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Abilities in the blind spot of testing regimes: Eliciting the benefits and the limitations of participatory research approaches for numeracy in adult basic education Wiebke Curdt1   · Silke Schreiber‑Barsch1,2 Published online: 5 August 2020 © The Author(s) 2020

Abstract In the past decade, the numeracy component in adult basic education has gained scholarly attention. The issue has been addressed by large-scale assessments of adults’ skills and intergovernmental policy agendas, but also by qualitative research into numeracy from the perspective of social practice theory. However, some aspects of numeracy are still under-researched. This article argues that adults with learning difficulties (also referred to by some as intellectual disabilities) and their numeracyrelated abilities are still hidden in the blind spot of large-scale testing regimes. To address this underrepresentation, the authors present an overview of the key paradigms of a global testing culture, outline their two areas of interest, disability and numeracy, and identify the blind spots of large-scale international surveys. They consider ways of extending the range of methodological approaches to investigating (literacy and) numeracy, and opt for a participatory research approach, for which they identify five guiding principles. They showcase and reflect on these guiding principles by presenting selected data from a small-scale qualitative study on numeracy practices of adults with learning difficulties. Their aim is to demonstrate the benefits and limitations of using participatory research approaches in the context of investigating numeracy among all members of a country’s adult population. Keywords  numeracy as social practice · participatory research approaches · disability · learning difficulties · qualitative research

* Wiebke Curdt wiebke.curdt@uni‑hamburg.de Silke Schreiber‑Barsch Silke.Schreiber‑Barsch@uni‑hamburg.de 1

Adult and Further Education, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

2

Centre for Higher and Adult Education, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa



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Vol.:(0123456789)

388

W. Curdt, S. Schreiber‑Barsch

Résumé Les aptitudes dans l’angle mort des procédures de tests  : révéler les avantages et les limites des méthodes de recherche participative concernant la numératie dans l’éducation de base des adultes – Durant la décennie passée, la numératie, en tant qu’élément de l’éducation de base des adultes, a suscité l’attention des scientifiques. Des évaluations à vaste échelle des compétences des adultes et des programmes politiques intergouvernementaux se sont consacrés à cette question qui a également fait l’objet de recherches qualitatives du point de vue de la théorie de la pratique. Cependant, certains aspects de la numératie restent sous-documentés. Le présent article affirme que les adultes qui ont des difficultés d’apprentissage (que certaines personnes appellent aussi des déficiences intellectuelles) et leurs aptitudes en matière de numératie restent invisibles, demeurant encore dans l’angle mort