Yvonne Hillier – författare

This book explores the social practice of literacy, numeracy and language and its implications for teaching and learning adult basic skills. Leading international experts argue that literacy, numeracy and language are more than just a set of skills or techniques, but are shaped by the social and cultural context within which they are taking place; the meanings they have for users; and the purposes they serve. This shifts the focus from a narrow, functional and externally imposed definition of literacy, numeracy and language learning, to more open and numerous definitions that focus on what people do with their knowledge, understanding and skills in a range of contexts.

Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Language shows how the social practice approach to learning and teaching can be used to develop more inclusive views of adult literacy, numeracy and language. Bringing together the views of researchers, policy makers and practitioners, it helps readers to develop an understanding of contemporary policy developments and encourages them to examine their own practice as adult basic education teachers, in order to respond more effectively to the needs of their students.

This book is a valuable resource for practitioners, researchers and students on courses in adult and continuing education (particularly basic skills), postgraduate students, and researchers in the field of post-compulsory education.

This textbook for in-service and pre-service training uses the "reflective teaching" approach as popularized by Andrew Pollard. The book is written to coincide with the introduction of Further Education National Training Organisation (FENTO) standards - every tutor will have to demonstrate that s/he can meet these standards. Covering both further and adult education, the textbook is written in a variety of styles to suit different kinds of readers: each chapter contains narrative/description of typical issues and incidents, theoretical explanation, practical advice (with checklists) and questions. It is designed to suit both course adoption and individual learning.

Practitioners in the further education sector need to develop confidence in their own research practices and establish recognition within higher education of practitioner research in further education. This book will help staff in this sector to develop their professional practice through their research.

This fascinating guide provides an overview of three key policy initiatives in FE - Success for All, Skills for Life and the new qualifications framework. For each initiative, Yvonne Hillier discusses the implications for implementing policy within particular institutions, and how change and working with staff can be managed to best achieve the intended aims of each policy. As all these initiatives are fast changing, an important theme throughout the book is the need to keep up-to-date. It is an essential reading for every manager in FE.