Literate environments, literacy demands and adult education courses: stories from PIAAC

The OECD PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) Survey of Adult Skills measures adults' proficiency in key information-processing skills - literacy, numeracy and problem solving - and gathers information and data on how adults use their skills at home, at work and in the wider community. This article comprises an interview with David Mallows about critically analysing large-scale datasets to reveal stories about literacy practices and environments which can, in turn, lead to better-informed course design. David Mallows is an adult literacy educator and researcher who has uncovered some interesting stories about literacy and numeracy practices from PIAAC data over the years.