Initial evaluation by TACC: This performance evaluation uses a pre-post methodology to evaluate the functional literacy subactivity of the Artisan and Fez Medina Project. The evaluation followed the Kirkpatrick model trying to assemble a set of qualitative and quantitative evidence. To do so the evaluation team questioned 6 main criteria : relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability and also assessed the program gender and environment approaches. 17 focus groups, 500 respondents to a survey and 70 semi-structured interviews contributed to collect primary and secondary sources of information so to triangulate findings.

Follow-on evaluation by ISG: This performance evaluation uses a pre-post methodology to evaluate the functional literacy subactivity of the Artisan and Fez Medina Project. The evaluation followed the Kirkpatrick model trying to assemble a set of qualitative and quantitative evidence. To do so the evaluation team questioned 6 main criteria : relevance, coherence, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability and also assessed the program gender and environment approaches. 17 focus groups, 500 respondents to a survey and 70 semi-structured interviews contributed to collect primary and secondary sources of information so to triangulate findings

*** While the metadata for this evaluation lists "Pre-Post" as the methodology, only the evaluation by TACC used this methodology. The evaluation by ISG used an Ex-Post methodology

The percentage of youth and adults (15 years and above) who have achieved or exceeded a given level of proficiency in literacy. Functional literacy is defined by UIS as the capacity of a person to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective function of his or her group and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his or her own and the community’s development. This indicator is collected via skills' assessment surveys of the adult population (e.g. the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), the Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) Measurement programme, the Literacy Assessment Measurement Programme (LAMP) and national adult literacy and numeracy surveys.

Distribution of the scores on European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire with 16 items (HLS-EU-Q16) and with 6 items (HLS-EU-Q6) in the overall sample and according to physician’s evaluation of patient health literacy (HL), education level, perceived health status, and perceived financial situation.

Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients inter-item (correct answers) and item-total score of the Functional Literacy Questionnaire (N = 372).

The percentage of non-immigrant youth and adults (15 years and above) who have achieved or exceeded a given level of proficiency in literacy. Functional literacy is defined by UIS as the capacity of a person to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective function of his or her group and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his or her own and the community’s development. This indicator is collected via skills' assessment surveys of the adult population (e.g. the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), the Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) Measurement programme, the Literacy Assessment Measurement Programme (LAMP) and national adult literacy and numeracy surveys.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

There is a widespread belief that literacy levels among offenders are lower than those in the general population. A frequently-associated belief is that if their reading problems were to be addressed, then offenders would abandon anti-social ways and pursue law-abiding careers. The Prison Reading Survey investigates the basis for these beliefs by assessing the prevalence of reading problems in a systematic random sample of 203 adult male offenders serving custodial sentences in a representative selection of several prisons across the range of security classifications in England and Wales. It enquires into the diversity and likely causes or exacerbating circumstances of offenders' reading problems, using a structured interview with assessments of verbal and non-verbal ability, receptive syntax, social cognition, and self-reported behaviours associated with childhood attention-deficit and hyperactivity; and it considers the hypothesis that developmental dyslexia is a disproportionate cause of these problems. The study also reviews the development and pervasiveness of historical accounts of the association between literacy and behaviour.
Main Topics:

The datset records the coded responses of the sample to a structured interview, together with their raw scores for assessments of functional literacy, reading sub-skills, fluid ability, childhood behaviours associated with the ADHD (and hyperkinetic conduct disorder) construct, receptive syntax, social cognition, and exposure to print media.

Standard Measures
Reported previous occupations (and those of breadwinning parent when respondent aged 11):
OPCS (1991) Standard Occupational Classification, London: HMSO.

Functional literacy assessed with the reading component of:
Basic Skills Agency (1992) Basic skills assessment: materials for assessing competence in basic skills, London: Basic Skills Agency.

Reading subskills assessed with a pilot version of:
Fawcett, A.J. and Nicolson, R.I. (1998) The dyslexia adult screening test, London: The Psychological Corporation.

The percentage of high socio-economic status youth and adults (15 years and above) who have achieved or exceeded a given level of proficiency in literacy. Functional literacy is defined by UIS as the capacity of a person to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective function of his or her group and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his or her own and the community’s development. This indicator is collected via skills' assessment surveys of the adult population (e.g. the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), the Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) Measurement programme, the Literacy Assessment Measurement Programme (LAMP) and national adult literacy and numeracy surveys.

Items from the HLS-EU-Q16 with meaningful differential item functioning across sex, age, or education level.

Introduction: Health literacy on COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination is valuable during the pandemic. The objective of this study was to determine the levels of health literacy about the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination (Vaccine and Vaccination literacy—VL) in the Indonesian adult general population, assessing the perceptions of the respondents/interviewees about current adult immunization and beliefs about vaccination in general, and analyzing correlations of these variables with the VL levels. Methods: A rapid survey was administered via the web. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential stats; the internal consistency of the VL scales was assessed through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted to investigate how the questions of the functional and interactive-critical VL scales were related to one another and whether the underlying components (factors) and each question’s load on the components could be identified as anticipated. An alpha level lesser than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Answers to functional- and interactive/ critical- VL questions showed good/ acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.817 and 0.699, respectively), lowest values observed were 0.806 for functional scale and 0.640 for the interactive-critical scale. PCA showed two components accounting for 52.45% of the total variability. Approximately 60% of respondents were females (n=686). Almost all respondents used the internet to seek information regarding COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination. Many used at least one social media actively with 74.4% of respondents sometimes believing the validity of this information. Conclusions: High scores were observed in both functional- and interactive/ critical-VL, and were quite balanced between genders in the prior VL and higher in females for the latter; these were also closely related to the educational level and age group. It is crucial to increase public health literacy on managing the pandemic.

Survey of employers and employees to functional illiteracy in the professional environment.

Characterization of the experts’ sample in the two rounds of the Delphi panel.

Results of a survey conducted on the knowledge of Maastricht University students on how to obtain help in case of mental health problems. Knowledge, Knowledge sources, help seeking behavior and mental health attitudes are asked. Survey was based on the Mental Health Literacy Scale & The Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults.

The dataset contains answers to questions asked to secondary school teachers via an electronic questionnaire during the school inspection activity in the school year 2021-2022. Teachers' responses serve as additional information to inspection findings obtained from hospitalizations, analysis of school documentation and other sources. In case some questions remain unanswered by the teacher, the inspection team will find the necessary information from interviews with teachers during the inspection activity. Some questionnaire questions are generated only in the case of a certain type of answer to any of the previous questions. The questions focus on areas such as continuing teacher education, support for teachers by school management, cooperation with the teaching assistant, school environment and climate, measures to reduce school failure, support for the development of pupils’ functional literacy, pupil assessment, teacher data, general aspects of vocational education. In order to prevent the identification of specific schools or teachers themselves, the data is anonymised (no identifiers of individual schools are provided). Each record, however, indicates the school's affiliation to the region and the type of founder. The dataset is a CSV file in which there are answers to individual questions in columns, each row then corresponds to one secondary school teacher. Replies are indicated in the relevant column by either the whole number, the numerical code or the text of the reply.

Characteristics of the sample (N = 317).

Total sample characterization: Age, school year, and Portuguese and Mathematics grades from the previous semester or academic year by sex.

Subsample characterization: Age, school year, and Portuguese and Mathematics grades from the previous semester or academic year by sex.

Functional health literacy of the study participants (N = 95).

Goal 4Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for allTarget 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomesIndicator 4.1.1: Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sexSE_TOT_PRFL: Proportion of children and young people achieving a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics (%)Indicator 4.1.2: Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education)SE_TOT_CPLR: Completion rate, by sex, location, wealth quintile and education level (%)Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary educationIndicator 4.2.1: Proportion of children aged 24-59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sexiSE_DEV_ONTRK: Proportion of children aged 36−59 months who are developmentally on track in at least three of the following domains: literacy-numeracy, physical development, social-emotional development, and learning (% of children aged 36-59 months)Indicator 4.2.2: Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sexSE_PRE_PARTN: Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sex (%)Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including universityIndicator 4.3.1: Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sexSE_ADT_EDUCTRN: Participation rate in formal and non-formal education and training, by sex (%)Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurshipIndicator 4.4.1: Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skillSE_ADT_ACTS: Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by sex and type of skill (%)Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situationsIndicator 4.5.1: Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregatedSE_GPI_PTNPRE: Gender parity index for participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), (ratio)SE_GPI_TCAQ: Gender parity index of trained teachers, by education level (ratio)SE_GPI_PART: Gender parity index for participation rate in formal and non-formal education and training (ratio)SE_GPI_ICTS: Gender parity index for youth/adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill (ratio)SE_IMP_FPOF: Immigration status parity index for achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional skills, by numeracy/literacy skills (ratio)SE_NAP_ACHI: Native parity index for achievement (ratio)SE_LGP_ACHI: Language test parity index for achievement (ratio)SE_TOT_GPI: Gender parity index for achievement (ratio)SE_TOT_SESPI: Low to high socio-economic parity status index for achievement (ratio)SE_TOT_RUPI: Rural to urban parity index for achievement (ratio)SE_ALP_CPLR: Adjusted location parity index for completion rate, by sex, location, wealth quintile and education levelSE_AWP_CPRA: Adjusted wealth parity index for completion rate, by sex, location, wealth quintile and education levelSE_AGP_CPRA: Adjusted gender parity index for completion rate, by sex, location, wealth quintile and education levelTarget 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracyIndicator 4.6.1: Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sexSE_ADT_FUNS: Proportion of population achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional skills, by sex, age and type of skill (%)Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable developmentIndicator 4.7.1: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessmentTarget 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for allIndicator 4.a.1: Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of serviceSE_ACS_CMPTR: Schools with access to computers for pedagogical purposes, by education level (%)SE_ACS_H2O: Schools with access to basic drinking water, by education level (%)SE_ACS_ELECT: Schools with access to electricity, by education level (%)SE_ACC_HNDWSH: Schools with basic handwashing facilities, by education level (%)SE_ACS_INTNT: Schools with access to the internet for pedagogical purposes, by education level (%)SE_ACS_SANIT: Schools with access to access to single-sex basic sanitation, by education level (%)SE_INF_DSBL: Proportion of schools with access to adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities, by education level (%)Target 4.b: By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countriesIndicator 4.b.1: Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships by sector and type of studyDC_TOF_SCHIPSL: Total official flows for scholarships, by recipient countries (millions of constant 2018 United States dollars)Target 4.c: By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing StatesIndicator 4.c.1: Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications, by education leveliSE_TRA_GRDL: Proportion of teachers who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training (e.g. pedagogical training) pre-service or in-service required for teaching at the relevant level in a given country, by sex and education level (%)

Abstract

Background

Academic and technical knowledge, individual core values as well as skills and capabilities are key success factors in the labor market. . These traits are especially important for young people preparing for the 21st century workplace. It is essential that they cultivate 'Whole Youth Development' (WYD) skills which encapsulate academic and technical competencies alongside soft skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, social and communication skills, persistence, creativity, and self-control. This report provides an assessment of how young people acquire these core values and capabilities within Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Kenya.

Aim

To inform policy discourse as well as improve understanding of how youth in Kenya are prepared to succeed in the job market, this study investigated: · The extent to which TVET policy frameworks promote WYD among youth; · The extent to which TVET curricula integrate WYD; · Existing capacities within TVET institutions for the production of core values and capabilities; · Key influencers of WYD for TVET institutions in Kenya; and · The extent to which students in TVET institutions exhibit WYD capabilities.

Methods

The study was a cross-sectional survey that targeted population TVET students aged between 15 and 25 years. Students targeted were from the three categories of TVET institutions that are accredited by the Technical Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA) namely; National Polytechnics, Technical Training Institutes and Vocational Training Centers. The study sample for quantitative data comprised of 171 institutional heads, 347 instructors, and 3,452 students in either the first and final years of study. Additionally, qualitative data was collected from TVET regulatory and policy making bodies, final year students, and county (sub-national) directors of TVET.

Implications

There is room to further strengthen uptake of the WYD approach and capabilities among TVET instructors and students. TVETA and National Vocational Certificate in Education and Training (NAVCET) in consultation with other key stakeholders, such as industry, have a role to play in developing effective strategies for adoption of WYD. Such strategies could include improving WYD in curriculum implementation, strengthening the capacity of TVET instructors to use WYD during instructional delivery, and enhancing peer to peer support among students.

Other than the digital literacy domain, TVET students demonstrated low acquisition of functional literacy and numeracy, as well as social-emotional skills. While these skills are traditionally acquired through instruction in a classroom setting, institutions could utilize digital technology to access learning resources in these areas, utilize cooperative learning and peer-to-peer reviews, as well as practice the skills in workplaces in a formalized program.

Interactions between instructors and training facilities, as well as instructors and students play a key role in whole youth development in TVET institutions. The former (instructor-training facilities interaction) was found to be inhibiting. While it may be difficult to have adequate and effective facilities in each institution due to budgetary limitations, it is possible for the institutions and TVETA to train instructors on adaptive techniques that could help them optimize the utilization of existing facilities. There is also the possibility that the machinery and facilities found in industry would complement those found on-campus. For this to work well, institutions will have to formalize relations with the private sector.

Further areas of research could include establishing the quality of the WYD aspects that were observed in the TVET institutions. This may help explain, for example, why the observed preference of social-emotional skills in TVET did not differ between first and final year students. It would also be useful to generate case studies of institutions and students who were found to be strong in WYD with a view to understanding what it takes to champion wholesome youth development in different contexts.

Geographic coverage

It was a national study covering both rural and urban areas

Analysis unit

Basic units of analysis are as follows;

• Student survey and Student assessment would have TVET students as the units of analysis
• Instructor's/Tuto's Data have TVET instructors as the units of analysis
• Institutional data would have the individual institutions as the units of analysis TVET institutions

Universe

The study covered TVET students aged 15 - 25 years

Sampling procedure

The sample size was estimated using two main assumptions: (1) that the proportion of students attending TVET institutions and exhibiting requisite soft skills is 50% - based on a study done by Muthoni et al. (2013) which showed this proportion ranged from 32% to 75%; and (2) a precision of 5% and design effect of 1.1 given the variability that may exist due to measuring soft skills using students nested within TVET (clustering effect). Following the formula for estimating prevalence as provided by Pourhoseingholi, Vahedi and Rahimzadeh (2013), and assuming 95% level of confidence, the estimated minimum sample size was 423 TVET institutions spread across Kenya.

In each of the nine selected counties, a national polytechnic in that county was automatically selected into the study sample, except for Turkana County which has no national polytechnic. This enabled the study team to study eight of the eleven national polytechnics plus a representative sample of institutional types and categories in those counties. Turkana County despite not having a national polytechnic, as mentioned above, was purposively included in the sample to represent marginalized areas and to represent the northern part of Kenya. There were 364 TVET institutions in the nine counties meaning that the study sample which involved at least 50% of them, included 182 institutions. Though less than the intended 423, this number was sufficient for an exploratory study like this one as the sample was large enough to allow statistical analysis.

In each institution, two training programs with an adequate number of students for first year (5 or more) and final year (5 or more) classes were randomly selected. This was done with the assumption that students who make it to the final year are strong in their study area, and have the technical know-how for purposes of this study. They were an essential demographic as they were about to enter the job market. They were key respondents as they would help in understanding the skills gained that prepared them for the job market, having gone through the entire length of their respective programs. Ten students (five first year and five final year students from each gender) from the two focal programs were randomly selected.

There were certain cases where meeting this gender composition was difficult as some programs were predominantly male forcing the team to work with the available gender representation. Such cases would be mitigated against by including an equal number of the under-represented gender in the next/following institution. Where an institution's or institutions' program had less than ten students, additional program(s) were selected at random, though this rarely occurred.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Cleaning operations

Data processing involved, labelling the data, cleaning through checking for consistency and missing values. Ensuring that sample unit's replacements were correctly done/matched, synchronization and merging of datasets e.g the student's datasets.

The software used for data processing was Stata v15.1.

Response rate

The TVET student sample selection took gender and study program into consideration. In each selected TVET institution, 20 students (10 in their first year and 10 in their final year) were randomly selected. Since 182 institutions were to be visited, the maximum student participation was expected to be 3,640, and the study achieved a success rate of 94.8% (3,452). Students in their first and final years were selected to estimate the impact of the TVET curriculum in WYD skills.

Two instructors, one from the first year class and another from the final year class were selected from the two study programs. The instructor sample size was expected to be 364, but the study achieved 95.3% (347) of the target. For the institutional managers' questionnaire, there were two sets of items - part A and B. A total of 182 managers were targeted for this study and a 94% (171) success rate was achieved for part A while part B had a success rate of 82.4% (150). The reduction in number (between part A and B) was due to the refusal to participate in Part B items which were perceived to be sensitive - this mainly affected private institutions in Nairobi County. The affected items in Part B sought responses on financial performance of institutions, enrolment records, number of graduates produced per year as well as their respective performances, and information on their graduates' placement in the job market.

Estimated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from logistic regression models of functional health literacy and patient risk factors.