it increasingly difficult to stay current with, and access scholarly research that could inform our practice. This year, we plan to host at least two seminars where colleagues in the field can read and discuss some recent research publications together. A member of the Council Committee will lead the discussion.

       Our first such seminar will focus on a 2016 paper written by the Erik Jacobson, an ABE researcher in the USA: ‘Workforce Development Rhetoric and the Realities of 21st Century Capitalism’. In his paper, Jacobson calls upon those in the field of adult basic education to question some of the premises upon which many adult literacy and numeracy programs, particularly for long-term unemployed people, are based. He then argues that ‘students and teachers in adult education should focus on developing structural analyses of the situation [where large numbers of people find themselves in poverty] and push for substantive changes in the economy’. In preparing for the seminar, we invite you to consider the following questions:

• How do the premises upon the programs Jacobson critiques compare with the
• premises that are salient in Australian discourses surrounding programs such as SEE,
• and adults identified as low literacy/ numeracy learners;
• How do you understand the shift in focus of adult education that Jacobson is
• advocating for; do you believe this is also needed in Australian ABE?
• What would an adult education program with the kind of changes Jacobson is
• advocating for look like; what would it mean for the role and capabilities of ABE
• teachers?

         Participants at this seminar will be expected to have accessed and read the paper beforehand, so that the seminar can focus on discussion of the paper. The paper is freely accessible at:

https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/lnj/article/download/4898/5257

Erik Jacobson is also the author of Adult Basic Education in the Age of New Literacies (2016, Peter Lang Publishing).

Date: Tuesday 8 May, 2018

Time: 5.30-6.30 followed by light refreshments

Venue: University of Technology Sydney (Broadway) Bldg 10, level 5, room 580.

Cost: free for financial members of the Council, $20 for non-members (you can join the

Council at the seminar and not pay the $20).

RSVP: nswalnc@gmail.com

Creating Spaces for Learning and Teaching in ABE Conference 2017 Registration

NSWALNC Member Registration (Register from 11 Nov) (GST exempt) $150

Non-Member Registration (Register from 11 Nov) (GST exempt) $200

NSWALNC Member Concession Registration (F/T Student, Unemployed) (GST exempt) $50

Non-Member Concession Registration (F/T Student, Unemployed) (GST exempt) $80

Online at TryBooking https://www.trybooking.com/QROW

Bank Transfer (NSWALNC’s BSB is: 633-000 and its Acc No is 155977390)    

Cheque (Cheques should be made payable to “NSW Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council Inc”.)

Workshop: Is there still a learner voice in ABE classrooms? - Thursday 8 June 2017

Is there still a learner voice in ABE classrooms?
Guest presenter: Michael Mohammed Ahmad

Writer and Director of SWEATSHOP Western Sydney Literacy Movement based at UW.
On Thursday 8 June the NSWALNC held a workshop at OTEN, Strathfield prior to the Council's AGM. The workshop leader was Michael Mohammed Ahmad who is the founder and Director of SWEATSHOP. Michael who, is also a published author, led participants in an analysis of texts and an interactive discussion. Participants were challenged to look at the texts from a different cultural perspective.SWEATSHOP is a literacy movement based at Western Sydney University which is devoted to empowering groups and individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. through training and employment in creative and critical writing initiatives. A range of texts by Western Sydney based authors can be accessed from the website.Link to Sweatshop: http://sweatshop.ws/

Book Launch: Beyond Economic Interests - Friday 27 May 2016

Book Launch: Beyond Economic Interests: Critical Perspectives on Adult Literacy and Numeracy in a Globalised World, 27 May 2016

The NSWALNC and UTS held a book launch for Beyond Economic Interests
Critical Perspectives on Adult Literacy and Numeracy in a Globalised World edited by
KEIKO YASUKAWA and STEPHEN BLACK (eds) with contributions from 
Mary Hamilton, Jeff Evans, Inge Kral, Sue Ollerhead, Chris Holland, Diana Coben, Niki McCartney, Pat Strauss, Jacquie Widin, Bob Boughton, Vicky Duckworth, Robin McCormack, Ludi Simpson & Judy Hunter

Over the last two decades, an increasingly economistic discourse has dominated discussions about adult literacy and numeracy. This book provides critiques of, and alternative narratives to the dominant discourse.  Beyond Economic Interests presents the struggles and achievements of practitioners and learners that lead the readers of the book to critically appreciate that a counter narrative to the purely economistic discourse of adult literacy and numeracy is much needed, and possible. 

Order your copy from Sense Publishers http://tinyurl.com/jb3w45b

Seminar: Comics for Cause, Comics because...

Amanda Josling – Corrective Services NSW

Zoe Humphreys – Ability Links worker, St. Vincent de Paul

5.30 pm Thursday 30^th April 2015

Room cb10.5.580

Building 10

University of Technology, Sydney

Jones St, Broadway

NSWALNC were invited to Supernova, a comics and graphic arts expo, by Comics for a Cause and Amanda and Zoe volunteered. They were both enthusiastic about the possibility of collecting comics & graphic novels for literacy students because they have both worked in a range of settings with people who have become disengaged from learning. Graphic texts provide a range of opportunities for reading, story-telling and understanding text construction. 

Zoe Humphreys and Amanda Josling volunteered to work with Comics for Cause, when the organisation approached the NSWALNC about their charity. They began to collaborate on the issue of using graphic texts as a means to engage disadvantaged and disengaged learners. They both have teaching histories that included some of the most socially disengaged people. They focus on approaching literacy from different perspectives and capture opportunities to engage with with learners where they are. 

Zoe currently works as a linker, supporting people with disabilities, their families and carers to access and participate in community opportunities for learning and engagement, Amanda currently teaches a legal literacy program for Corrective Services.

Collegiate Exchanges December 12