The Skills for Life Survey, DfES (2003)

This is one of many Harvard references to useful online references for the Level 5 Maths ADTLLS, Developing Role of Numeracy / History of Mathematics essay. (Part of Module 1: Approaches to Mathematics learning and teaching). The retrieval date is when I first used it.

Department for Education and Skills (2003), The Skills for Life survey: A national needs and impact survey of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills. London: HMSO. Retrieved on 3 January 2008 from http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR490.pdf

(Now at:  http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080821124614/http://www.dcs… )

Here’s how I used the reference in my essay:

Four years later the Skills for Life Survey was commissioned. The skills of almost 9000 residents (ages 16-65) in England were reviewed in order to fulfil the two main aims of the survey: the production of a national profile of adult basic skills over the five levels of the [then] new national standards and an assessment of the impact of differing skill levels on people’s lives (DfES, 2003, 1:3).

One in four respondents were found to be at Level 2 or above in numeracy, leaving 18 million adults with numeracy skills at Level 1 or below (of which 47% were classified at Entry 3 or below – including one in five at Entry 2 or below). Despite such alarming statistics very few adults thought their numeracy skills hindered their employment possibilities: two thirds of those with numeracy at Entry 1 or lower (i.e. equivalent to that of an average 5-6 year old) thought they were ‘good or very good at number work’. (DfES, 2003, 2:1)

Unsurprisingly their thoughts were not backed up by the survey: it found that that ‘Nearly seven in ten full-time workers with Level 2 or above numeracy earned more than £20 000 a year before tax…’ with those at Entry 3 or lower earning on average £8 000 less (2:4). The survey explains that most of the growing job sectors, such as ICT (information and communication technology), require higher levels of numeracy than traditional jobs such as agriculture or mining.