As part of the funding priority for literacy/basic education for adults financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Oldenburg Adult Education Centre, as the sponsor and funding recipient, carried out the three-year research project "A.B.C. - Alphabetisierung - Beratung - Chancen" (A.B.C. - Literacy - Counselling - Opportunities) from 1 November 2007 in close co-operation with the Didactic Centre of the University of Oldenburg. Other scientists from the universities of Oldenburg, Cologne and Bremen are also involved.

Tasks of the Didactic Centre
The Didactic Centre of the University of Oldenburg is responsible for the research methodology of the A.B.C. study as part of the project. The centre's main tasks include

• Coordination of the research methods used
• Creation of survey instruments
• Conception of a teacher diary
• Advice on the implementation of the survey procedures.

Work programme and objectives
In order to increase the efficiency and quality of support and advisory measures in adult literacy, empirically verifiable and transferable findings in the sub-areas of

• diagnostics
• methodology
• didactics

should be gained.

The aim is to identify the conditions for successful literacy training and to be able to provide scientifically sound recommendations for the practical implementation of literacy training measures, particularly with regard to support diagnostics, adult-appropriate learning materials and instructive and open forms of teaching. The results of the research project will be a support diagnostic tool as well as handouts and learning materials for literacy work, which should offer course instructors promising support systems for daily teaching practice.
The project will accompany a learning group of illiterate adults in an intensive literacy programme (20 lessons per week) and research the teaching and learning processes as well as motivational aspects. The work in the learning group of the A.B.C. project will be continuously documented on film - with the aim of creating an educational film for the training of literacy teachers.

Detailed information can be found on the project homepage at:

abc-projekt.de/