Best Principles: Assessment, Teaching and Learning, Using Technology
Adult education already has seven established principles on which its learning and organisation guidelines are founded. These affect all learners but how are these put into practise when working with students with specific learning difficulties (SpLDs)? At the moment there is no system for screening adults for SpLDs through Adult Education nor is there any systematic awareness training for managers and tutors working with students who are suspected of presenting with a condition of Specific Learning Difficulty.

Assessment of SpLD – A Contentious Issue?
The assessment of SpLds by agencies such as CLAN or CBAL is a contentious issue. It has been said that learners unhappy about being labelled “disabled” could view positive diagnosis negatively or that it might give rise to their having heightened expectations of remediation or even “cure” or “recovery”. When specially trained advisers with guidance and counselling available conduct diagnostic assessment within an Adult Education environment, diagnosis of SpLD is likely to be viewed positively. The focus is not therefore on labelling the learner but “to ensure that the learning that occurs is valued and validated. Locating specific strengths and weaknesses within their context creates new possibilities.” (9)

Another reason for contention is because some managers are reluctant to label learners with a medical /clinical condition, thus giving the impression they accept a medical model of disability rather than the social model upon which inclusive practise in adult education is founded. But the point of assessing and potentially diagnosing learners with SpLD within the context of Adult Education is very different. It is directly in accord with the Learning Programme Guidelines and much of the Organisation Guidelines set out within The Good Practice Framework Literacy and Numeracy. (10)

Assessment and diagnosis are also valued and promoted by key organisations and individuals working with adults with SpLDs in this country and abroad. The British Dyslexia Association, Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre, The Dyslexia Institute, SPELD NSW, FE/HE institutions, academics such as Gavin Reid (Senior lecturer) and Jane Kirk (both at the Faculty of Education, University of Edinburgh) (11) and the Secretary of State for Education and Employment are just a few of those concerned with promoting good practice in relation to assessment and support for those whose prospects are impaired by SpLDs.