What is literacy?

In our knowledge economy, literacy is more than a simple matter of reading and writing. It also involves social, cultural, and functional skills that help us participate in our society. It means being aware of our rights and privileges as employees, community members, and citizens. It is also about having the ‘systems knowledge’ to navigate in our information-based society.

This may help to explain why the recent International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALLS) found that 42% of Canadians are below the minimum level considered necessary for coping with the demands of modern life and work.

In Canada you say?

Unlike many other industrialized countries, Canada does not have a national strategy in place. There are national organizations like ABC Canada and The Movement for Canadian Literacy which are working to educate the public and policy makers about literacy needs, but there are no federal resources being provided to programs. These programs that are in place are provided through provincial governments. In Ontario we have Regional Networks across the province, like MTML, who provide support and help to coordinate literacy services in their area. In Toronto and York Region these programs are serving over 11,000 adult learners. Generally speaking, these programs are funded through the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities and delivered by community-based agencies, school boards, and colleges.

So there are systems in place, and this may be why people may find it hard to accept that Canada has a literacy problem. When we hear reports of developing countries with much higher literacy rates, and scoring in the 88th percentile, the numbers revealed by the International Adult Literacy Survey become even more difficult to comprehend. however, literacy measures like these are based on a somewhat arbitrary standard like the ability to sign a name, and are not the kind of comprehensive measurement required to properly represent a population on the literacy continuum.

To understand the literacy problem in Canada, and why it is so prevalent, please read and share the brochures below: