Submission by the Department of Education and Skills to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection

Digital Literacy

1.Introduction

This document gives an overview of a range of policy issues which touch on digital literacy.

In particular it focuses on:

  • The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020;
  • Irish results in the OECD PISA Digital Literacy Test;
  • ICT in schools in Ireland;
  • Other current relevant initiatives; and
  • EU dimension

2.Defining Print Literacy and Digital Literacy

PISA 2009 defines reading literacy as ‘understanding, using, reflecting on and engaging with written texts, in order to achieve one’s goals, develop one’s knowledge and potential, and participate in society;[1]. In line with this definition, reading literacy involves understanding, using and reflectingon written information in a range of situations including both digital and printed text. It also recognises the ability to use a variety of appropriate strategies when processing texts.

In evaluating the proficiency levels of students in the area of digital literacy, PISA 2009 highlighted the skills of critically evaluating information from several web-based sources, along with the ability to navigate across multiple sites independently, thus locating information effectively[2]

This definition is further explored by the Education Research Centre which noted that, while there are skills common to both printed and digital texts, there are also unique skills required for effective digital reading. These may include generating questions and then locating, critically evaluating, synthesizing and communicating possible solutions to those questions online. Digital readers need to use navigational devices (including understanding the hierarchical structure of information in menu trees) and accumulate information across multiple texts.

3.The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020

a)General

The Programme for Government makes literacy a national priority. It makes clear that the Government is determined that all young people will leave school able to read, communicate orally, in writing and in digital media, and be able to understand and use mathematics in their everyday lives and in further learning. The Programme for Government also prioritises the integration of ICT in teaching and learning across the curriculum and the greater use of online lessons which will facilitate the development of digital skills for young people.

The Literacy and Numeracy Strategywas launched in July 2011 andsets out a programme of work to achieve crucially important goals over the period to 2020. It sets ambitious targets and describes the actions that must be taken to improve the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy

b)The Place of Digital literacy in the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy

The Strategy adopts a modern and comprehensive definition of literacy and acknowledges that this includes oral language and all forms of written and printed communication from handwriting to digital literacy. This definition is woven consistently throughout the document. The Strategy is premised on the belief that, if properly taught, young people can develop literacy not only in language lessons but also in every other subject on the curriculum.

In its definition the Strategy provides as follows:

Literacy and numeracy are much more than “reading, writing and arithmetic”

Traditionally we have thought about literacy as the skills of reading and writing; but today our understanding of literacy encompasses much more than that. Literacy includes the capacity to read, understand and critically appreciate various forms of communication including spoken language, printed text, broadcast media, and digital media. Throughout this document, when we refer to “literacy” we mean this broader understanding of the skill, including speaking and listening, as well as communication using not only

traditional writing and print but also digital media.

We must develop the literacy and numeracy skills of all young people

Every young person needs to be literate and numerate. We use the basic skills of literacy and numeracy in almost every part of our lives when we communicate with each other – in traditional written forms or through the internet and digital media – when we follow signs and instructions, when we are at our work or enjoying leisure time, when we try to make sense of the mass of information and data available through the media, and when we are managing our lives.

c)Targets and Actions

The strategy sets out a range of improvement targets for literacy and numeracy including digital literacy:

Improve our attitudes to literacy and numeracy:

• Raise public awareness of the importance of oral and written language in all its forms (including print, writing and digital media)

Improve outcomes at primary and post-primary school levels

• Increase awareness of the importance of digital literacy and include assessments of primary and post-primary students’ ability to read digital material as part of the national assessments of English reading

• Increase the percentage of 15-year old students performing at or above Level 4 (i.e. at the highest levels) in PISA reading literacy and numeracy tests by at least 5 percentage points by 2020

• Halve the percentage of 15-year old students performing at or below Level 1 (the lowest level) in PISA reading literacy and numeracy tests by 2020[3]

The strategy then details a programme of actions to deliver on these targets. Key actions relevant to digital literacy are shown below:

Actions to improve the development and improvement of teachers’ skills in the teaching, learning and assessment of literacy and numeracy:

Objective: Cooperate with the Teaching Council to re-configure the content and duration of initial teacher education (ITE) courses for primary teachers to ensure the development of teachers’ skills in literacy and numeracy teaching

Detail: Ensure that ITE programmes for primary and post-primary teachers provide adequate time for courses and learning experiences that will develop and assess all student teachers’ understanding and ability to apply current knowledge, strategies and methodologies in areas including: digital literacy and how ICT may be used to support and enrich learning in literacy and numeracy.

Objective: Focus the provision of Department supported continuing professional development for teachers on the teaching of literacy and numeracy and the use of assessment

Detail: Provide detailed guidance and resources to teachers and ECCE practitioners on best practice in the teaching and assessment of literacy and numeracy through handbooks, online courses, digital and other resources.

Actions to improve the curriculum and learning experience settings in primary schools

Objective: Revise the English and Irish curriculum for primary schools to clarify the learning outcomes to be expected of learners

Detail: Ensure that the curriculum provides for the development of literacy through engagement with a range of texts (literary and non-literary) and a range of media including digital media.

Actions to improve the curriculum and learning experience at post-primary level

Objective: Prioritise the revision of the junior cycle English and Irish syllabuses and the Junior Certificate English and Irish examinations

Detail: Ensure that the syllabus provides for the development of literacy in a range of texts (literary and non-literary) and a range of media including digital media, and ensure that thesyllabuses cater appropriately for the reading tastes of all students, including boys (indicative date 2014).

Actions to improve our use of assessment and evaluation to support better learning in literacy and numeracy

Objective: Improve the availability of national assessment data on literacy and numeracy achievement

Detail: Extend the National Assessments of Mathematics and

English Reading to include tests of digital literacy

4.Digital Literacy Results on OECD PISA Digital Literacy Test

a)Assessment of paper-based and electronic reading in 2009

A total of 65 countries participated in the main Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2009, where the major domain was print reading literacy and the minor domains were mathematical and scientific literacy.

In Ireland, approximately 4,000 15-year old students in 144 schools were assessed in the paper-based PISA survey.

For the first time, PISA 2009 included a digital literacy component. The OECD PISA report Students on Line: Reading and Using Digital Information released in June 2011 contains the outcomes of the PISA 2009 electronic reading literacy assessment which was intended to assess how well 15-year olds respond to digital literacy tasks.

The electronic reading literacy tests on which this report is based were conducted as part of the PISA 2009 tests. 19 of the 65 countries/economies that participated in PISA 2009 took part in the digital literacy test, which was completed on laptops or computers in the test schools.

16 OECD countries took part of this assessment (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Spain) and three non-member economies (Colombia, Hong Kong-China, and Macao-China).

Of the 4,000 students in 144 schools that undertook the paper-and pencil PISA test a subset, in 139 of the schools, also completed the electronic reading literacy test. This provides information on students’ ability to respond to reading tasks in a simulated web-based environment.

The digital assessment of reading literacy comprised 21 multiple-choice questions and 8 questions that required a written response or specific action or set of actions (e.g., writing and sending an e-mail, filling out an online job application form).

In each participating school, up to 35 15-year-olds were selected to complete the PISA paper-and-pencil test. The test took two hours to complete and comprised a mixture of reading, mathematics and science questions (the majority of which were reading tasks) and a background questionnaire.

A sub-sample of up to 15 of these students in each school also participated in a 40-minute assessment of digital reading. Students were administered the digital assessment on school computers, or on laptops that were brought into schools in cases where schools’ computer equipment was unsuitable for the assessment.

b)Overall Irish performance on print and electronic reading

The score for Ireland in print reading literacy in PISA 2009 was at the OECD average, reflecting a decline from the above average level achieved in previous studies.

The mean (average) score of students in Ireland on the digital reading assessment is significantly above the OECD average, while the mean score achieved by Ireland on the print reading assessment is not significantly different from the OECD average.

Ireland’s mean score on the digital reading assessment, 509, is some 13 points higher than its mean score on the print reading assessment of 496.

Ireland ranked 8th out of the 19 countries that participated in the digital reading assessment, compared with 11th out of the same 19 countries on the print reading assessment. However, because of the margin of error in test scores, Ireland’s true ranking lies between 5th and 10th place in digital literacy.

Just 4 countries (Korea, New Zealand, Australia and Japan) had significantly higher digital reading scores than Ireland.

c)Distribution of performance of print and digital reading between students and between schools (between school variance and performance on the PISA proficiency levels).

Ireland is one of seven countries (along with Australia, Iceland, Korea, Macao-China, New Zealand and Sweden) that had a digital reading score that is significantly higher than the corresponding print reading score.

In contrast, in six other countries (Austria, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong-China, Hungary and Poland), students’ digital reading literacy mean score was significantly lower than the print-based mean score. Scores for Hungary and Poland on the digital reading test were remarkably lower than their scores on the print reading test. France,which had a mean score that was not significantly different from Ireland on print reading, had a significantly lower mean score on digital reading.

There is some evidence from test administrators’ observations that students in Ireland were more engaged in the digital reading assessment than the print assessment. The novel format of the digital reading assessment as well as the fact that the test focused on one domain only and was less than half the length of the print test may have led students to engage more effectively with the digital reading assessment.[4]

Fewer students in Ireland (12%) than on average across OECD countries (17%) performed at or below Level 1 on the PISA digital reading proficiency scale, the lowest level. The percentage of students scoring at or above Level 5 in digital reading (8%) was the same as the corresponding OECD average (8%). This can be interpreted as indicating that lower-achieving readers contributed to Ireland’s relatively strong performance on digital reading to a greater extent than their higher-performing counterparts.

Taking measurement and sampling error into account, Irish students’ ‘true’ print reading achievement lies between 490 and 501, and ‘true’ electronic reading achievement lies between 503 and 514.

In the case of the digital reading assessment, the percentage of between-school variance in Ireland (22%) was considerably lower than the OECD average of 37%.[5] The percentage of between-school variance in Ireland was the third lowest across the 19 countries participating in the digital reading assessment (Norway and Iceland had somewhat lower between-school variation than Ireland on this measure). This can be interpreted as indicating equitable performance in digital reading across schools in Ireland, and poses a challenge for the future – to raise performance on digital reading while ensuring that performance continues to be spread as evenly as possible across schools.

There were differences in performance between girls and boys on both the pencil-and-paper and electronic tests. In the assessment of print reading, girls significantly outperformed boys in all 65 participating countries. The gender difference of 39 points associated with print reading in Ireland was the same as the OECD average (39 points).In all countries with the exception of Colombia, girls significantly outperformed boys on the assessment of digital reading literacy.The OECD average difference on the electronic reading tests was 24 score points, and the gender difference in Ireland was higher than this, at 31 score points. Ireland had the third highest gender difference in performance on the assessment of digital reading literacy, behind just Norway (35 points) and New Zealand (41 points).

Not surprisingly, the survey revealed a link between more frequent reading and better literacy skills. Students in Ireland who reported that they did not engage in any print reading for enjoyment (42% of 15 year olds) achieved significantly lower scores on both the pencil-and-paper test and the digital literacy test than students who read for up to 30 minutes a day (26% of 15 year olds).Students who read for 30-60 minutes per day (16%) achieved performance levels on both print and digital reading that were better than those did no leisure reading, or read for up to 30 minutes a day. Students who read for more than one hour a day (16%) performed at same levels on print and digital reading as those who read for 30-60 minutes.

Despite almost universal access to computers at home and at school, students in Ireland reported low levels of computer usage in education-related activities at home and at school. Just one-quarter of students in Ireland report doing homework on a computer, compared to one-half on average across OECD countries (73% report doing so in both Norway and Poland). Engagement in school-related computer activities at home was considerably below the OECD average for Irish students. Only 5.8% checked the school website for announcements on a weekly basis compared to an OECD average of 20.9%. Just over 8% of Irish students downloaded, uploaded or browsed materials on the school website on a weekly basis compared with an OECD average of 23%.

The relationship between use of technology at school and performance on the PISA assessment of digital literacy is complex and likely to be mediated by a range of other variables.For example, Korea and Japan, countries with significantly higher electronic reading literacy performance than Ireland, had lower mean scores on a use of computers at school index. However, Australia and New Zealand, which also had significantly higher mean scores than Ireland on digital literacy, had above average scores on the index of use of computers at school.

An ICT Census of schools will be carried out this year which will provide statistics on the level of ICT infrastructure in schools in addition to information regarding a range of topics relating ICT in education.

PISA 2012 should provide a clearer picture of the situation with respect to achievement trends in Ireland in both print and digital reading. The results of PISA 2012 will be available in December 2013.