Data from PIAAC support the results from previous studies indicating that a positive relationship exists between foundational skills and participation in adult learning activities (OECD, 2013b). Skill levels tend to correlate with participation in adult learning, with those who obtained higher scores (in literacy, numeracy, and PS-TRE) being more likely to participate in adult learning than those with lower scores. This pattern exists at the international and pan-Canadian levels, and tends to hold at the provincial and territorial level as well. Figure 1.7 shows average scores in literacy for those who participated and those who did not participate in adult learning in Canada overall as well as in the provinces and territories. Adult learners at the pan-Canadian level and at the provincial and territorial level tended to score above the average literacy score for all of Canada, which was 273 (Statistics Canada, ESDC, & CMEC, 2013).
The only exceptions were adult learners in Northwest Territories and Nunavut. In numeracy, a similar trend is visible, as can be seen in Figure 1.8, which shows average numeracy scores in all provinces and territories
for those who participated in adult learning compared to those who did not. Adult learners in all provinces and territories except Nunavut scored above the average numeracy score for Canada, which was 265 (Statistics Canada, ESDC, & CMEC, 2013).
When comparing adult learners with those who did not engage in any kind of adult learning in terms of their likelihood of achieving higher scores, differences become marked. As illustrated in Figures 1.9 and 1.10, adult learners were 3.0 times more likely than those who did not participate in adult learning to score at a high proficiency level for literacy and 2.8 times more likely for numeracy. This advantage still holds (at 1.9 times more likely for literacy and 1.7 times for numeracy) even after adjusting for other sociodemographic characteristics such as age and gender.
Figure 1.8 Numeracy – Average scores of population aged 16 to 65, by participation and non-participation in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning in the past 12 months, Canada, provinces, and territories, 2012
Ontario Quebec New Brunswick Nova Scotia Manitoba Northwest Territories British Columbia Prince Edward Island Yukon Alberta Saskatchewan Newfoundland and Labrador Nunavut Canada
Participated in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Did not participate in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Numeracy score
279 279 273 276 277
254
280 277 281 278 273 270
220
Source: Appendix II, Table 1.1b
Figure 1.9 Literacy – Adjusted and unadjusted likelihood of population aged 16 to 65 scoring at a high proficiency level,
by participation and non-participation in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning in the past 12 months, Canada, 2012
1.0
Did not participate in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Participated in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Did not participate in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Participated in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Source: Appendix II, Table 1.3
What is an odds ratio?
An “odds ratio” measures the odds of achieving a certain outcome compared to the odds of failing to achieve the same outcome, given a certain characteristic. Odds ratios are used to describe the likelihood that a given characteristic will affect the realization of a particular outcome.
For example, consider the case of studying for an exam. There are two possible outcomes: passing the exam or failing the exam. If we want to know what effect studying for the exam had on passing or failing, we survey all exam takers, finding that those who studied were more likely to pass than those who did not. Of course, not everyone who studied passed the exam — and not everyone who did not study failed the exam. But, overall, the likelihood of passing is greater if a person studied for the exam.
We may then want to know how great the likelihood is of passing with studying. To come up with that answer, statisticians calculate an odds ratio, a number that tells us how strong the relationship is between studying and passing. An odds ratio greater than 1.0 indicates a positive relationship. For example, an odds ratio of 3.0 would tell us that the odds of passing for a person who studies for the exam is three times greater than the odds of passing for someone who does not study. On the other hand, an odds ratio of less than 1.0 indicates a negative relationship, which means studying would correspond with lower odds of passing the test.
When policies and programs are being designed, odds ratios can help to determine the potential associations of different actions with particular outcomes. If the odds ratio in the exam-studying example is close to 1, it might be difficult to make a strong case for studying. Instead, it might be more important to look at other factors that could affect the likelihood of passing the exam, such as getting a good night’s sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, or engaging in exercise.
Figure 1.10 Numeracy – Adjusted and unadjusted likelihood of population aged 16 to 65 scoring at a high proficiency level, by participation and non-participation in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning in the past 12 months, Canada, 2012
Did not participate in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Participated in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Did not participate in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning
Participated in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning 1.0
2.8
1.0
1.7
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Unadjusted Adjusted
Odds ratio
Source: Appendix II, Table 1.3
A related finding is that participation rates in adult learning increased with every increase in skill level: in other words, as the proficiency level increased, so too did the proportion of adult learners within that level.
This trend is evident across all provinces and territories and in Canada overall, as illustrated in Figures 1.11 and 1.12. At the pan-Canadian level in literacy, for example, 79 percent of those at Level 4 or 5 participated in some form of adult learning in the period covered by the PIAAC survey, compared with 35 percent of those who scored at Level 1 or below (Figure 1.11).
The profile of participation is fairly consistent across the provinces and territories for respondents at Level 2 and above. At Level 4 or 5 in literacy, for example, the participation rate for each proficiency level clusters within four percentage points of the Canadian average (whether above or below) in every province and territory except Yukon, where the participation rate is higher.
Variations at Levels 2 and 3 are larger than this, but still not major.
At Level 1 or below, the picture changes noticeably.
In Alberta, for example, fully 50 percent of those who scored at Level 1 or below in literacy engaged in adult learning — 15 percentage points more than the Canadian average for this proficiency level. In Saskatchewan, the participation rate for those at Level 1 or below was 45 percent, and in Northwest Territories it was 42 percent. In New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, on the other hand, only about half as many people (25 percent for New Brunswick and 24 percent for Newfoundland and Labrador) at this skill level engaged in adult learning. As Figures 1.11 and 1.12 show, the variation across the provinces and territories at Level 1 or below is greater than it is at Level 4 or 5.
Results in numeracy paint a similar picture, as shown in Figure 1.12. For example, among respondents who scored at Level 4 or 5, the average participation rate in adult learning was 78 percent at the pan-Canadian level. Rates for all provinces and territories cluster within 7 percent above or 5 percent below this rate except in Yukon, where participation rates for this combined proficiency level are higher than the Canadian average. At Level 2 and Level 3, there are also moderate variations in participation rates between Canada overall and the provinces and territories.
Among respondents who scored at Level 1 or below, there is once again considerable differentiation in participation rates across the provinces and territories.
The average participation rate at the pan-Canadian level was 38 percent at this level, and rates ranged from a
high of 49 percent in Alberta to a low of 27 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Examination of results in PS-TRE similarly reveals that those who scored at higher proficiency levels demonstrated a higher likelihood of participating in adult learning, as illustrated by Figure 1.13. The average participation rate at the pan-Canadian level among those at Level 2 or 3 was 76 percent, compared with an average participation rate of 55 percent among those scoring at Level 1 or below and of 33 percent among those who did not complete the PS-TRE assessment.10
Source: Appendix II, Table 1.4b U – Too unreliable to be published Source: Appendix II, Table 1.4a Note: U – Too unreliable to be published
Figure 1.11 Literacy – Proportion of population aged 16 to 65 who participated in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning in the past 12 months, in each proficiency level, Canada, provinces, and territories, 2012
Ontario Quebec New Brunswick Nova Scotia Manitoba Northwest Territories British Columbia Prince Edward Island Yukon Alberta Saskatchewan Newfoundland and Labrador Nunavut Canada
35 30
Figure 1.12 Numeracy – Proportion of population aged 16 to 65 who participated in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning in the past 12 months, in each proficiency level, Canada, provinces, and territories, 2012
Ontario Quebec New Brunswick Nova Scotia Manitoba Northwest Territories British Columbia Prince Edward Island Yukon Alberta Saskatchewan Newfoundland and Labrador Nunavut Canada
39
Figure 1.13 PS-TRE – Proportion of population aged 16 to 65 who participated in formal, non-formal, or both forms of adult learning in the past 12 months, in each proficiency level, Canada, provinces and territories, 2012
Ontario Quebec New Brunswick Nova Scotia Manitoba Northwest Territories British Columbia Prince Edward Island Yukon Alberta Saskatchewan Newfoundland and Labrador Nunavut Canada
PS-TRE non-respondents Level 1 or below Level 2 or 3
32 27 27
40 45
35 35 34
U 45
34 27 31 33
58
47 49 53 60 63
55 58 63 59 60
45 51 55
76 71 71 76 78 79 79
73
83 77 78 76 79 76
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percent
Source: Appendix II, Table 1.4c U – Too unreliable to be published