Research & Readings
To promote a learning and research culture within the literacy field, users are encouraged to post and comment on items they feel contributes to literacy work or adult education policy.
Strange Stories of Adult Literacy in Canada
08.04.2010. — GlennIn this article by Tom Sticht, International Adult Education consultant, we see how Canada pales in comparison to the United States in how adult literacy is being addressed. The article makes a strong case for an increased federal
role for partnering with the provinces on this pressing social problem. Taking the remarks of Dr. Paul Cappon of the Canadian Council on Learning as a departure point, namely “the fact is that nearly half of all adults have low
literacy levels, meaning they are ill-prepared for the current demands of our rapidly changing world.” Sticht goes on to crunch the numbers and writes: “if there are some 10 million adults with literacy needs, then the federal funding
comes to some $3.6 dollars for each adult in need. Even if there were just half the numbers of adults with grave literacy needs, this would be just $7.2 dollars per needy adult. Further, even if only 10 percent of adults who could
benefit from adult literacy education actually enroll in programs, about 1 million adults across Canada, the federal funding of $36 million would come to just $36 per enrollee. In the United States, the federal government also
provides poverty level funding to the 50 states for adult literacy education, but it still comes to some US$260 per enrollee, more than 7 times the Canadian federal funding if one million adults enroll in Canadian literacy programs in a year.” This article is available on National Adult Literacy Database at: http://www.nald.ca/info/whatnew/headline/2009/tsticht.htm
Hard Hit: Impact of the Economic Downturn on Nonprofit Community Social Services in Ontario
08.04.2010. — GlennThis report from the Community Social Planning Council documents the impact of the recession on Ontario’s nonprofit community service sector, lays out the implications for Ontarians, and suggests a path forward to strengthen
the capacity of the sector to meet the challenges ahead. During April and May of 2009, the Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) conducted a survey with 413 community service agencies from across Ontario. Visit http://socialplanningtoronto.org/reports/ to download the full report.
Literacy Matters, A Report from the Toronto Dominion Bank
08.04.2010. — GlennAccording this new report from TD Economics, immigrants are not being utilized to their full potential and poor language and literacy skills are at the heart of a problem that is costing Canada billions of dollars annually. “There’s an awful lot of opportunity that’s being lost,” said Craig Alexander, a TD economist and the report’s author, in an interview with the National Post. Frank McKenna, deputy chair of TD Bank Financial Group and former New Brunswick premier, cited numerous advantages of having a more literate workforce that better leverages the skills of newcomers. But many Canadians are unaware of the problem, he said in an interview. ““It’s sort of like boiling a frog -- it’s not a burning platform, it isn’t something that would alarm people because it’s not all that evident, and we just gradually become poorer as a nation as a result of this loss of potential.” The full report is available at: http://www.td.com/economics/special/ca0909_literacy.pdf
State of Learning in Canada: A Year in Review
08.04.2010. — GlennThe 2009–2010 State of Learning in Canada: A Year in Review report provides the most up-to-date information available on Canada’s learning landscape, and in the process helps contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of how Canadians are faring as lifelong learners.
Visit: http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/Reports/StateofLearning/?Language=EN to download the full report
Reading the Future: Planning to Meet Canada’s Future Literacy Needs
25.03.2010. — GlennIn Reading the Future, the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) projects that there will be little to no progress in our population’s level of literacy. In fact, by 2031, 47% of adults aged 16 and over — totaling more than 15
million—will continue to have low literacy skills below IALSS Level 3, or the internationally-accepted level of literacy required to cope in a modern society. The report acknowledges the role that governments, employers,
unions and individuals can play in advancing literacy in Canada and encourages all sectors to take immediate action, to secure a brighter literacy future. The report is available on the CCL’s wesbite at:
http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/Reports/ReadingFuture/?Language=EN
Health Literacy in Canada
25.03.2010. — GlennA research project by Scott Murray for the Canadian Council on Learning found that “there are more people with low levels of health literacy (60%) than there are with low levels of literacy (48%) suggest[ing] a difference between the two. In order to master health-literacy tasks, adults are usually required to use their prose literacy, document literacy, and numeracy skills simultaneously. In other words, health literacy involves more than the ability to read or understand numbers. Canadians with the lowest health-literacy skills were found to be more than two-and-a-half times as likely to be in fair or poor health as those with the highest skill levels, much less likely to have participated in a community group or to have volunteered, and more than two-and-a-half times as likely to be receiving income support. The strongest link was found with diabetes, the prevalence of which declines as health literacy rises.” The research presented in this report suggests that there might be a cure for Canada’s low levels of health literacy: daily reading habits have the strongest effect on health literacy proficiency. The research report, available for download at http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/Reports/HealthLiteracy/?Language=EN, makes the case that “reading each day can keep the doctor away”.
Addressing Canada’s Literacy Challenge: A Cost/Benefit Analysis
25.03.2010. — GlennThis compelling research report, authored by a team of leading independent researchers from across Canada,presents estimates for raising the literacy levels of all adult Canadians to a IALSS level 3. The estimated total costs
are 6.4 billion annually. The total estimated partial return on investment is 16 billion, a return of 251% annually.The returns are in the form of increased tax revenues yielded from increased earnings and decreases in spending on
Employment Insurance and Social Assistance. The estimates do not account for a range of other indirect economic benefits associated with health, social, and educational costs of low literacy or the increased revenues from consumption
taxes. For the complete report please visit: http://www.dataangel.ca/en/cost-benefitE-jan7.pdf