| dc.description.abstract | Data literacy is broadly defined as “the ability to read, work with,
analyse, and argue with data.” The Open Data Institute highlights
that data literacy goes beyond the technical skills of working with
data, emphasising the need to think critically about data and its
presentation in different contexts.
In 2018, The Council of the European Union adopted a
recommendation on eight key competences for lifelong learning.
The recommendation states that these are essential to citizens
for personal fulfilment, a healthy and sustainable lifestyle,
employability, active citizenship and social inclusion. Digital
competence is one of these key competences. The European’s
Commission’s Digital Competence Framework for Citizens
(DigComp 2.0) states that “Digital skills for work and for life are at
the top of the European Policy Agenda”. The framework highlights
that due to emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence,
Virtual and Augmented Reality, robotisation, the Internet of
Things, datafication, or phenomena such as misinformation and
disinformation, there are now new and increased digital literacy
requirements on the part of the citizen. ‘Information and Data
Literacy’ has been identified as the first of five competence areas
to increase digital competence.
It is ADAPT’s position that there must be a blended, joined-up
approach to improving digital literacy across Irish society. This issue
is not the responsibility of one government department or agency;
instead a whole-of-government approach, one that is cross-
institute and cross-discipline - must be taken to solve this complex
problem. These conclusions are in line with those reached by the
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), the
National Skills Council (NSC), the National Adult Literacy Agency
(NALA), and the Government of Ireland’s Adult Literacy for Life
(ALL) report that AI and digital literacy skills are embedded.
Just as DETE, NSC, NALA and ALL conclude that AI and digital
literacy skills are embedded alongside the need for lifelong
learning and adult literacy skills in Ireland, we need to ensure that
data literacy is included in this broad understanding of “digital
literacy” and take a whole-of-government approach to data literacy
skills development in Ireland.
In this document ADAPT provides a definition of data literacy,
assesses the current landscape around education and training in
data literacy available for the Irish public, summarises findings
from a pilot scheme ADAPT has created to increase data literacy
skills in hard-to-reach communities, and proposes how to upscale
these findings into a recommendations for a whole-of-government
approach to data literacy skills development in Ireland.
Data Literacy: A Key 21st Century Skill According to the European Commission, data literacy – the ability
to locate, judge the relevance of, and organise data – is liked to
a range of key competences for modern life including engaged
citizenship, “netiquette”, and operating safely and securely online.
The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) states that “literacy
is a barometer of equality”. While NALA does not mention data
literacy specifically, it notes that “literacy enables us to be critically
reflective and engaged citizens, which is essential in today’s news,
media and digital world.”⁶ It is clear that data literacy is now an
essential life skill for citizens, workers, and people of all ages and
demographics.
Data Literacy Further Education and Training: The Current
Landscape
In July 2021, the Irish Government, in collaboration with SOLAS
(the Irish state agency for Further Education and Training),
published ‘Adult Literacy for Life (ALL), A 10-Year Adult Literacy,
Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy’. This strategy represents
a reorientation of adult literacy education and training provision
from a piecemeal pursuit to a joined-up “whole-of-government
approach for investing in adult literacy, numeracy and digital
skills for an equal and resilient Ireland.” ALL lists digital, family,
environmental, financial, health, media and numeric literacy as
key competences. However, there is no specific mention of data
literacy.
By contrast, the European Commission’s Digital Competence
Framework, DigComp¹⁰, which provides a basis for framing digital
skills policy, lists Information and Data Literacy as one of five
competence areas required for 21st Century citizens.
ADAPT believes that it would represent a substantial missed
opportunity for Ireland if data literacy were not included in the
rollout of the systems-based approach to further education and
training provision in adult literacy, numeracy and digital literacy
espoused by Adult Literacy for Life (ALL).
Debunked: Learnings from Informal Data Literacy
Workshops
This paper purports that greater levels of data literacy are required
in Ireland. While industry, schools and higher education institutions
are being equipped to deliver this in their respective spheres,
there remain many citizens outside this remit. ADAPT, the Science
Foundation Ireland Research Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content
Technology, worked with one such group in a series of data literacy
workshops in 2021, delivering “Debunked”: a pilot-scale series
aimed at local residents in Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock District.
Debunked identified four approaches to overcome the challenges
of delivering effective data literacy training, which also broadly
aligned with research laid out by the Partnership in Statistics for
Development in the 21st Century (Paris21) on how to successfully
advance data literacy after the pandemic. | en |
