How are adult skills defined?

Perustaidot PIAAC-tutkimuksesta paikalliseen diskurssiin

• Maarit Mäkinen Tampereen yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33336/aik.88375

Abstract

In this article I analyse the task of defining adult skills on different discursive levels, namely as speech and text – shaped by institutions and practices – which influence the understanding of our social reality. I examine socio-political and practical discourses, rep-resented by the OECD’s international PIAAC-adult skills survey, the Taito programme (2014–2020, the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture) and the interviews of the project partners and focus groups of said programme. In this discourse my attention has been drawn particularly to the act of defining adult skills and their weaknesses and development suggestions. My analysis is not concerned with the status quo of adult skills per se but rather focuses on the argumentation on adult skills. Expert-led discourse within the international OECD is an obvious influence on the defining of adult skills. The OECD names literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments as the key adult skills. This interpretation steers the rhetoric of national education politics which in its turn guides education providers. The OECD’s interpretation is, however, simplifying if other discursive layers such as the views of local adult educators are not taken into account and the dialogue between these other layers is not appreciated. I strive to add to the versatility of skills speech and amplify alternative and local voices. I aim to illuminate the power relations inherent in the discourses and problematize simplifying interpretations.

Translation: Markus Palmén