Foundation Learning Quality Assurance

Self Review Guide

Practice One: Planning and design

The provider has a planned approach to the overall design of its foundation learning programmes that is consistent with the social, cultural, vocational and learning context of the learners.

What this means

The provider should be able to show how an explicit focus on literacy, numeracy or language is achieved in their programme planning and design. The provider should identify its target learners and the context for its foundation learning programmes.

How does this help foundation learners?

Research evidence indicates that a curriculum that is linked to authentic experience of the learners improves outcomes for literacy, numeracy and language learners (Benseman, J., Sutton, A. and Lander, 2005). Understanding the learners’ context and reflecting this in programme design is a hallmark of successful foundation learning programmes.

Learners’ contexts can be:

Social: the context varies for youth, women, and rural or urban learners

Cultural: examples are kaupapa Māori programmes, Pasifika communities or refugee and migrant contexts

Vocational: the learners may be in the workplace, people returning to the workforce or preparing for work

Learning: the learners may be preparing for further study or bridging to other vocational learning

Possible sources of evidence

Providers may demonstrate they have a planned approach to their overall foundation learning programme design by:

Programme or curriculum statements
Learner and community needs analysis
Plans developed for funding bodies
Interviews with staff (to demonstrate awareness of the learners’ context)
Strategic and business plans.

Requirement 1.1

The provider has and applies an explicit foundation learning definition, philosophy and strategy and objectives relevant to the provider’s context.

The provider’s definition is consistent with the definition in the FLQA requirements.

Key questions

What are the provider’s contexts?
How well are the provider’s foundation learning definition, philosophy, strategy and objectives reflected in its documentation?
Is the provider’s definition consistent with the Adult Literacy Strategy definition?
How well do staff (tutors, administrative staff and managers) understand their contribution to meeting the provider’s objectives?

The definition from the Adult Literacy Strategy (MoE, 2001) can be usefully adopted for foundation learning 1:

‘the application of a complex web of reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking, problem solving, numeracy skills and communication technology so that people can achieve their own goals in meaningful social, cultural, vocational and/or learning contexts.’

1 adapted from Workbase NZ Centre for Workplace Literacy and Language.

Requirement 1.2

The provider has identified target groups, their potential foundation learning needs and goals, and how the design of the programme meets their needs.

Key questions

How well does the documented system identify target groups and their potential needs and goals?
How does the design of the programme meet learners’ needs and goals?
How does the provider identify and analyse current trends and variations in target learner groups?

Examples of target learner groups could include:

Youth looking for work in a rural community. In this case, the documentation of the programme’s design should demonstrate how it suits the potential learning needs and goals of young people. It should also show how it is appropriate for their particular local rural community.

New migrant communities preparing for further study by completing a special ESOL programme. The programme’s design documentation should demonstrate how it suits the potential needs and goals of the migrant communities.

Page updated: 20 February 2007