ti ril

ILLITERACY:IS IT THE ONLYISSUE?

cyrilc. Organ, B.A., B.Ed.

A thesis submitted to theSch o ol of Graduate Studies in partial ful fi llmentof the

re qu i r e ments for the degree of Master of Education

Departmentof Cur-;iculumand Instruc tio n Fa c ul ty of Educa t ion Memorial universityof Newf oundland

July 1991

Newf o und l a n d

1+1

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Canada

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The Department of Education in the srcvinc e of New!o un dland and Labradorha s setill pl an n ing targetof ill

1001 increase in the number of lite r a cy trainees over a five-yea r period. This researc h er examined the statistic al data used to assess the pr e v a l enc e of i ll i tera cy in the prov i nce an d eval uate d the effectiveness of one gui d ing defi ni tio nas an indica tor of illiteracy. Specifically, the ind ica tor "15 yearsof age and abovewithless than Gra de Nine" was evaluated in the context of results attained on the Voc a bul a r y and compre he ns ion components of th e Canadian Adu l t Achievemen t Test by 237 prospective students at Western communi ty Colleg e.

The results of this analysis suggest that caution must be exercisedwh e n employing thi s indicator as the sole means of assessing th e prev ale nc e of adult illiteracy. The data indicates that re a dingprowess does Increase with ye ars of SChooli ng, but the correlations obs e rved between age and years of schooli ng with re ad in g score s atta i ne d on the C.A.A.T. are too we a k.to permi t defini ti ve inference s .

The s e findi ng s suppo r t an Adul t Le arn i ng Cent re mode l whichisba sedonthepremisethatwh ile illitera c y

i i i

is a significant issue, it is part of a mu c h larg er problemofund e re d uc a tio n thatmu st beaddress e d as well.

tv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dr. Frank Wolfe has been an in v a l u a b l e guide through the entire pro cess of preparing this thesi s. While Or. Wolfe pointedthe way, my wife, Mary,andth r e ech ild r en, Ca t h e r i n e, Michael and Andrew , providedthe encouragement I needed to follow the project throughto its completion.

Many thanks are also due to my employer , We s t e r n community College, for providing a professional environment that cannot be matched.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Abstract . .. .... ... . .... ... ... .. ... ... .... i i Acknowledgeme nt s. . ... ... .. .... . . ... Iv List ofTables. . . ... ... . . . .. ... .. ... ... . vi i

CHAPI'E R

INTRODUCTION •• •• ••••••••• ••••• ••••••• •••

Ba rr i ers toAcc e s s .

REVIEWOF RELATED LITERATURE.. ... ... 17

Con clus ions... . . ... ••. ...••. ... 50

PURPOSEOFTHE STUDy .. ... . ... 55

Sig nific ance ofthe study ... ... 57

Designof the Study... . . ... 57

TheSurv e y Instrument... .... .. 57

Analysisofthe Data.... . ... ... .•.•• 59

Limitations... . ... ... ... . 60

Demographics. .... ... . .... .. . ... . 64

Perfo rma nc eontheCanadianAdult AchievementTe s t. ... . .... . ... 88

Gender Comparison. .. ... . .... .... . 95

Last Grade completedCompar ison... 107

Sta nineComparison... .. ... .. 110 summary.•• ••• ••••••••• •.• • •••••. ••••• 113

RATIONALEFORADULT LEARNINGCENTRES...• 114 Adult Lear n ingCentre Mode l . ProjectedCosts... .... . ... .... 129 suggestedsites... ... 133 Fund i ng Sources. . . ... .. ... 136

EPILOGUE... ... . .. .. .. . ... ... 138 REFERENCES•••••• ••••• •••••••••• ••. .•••• • SUGGESTED READINGS. . . .. .... . ... . . .. ... 146

APPENDIX A....•••.••• ••••••.•••• .•• •••• • 149

64

67 Table3.1

Tabl e3.2

Tab l e3.3

Tab le 3.4 Tabl e J.S

Tab le3.6

Tab le 3.7

Tab le3. 8

Tab l e 3.9

Tab l e 3.10

Table 3.11

T!:.b le3.12

vii LIST OF TABLES

Page Demographics:Gende r...• ...

Deinographics : Ag e

Ge nera l Fac ts.. . ... ... .. ... 65 Demograp hics: "'ge

Me a su r e s of Centra l Tendency ... ... . 66 De mogra p h i c s : AgeDis tr ibut i o n•.... De mogra p h i c s : Age

Di s pe r s i on... 68 De mogra p h i c s : Age

SkewnessandKurtosi s... . ... ... 69 Demographics:

Femal e AgeDis tri b u t i on... .. ... . 70 De mograph i cs : Fe mal e Ag e

Genera l Facts... . . ... . . ... 71 De mograph i c s: Femal e Age

xeesurec of ~ent ra lTend en c y. ... .. . 71 Demog rap hics: Female Age

Dis persion.. . .... .. . ... . ... .• ... 72 Demogra phics: Fe maleAge

Ske wne s s andKur tosis... ... .. 73 Demoqrap hics:

Male Age Di st ri bu t ion... . . ... 74

viii

Table 3.13 Demog r a p h i c s: MaleAge

General Facts•••.•.•..•• • .•...• 7. Tab le 3.14 Demographir.s: MaleAge

Measures of Central Tendency.... ..• 76 'rabt e 3.15 Demographics: MaleAge

Dispersion•••••••. • •• • •••• ••••••••. 77 Table 3.16 Demographics: MaleAge

Skewness and Kurtosis•••..• • • • .. ... 78 Table 3.17 Demographics: ~3stGradeCompleted

FrequencyDistr.'.bution••••••.••• •.• 7' Table 3.18 Demographics :t.ast;Grade Completed

General Facts•••• • • •••.••• • ••••••.. 80 Titble 3.19 Demograp hics: Last GradeComplete d

MeasuresofCentralTendency..• .••• 80 Tabl e 3.20 Demographics :La,t Grade Completed

Dispersion•••• •• • • • •• •••• ••.•• ••• •• 81 Tab le 3.21 Demographir.:s: La,t Grade Completed

Skewnessand Kurtos is•••••• •• • ••• • • 82 Tab l e 3. 2 2 Demographics :La,t GradeComple ted

Gene ra l Fac t s: Fema le•.•••••..••••. 82 Table 3.23 Demographics: La s t Grade completed

Mea s ur e s of Central Te nde ncy: Fe male ^{8 )} Ta b le 3.24 Demograph ics: La"'t GradeCompleted

Dispersion: re.eare ... ...

. .... .. ...

i,

Table 3.25 Demographics: Last Gradecompleted SkewnessandKurt o sis :Female•••• ••

.S

Table3.26 Demographics:LastGradeC:>mpleted General Facts:Male.. . . .......... . . as Table3.2 7 Demograp h ics:Last GradeComp leted

Measuresof CentralTendency: Ma l e. as Table3.28 Demographics:LastGradecomp leted

Dispersion: Male.•. •.• . •.• .•..... ..

.7

Table3.29 Demographics: LastGradeCompleted SkewnessandKurtosis:Male•.. ... .. 88 Table3.30 Attainmenton vo cabularyComponent

GeneralFacts........... ... . ... .9 Ta bl e 3.31 Attainment onVo c abu l a r yComponent

Measuresof CentralTendency ....... .9 Table 3.32 Attai nmen t on vo cabularyComponent

Dispers i on....... .... .... .. ... 90 Table3.33 1',ttainmenton Vocabulary Component

SkewnessandKurtosis........ • .. ..• 91 Tab l e3.34 Attainmenton Comprehensioncomponent

Ge ne r al Fac ts.. .. ... . . ...... . . . ...• 91 Ta b le 3.35 AttainmentonComprehensionComponent

Me a s u r e s of Central Tendency.. .. ... 92 Table3.36 Attainmen t on Comprehens ion Compon ent

Dispersion....... ... .•.• ... .. 93

Table 3.37

Table 3.38

Table 3.39

Ta bl e 3.40

Table 3.41a

Table 3.41b

Ta b l e 3.42a

Table 3.42b

Table 3.43a

Tabl e 3.43b

Tab le 3. 44a

Tabl e 3.44b

Attainment on Comprehension Component Skewnessand Kurtosis... . . .... 94 Mat r i x of Correlation Coefficients Sample.... ... .•.. .... . . . ... 94 Mat rixof Corre lation Coefficients:

Ma l e... .... . ... ... ... . .... 96 Matri x of Correla tionCoefficients:

rilmale. ... . . ... .. . .... .. . . .... ... 97 Means/StandardDeviations:

'Loung Malils... .... .... . . . .... 99 Matri xof Corre lationCoe.":ficients;

'Loung Males.... ... . ... .... ... 100 Means/Standard Deviations

OlderMales. .... ... .. ... . 101 Matrixof Co rre lationCoef fic ients: Older Males... . .... .. ... ... .. 10 2 Means/Standard Deviations:

Young Females... ... .. 103 Matrixof Corre lationCoefficif' nts:

YoungFemales... ... . . ... 104 Means/standard Deviations:

Older Females.. . . .. ... . .... 105 Matrixof CorrelationCoefficip.nts:

OlderFe male s . ... . . . ....•.• • • • . .... 106

Table 3.45

Table 3.46

Table3.47

Tab le3.48

Ta bl e 4. 1

"

Means/standa rdDeviations:

<Grade 9... . .. . . ... .. .. 107 Matrixof CorrelationCoeffi cients:

<Grade9.... ... 108 Me an s / St a nda rdDe v i a t ~ ons :

Grad e9 and Above ...•... .. . •. 10 9 Matr ixof Cor re lationCoe ffi t"den ts:

Grade 9 and Above... ... ... 110 Electora l Distric tsServedby We stern

communityCollege:

Unde reducationjUnemployrne n t... 116

CHAPl'ER L

INTRODUCTI ON.

Finally, in demonstr at ion of the commi t ment which is required in the literacy fi eld, a planning targe t of a 100\ increase ; n the number of li t e r a cy trainees is being set for the post-secondary system. In attempting to meet this target, additional funds thr ough grants in ai d or new initiatives wLlI not ne c e s s a ril y be forthcomi ng. Institutionswil l have to re d e plo y funds intothe litera cyarea.

Li t era cy must become a corepro g r a m, as central to the college as skills programs are now,and this means a financial shift as well. (~

IDl..r...E~: AFive~Yearstrategic Plan For The Postseconda ryEducationSystem In Nelifound land And Labrador ,1990,p, 61)

This, theconcludingstatement onlit e r a c yin~

~, set the tone for this writer's prcresc Icna r ende avours in the ne xt five ye ars and in fl ue nc e s this thesis to a large degre e. In my capacity as Prog r a m

De v elopment Off icer (A. 8.E. Speci a l ist ) at Western communityCollege, I servein:

a respon sible instructional leadership and support position co- o r d i na t i ng program and profes sional dev e l opment activ i t i e s and projec t s cond u c t e d by the col le g e . Under the generaldirectionoftheVi ce-pr e s i dent at the Headquart ers lev el , the in cu mbent is repons ible for assist i ng Campus principals, supe rviso r s of Instructi on, and faculty with identif icat ion of program and pr o f es sio na l ne eds wit hin thecollege! developingguidelines and ob j e c t i ve s fo r program and pr o fe ss i o nal develop mentprojects to meet those needs ; and coordinati ng the projects by facilitati ng the workof all thoseass ignedto it to ens ure that ee cn project is succes sfully compl ated . (Position Description, Program Development Offic er, Western communityCollege)

In this capacity, and in the cont e xt of the priority apparentlyto be placed upon litaracyin this prov ince in the coming years, thi s wd ter will be enga ge d in the imple men t a t i o n and maintenance of new literacy initiati ves in the Collegere g i o n .

Current ly, demand for literacy programming is at a higher level than ever as a consequence of a number of factors . Fir st , the designationof199 0 as International Literacy Year -ae great ly enhanced pubjIc a....areness of the is s u e of ill i t e r a c y and has done much to ameliorate the stigma which has traditionally been assoc i a t e d with the issue. Second, the Province is curren tly embro il e d in a recession which is resul ting in a signif i c ant di spla ceme nt of wo r ke r s , ma ny of whom need retraining.

Third, field workers with th e va rio u s Co mm un i t y Education Departments of the College have done an effective job of promoting the availability of lite racy programmi ng in areas which had previously not bee n se rv ed .

The Adul t Basic Education (A.B.E.) Leve l I program is the mainstay of the college's literacy agenda.

Offered on a full-time/daytimebasis atst e ph e nv il l e and a part -time/night-time basis throughout the College region, A.B.E. Level I prescribes instruction in the basic skills of l iteracy and nume r a c y and places these skillsin a societalco ntextby exploringthemes related toev e ry d ayl if e. De liv e r y of thepr ogram features a low instuctor/student ratio (typically, 1/5) in settings

ranging from a kitchen in Red Brook to a traditional classroom in th e college campus at Stephenvil le . particularly in the smaller centers, instru ction is deliver ed by loc a l re s i den t s who ar e aware of the pr e va il ing economic, societal and educa t iona l re s t r a i nts of the studentsand the areage ne r al ly , andthe re s u lt is instru<-tiontailor£od to each locale.

However, while A.B.E. Level I is the mainstay, the college mainta i ns a close liaison with other agencies offering lit e r a cy instructionand assists theseagencies asrequ ire d. For instance, Laubach Lite racyoperates in erose harmony with the college , albeit at arm's len g t h , in it s efforts to deliver prograIlUll.ingthroug ho ut the re g i on. Many Col lege personnel serve at the executive lev el in loc a l , pr ovinc ia l ~ndna t ional Laub achLit e racy couclls and the Fi eld Of fi cer for the orga n i zation is housed at the Corner Bro okCampus of the col lege . The program, wi t h its inn ova t ive "eac h one teach cne"

approach del ivered by trai ne d vo l un teer tut"rs , is seen to offer instructi on tha t is compleme ntary to, ra t he r tha n in confl ict wit h, the A. B.E. Level I p:,:,og r am.

Inde ed , the prog ram is very at t ract ive particu larl y to adu lt lear ne rs who are reluc tan t to pur su e tra ini ng

through an institution until their literacy skills improve. subsequently,many ofthe s e learners then enter the colle.,je in pursuit of higher level tr a in i ng ....it h ^it greatly enhanced level of confidence. As such, the Laubach pr ogr a m serves as a feeder pr og r a m for the college.

In additio n, the college actively seeks to offer inn o vat i v e li t e r a c ypr og r a mming in conce rt ....it h various community-basedgroups. Fundingwas re c e ntl y announced for the establishment of a program at the stephenville crossing Campus which ....ill use ta.e interactive video program, PALS,as the principalmode of inst ruct ion.

However, th e task of enhancingthele vel s of access would be immensely easier if abundantfunding....ere to be made avai lable for literacy programming, but the Five- Year Plan specificallypoi ntsto analternative scenario.

Conseque ntly , th e challenge for this writerand We s t e rn community college is to effec tive ly ide nt i f y ta r ge t group s and to provide neededli t era c y programming in a fi s c a lly prudent fa s hion . Additionally, theCollege must be cognizant of the fact th at li t e r a cy demands may vary interms of scopeas well as prevalence, thus imposing

the nee d for di verse cur r i c ul a r appr oa ches to the remediating of the issue.

Thisthesismarks th is writer'sattemptsto come to grips with the issue of adu l t ill itera c y at a pe r s o na l and professional level, and seeks to arrive at an effective means of defining adult illi te racy and asse s si ng its prevalence for pur pos e s of pr og ram planning. It is hoped that the outcome wil l provide a focus for action as the College attempts to meet its objectives .

BARRI ERS TO ACCES S

The current emphasis on enhanced levels of literacy programmingassumes that past li t e r acyef f o r t s were not addressing the re al needs of adu l t illit erate s. The re v i e w of rel a t ed lit era tu r e inthis thesis is meant to ill us t rate that a varietyof definitions and assessment pr oc e du r e s ha ve be e n used to provide a measu re of the prevalenceof adult ill i te racy in this provi n c e and the re s ult s ha v e suggested a 'pr oble m' of stagge ri ng propo rtio ns. Yet, the number of literacy stude nts in this prov i nc e ha s esse ntial ly remained stag na nt at a level far belowthat one would expectgiventhe reported

preval e nce of illiter acy. This paper will arg ue tha t part of the problem ma y reside in the definitions and as s e s s ment procedur es used to quantify the number of adul t illitera tes , but it wo uld be ne g lige nt to ig nore the not i on of barriers which impede access to literacy programs .

Any effor t to enha nce the leve l of li t e r ac y prog ramming must reflect the fact that barriers, bo t h real and per c e i ve d , exist which conspiretopr event many adu lt illiterates from obtai ning literacy traini ng. Hayes (198(1) ide nti fi e d five factors: low-self - con fi de nce , socia l dis ap pr ov a l , s1 tuational bar rie rs, ne g a t ive attitudes to classes and low personal prio rity asty p i f yi ng the ra tionalegiven by adults who could not or Hou ldnot access programs to upgrade the i r skills. (p. 4) These facto rsarede so r ibed byHayes as:

Fa ctor One : row Sel f-Confidence. The ite ms lo a ded onthisractor refl e otedfe e lings of low self -esteem in ge na r al , and specifical ly in regard to aoademic abi l ity . Certain items suggested a fear of specifictasks requi red in the educ a t ional proc e s s. The high means of a number of the se it e ms indi c a t ed tha t suc h

deterrents are perceived as particula rly important by thispopulation.

Factor Two' Social pisapproval. This factor comprised of items that suggest the existenceof a socia l envi ronment in which education is ,,!'t.t. perce ived as helpful or impo r t a nt . The highest lo a d i ng variables specifica lly refe r re d to the disapprova l of family and friends as barriers to participation.

Factor Three' Situationa l Barriers. This factor, si mila r to the category of situatonal barriers described by Cross (1981), consisted of itemssuch as costs, la c k of transportation, and family problems.

Factor Four' Negative AttitUdeto Classes . The items loa ding on this facto r ind i ca t e d a dislike of schoolwo rk or classes, or of an as p ec t of pa r t i c i pation in classes, such as90in~to a scho ol build i ng. Unlike Cross's Institutional Bar riers, th e s e ltems general ly rep rese nted a pers onal eva luation rathe r than a ba r rie r erected by th e institu tion.

Factor Fiye' Low Personal Priority. This factor was defined by two marker variables: "It was more impor ta nt to get a jobthanto goto school ," and "I do nIt have time to go to school . " They both indicatea situat ion in whic h other activities ta ke pr e c ed e nc e overeducati on. (p. J)

Literacy In AChanging So ci e t y : Poli cies Perspectives An d Strategies For Ne wf g undland And Lab r ador, theReport of Th e Ministeri al AdvisoryCommitteeOn Literacy , 19 89 , rep o rts thatsi mila r bar r i ers exis t in the Newfoundland con text. fol lowin g a province -w ide round of consu l tations , th e Commit teelisted;

diffiCUlty of learners to articu late needs;

socia l stigma of il literacy ; lac k of support systems (Le. day/nig ht ca r e ); tuition casts, in s uffic ien t fund ing prog r ams; cul t ural barriers; la ck of relevant informat ion; adu l ts

~onot have basicright to education{p,8) the mast significa nt bar riers faced by learn ers in thi sprovinc e.

It must be note d that many of these bar r i ers identi f ied in bothsou r c es are self-i mposed, (Le., low self -conf i de nce , social disapprova l , neg a tiveatt i t ud e to

10

«te ss es and 10.... pers onal priority are pers o nal barriers as opposed to institut i on al barriers) , suggesting that recruitment pol~.cies must be geared toward overcoming anxieties about returning to an educational setting.

Howe ve r , situational barriers such as lack of financ ial for tuition, daycare and transportation are very re al barriers for the person who has a genuine desire to attend classes but canno t in the absence of some form of financial support. The s e barriers institutional or societal in nature and are beyond the co nt r ol ofthe le a r ne r.

Consider the following scenario (a composite of actual incide nts) asan example of th~ veryre al effect of these barriersfor aduIt le ar ners.

A divorced mother of two pre-school children has a genuine desire to obtain Beauty Culture training as a means of attai ning gainful employment and approaches CanadianEmployme ntand IllUJIigra tionabout the possibili ty of re c e ivi ng atra in i ng all owanceto attend thepr og r a m.

At prese nt , she re c e i v e s chil d support and alimony pa yme nts whichare jus t barely SUff icientto provide for basic living expenses. In the abs enc e: of add i t i on al financial suppo r t , she cannot po s s ibly enro l in a

11 program, given the added expenses of daycare and transpor tation. The employment counsellor at C.E .I.C. re c og n i z e s the woman'sgenuine interest but suggests that in view of the fact that.she le f t school while in Grade 9, academic upgrading ....ill be needed prior to her acceptance into a Beauty Cultureprog ram. However, she is assured that tr a i ning allowances are available for A.a.E. Level II and III students, so she is advisee! to apply for entry int o an A.B.E. class at the local community college. Upon completion of thisprogram, she will be able to enter a Beauty Culture program and receive a training allowance to completetha t program as well.

Prior to acceptance into the A.B.E. program at the col lege, shecompletes re l eva n t portions of the Canadia n Adu l tAchievement Test and is advised that her scores are suchas to re quire her pl a c ement in A. B.E . Level I, the literacycomponent of the program. Sheis quite prepared to ente r this program but is shocked to d Lse....ver that traini ng al lowa nces are not available to students enrolled in Level 1. She learnsthat literacy is viewed by C.E.1.C. to be the attainmentof basic skills, whi ch is viewed as a func t i o n of educa tion. Education, of

12 course, is a provincia l respo nsib i l ity, and since C.E.I.C. is a federal agency , thereare ju r i s d i ct i on al issuesto consider. Thp. Province, given its manda t e fo r education , does not pay trainingal lowan ces, bu tdoespa y any tuition foes that the woman might incur . However, the tuition fees themselves ar"" not he r greatestconce r n beca us e the issues of daycare and tra nspo r t a t i on pose her most daunt ing challenges . consequent ly, she ha s no choice but to shelve her plans.

Th is scenario, one which is all too common, points to ba r r i ers tha t exist today inth i s provi nce. Ea c h of thegovernmenta l agenciesinv olve d canbe abso lvedof any blame inth i s issuebecau s e ju risdictio nalboun dariesare clearly de fined , and in the case of the conununity college, th e studentwassimplybei ngcounsel ledinto the trainingth a t was required . Even so, a highl y motiv a t ed st ude nt seeki ng to improveherself wa sde ni ed ac ce s sto a pr og r a m for re a s onsthatshe could no t control .

It must be emphasizedthat the individu a l des c ri be d inthi s scenario had wil lingly made ade c i s i o n to return to an educational set ting and had presumably put aside the pers on al bar riers that Hayes de s cr ibes. She had not vie wedherse lf as being illite rate, beca useshe ha d cope d

13 with the reading demands of her life situati onsto date, and it was only upon seeking entry to a more advanced training program that ehe learned of her dafieL.mt reading skills. statistica}.ly, as will be demonstrated in the reviewof related litera ture, and in terms of a placement testat a communitycollege, she was classified as an illiterat..adult, yet her self-perception suggested otherwise.

Experience supports a contention that many people learn of the i r reading deficiencies in this manner and that this realization forces such adults to rethink th'"

plans that they had formulated. The Inddv LduaLfaed and se lf-paced del ivery sys t e m used in its pre~employment programs enables Westerncommunity College to utilize a continuous intake policy which allows a new student to occupy a vacant tra\ni ng position as soonas it becomes eva LjebLe• New students are routinely proc e s sed on Monday mornings; part of this process inclUdes the administration of the C.A.A.T. and other st a nda r d ize d tests as required. Many studen ts enter the building believingthat they are about to enter the trade of their choice as mature students, rmly to find that their reading deficiencies require rl'mediation , a process that

might take two or three years.

, .

This must be accomplished before they can cope with the academic components ofthe trade. Consequen t ly, these students must deal with the ir frust ra t ed ambitionsAD..!! with the re ali zat i o n thatthe y areillitera teat;the sameti me .

Th e s e pointsare raised to highlight an issue that is centraltothe currenteffor ts to enhancethe le ve l of literacy programming. Definitions canbe coinedand the prevalence of adul t i l;iteracy can be extrapolated, but any effort to enhance enrollment in lite racy training must be cognizantof there al and pez ce Ivedba rr i e r s that exist, and r~cruitment policies must be formula ted to reflectthese bar riers. Hayes (1968) neat l y summarizes the issue in her assertiontrat:

Attempts to recruitgreaternumbers of tha low- l it e r a t e popUlation in the past, wh il e numerous, fre e;t:len tl y have not met wit h great success (Hunter and Harman, 197!'). One factor contributi ng to the fa il ure ofpasteff o rts is a lack of knowle dge abou t system atic di f f e r e nc e s among the low- l i t era t e population that might make differential recruitme nt strategies ne c e s sary . Limited previo us

15 research has ind icated that the low-literate population does not form a heterogeneous group.

Flngerat (1983 ) characterized illiterates along a continuum, ranging from the "cosmopolitans"I

who are often economically suc cessful, of t e n pass as literate, and have heterogeneous, extended social net wo r ks, to the "locals", who belongto low socioeconomic, oftensubc u l tura l or ethnic groups, and have homogeneous social ne t wor k s. Hunter and Harman (1979) propose fou r group s of low-l i t e r a t e adults, based on certain social and economic characteristic s, an d suggest that the most dis advantaged are almost impossible to serve in traditional literacyprograms. (p,2)

This wr i ter would sllggest that enhanced levels of literacy programming can occur only in a context of a validoperationaldefinition of literacy, given reliable in f orma t io n as to the prevalence of illiteracy in an area, and given a thorough knOWledge of the barriersto access in that area. Thu s , the following discussion features as a recurring theme analysis of the consequences of the fi ndingsfor recruitment.

1.

Fina ll y , an Adult Learning Ce ntre Hodel will be proposedas alIe a n s of incorporati ngthe fIndingsof this paper int o a concrete pl a n of at tack for Western COllJlluni tyColleg e.

17 CHAPTER a

REVIEW OF RELATEDLITERATURE

It would seem that a definitionof illiteracy should be rel a tive l y easy to stipulate. Essent i ally, literacy is ",ide lyunderstood to be the abilityto reador write, thereforeillitera cymustofnec essit y mea n the oppo site - namely, the inab ilit y to read and write. However, while this definition is elegant in its simplic ity , i t le a ds this writer to recall an express ion coine d byan author unknown, IIFor every human problem, there is a solution that is neat, simpl e and wrong". This detinition ma y not be wrong , but it do e s beg the very questions that this revie w of related li t era t u r e seeks to

Th o ma s (1989) provides a useful starti ng point in he r excellenttreatise, "Defi ni t i on s and Evolutionof the concepts" , and raises many of the questions that have beenbe gged by the opening definition:

Problems begin to surface, however, when literacy purposes are discussed. The answers to the queatiLcn "Litera cy for what? ", determi ne how a li t e r a c y program is designed, implemented

ra and evaluated. The underlying assumptions and values of the definers shape the practice.

Resul ts determine the success or failureof a program and experience may modify the initial assumptions and ultimately help chang e the definitions . (p.3)

Thomas (19 89) acknowledges the fact that the quest for a defin itionis one that is fraughtwith difficulty , but le a v e s no doubt about her conviction that a defin!ticn is essential, as evidenced byhe r asserti on tha t:

coming to gri p s with definitions of "li t era c y"

has become something of a preoccupation for many scholars, especially in the la s t decade. Technological change and human resources development poli cies are factors contributing to the heightened visibility of "l i t e r a c y" in the pUblic consciousness and the efforts of qcveenaenee at various le v e l s to understand

"t he problem ". One'5 understanding of what

"l i tera c y" or "illiteracy " is shapes pOlicies and funding pr ov i s i o ns . Thus, defini tions become critical. (p.4)

19 The probl e m, howeve r , is that thereare perhapstoomany def i nitions , and as Thomas has pointed out, these de fini tions are lar gely infl uenced by the value s and assump tionsotth e defin ers. Add i t i o nal l y, ma n y existing definitionsare SUbject to the vagariesthat Cl a r k (1984 1 poses in his asser t ion that:

Ade f init i o n communicatesso me sens eof meaning from someone to someone, and in so far as it does that it is useful. When a definitionno long e r properl ydefineswhat is or no lon g e r is understood by the audience for whom i t is wri t t e n, it cea e e s to be use f ul. Definit i ons te nd to be temporal and not unive rsa l. Soi t is ex pe cted that they wi ll change or evolveas arefl e ctionto the ex i s t e nc e of newknowledg e or new audie nces with new perce pt i on s . On the ot he r han d, it also happens that definit i o ns maypersist beyo nd theirtempo ra l boundary and may continue to be used even thoug h they no longer retlec t either exist ing knowledge or people' sperceptionof that knowledge. (p. 133) Harman (1987) re s po nd s to the notion of values and assumptions in hisobservationthat:

20 Mo r e th a n a set of skills, literacyis a val ue.

Societies that place an important value on being literate actively seek to inculcate it and pr ovid e rewards to tho se whoarelitera t e.

In other societ ies, literacy is vi e we d as a less important val ue and is le s s av i d l y pursue d. In suc h societie s , even if literacy is firmly embedded in the schools' cur rdcu rua, literacycanno t properly ta ke hold. (p.ll) Given thene c e s s i tyof definitions tha t refl e ct the values of the group fo r whom literacy is def ined, and further, given the vary i ng le vel of value assigned to litera c y in differen t societies, it seems rea s o n abl e to epeeuta e e that no single definitionof liter acy can be developed to accommodate all societies.

To place the s e different values in an ap p ropriate context, it can be a us e f ul exercis e to trace , however bri e fl y, the eVolution of li t e ra c y throughou t the ages.

Ha rma n assists in this endeavou r. and suggests tha t th e grea test single propo n e nt (and beneficiary ) of lit e racy ha s be en themono theis tic re lig ions :

Th e sp re a d of monotheistic religions- fi r s t JUdaism, then Christ i an ity , and finally Isl a m-

21 was made possible by theuse of written texts. By no means a rapiddevelopment, more than a millenium elapsed in the process. For all thre e re lig i o ns the ability tocommi t wordsto writ i ng was an essential ingredient in the i r becoming widely disseminatedand adopted. The OldTestament,theNew Testament, and the Koran are indeed, the quintessential example of the great power of the writtenwo r d . (p .lS)

Draper (19 8 9) suggests after an historical review of li t e r a c y that th is power was not lost on leaders who sought to exert influence through the written word. He concluded that:

The history of li teracy reveals different responses to the question, "To what end?", inclUding the promotion of materialism, dependency, independence, religion, morality, fa mi l y^I migration, immigration, survival, preservation, change, urbaniza tion, a welfare sta t e, cultura l pl u r a l i s m, indoctrination, leisure, liberation, and depersonalization.

The li st goe s on. The words express values and goalswhich, in turn,determineac t i on (p. 74).

aa

Con s i derth e example ofLeni n , ....homHaman describe s inhisobservat i onthat :

Inthe aftenaa t hof theRussian Rev ol uti on the first of the mode r n li t eracy campa igns was launched by the new Soviet r@gl me. Lenin, arguing th at "an il l i t e ra t e ma n is no npolit i c al ; firs t he must be taughthowto read", placedthis effor thigh on hi s ag e n d a of national priorities . (p.21)

Leni n , howev er, might have bee n conce r n e d had he discussed the iSSU Q with Da uz a t and Dauzat (197 7) who suggest that:

Literacy ha s political va l ue . The literate personhas gr ea t e r op t i o ns to full y par t i c i p a t e in political attairs tha n does the illit e r a t e . The lite r a t e person is more like l y to have access to a variety of viewpoints re l a t e d to pol i t i cal po l ic ies , poli t ica l candidates' qualific atio ns , etc . , than is the illiterate.

He ismo re likelyto make reasonabledecisions thanisthe illiterate. (p. 4)

Cle arl y, Lenin wanted on ly to instill in his countrym en an appreciat ion for the Communist Manifest o, not an

2J appreciatio n for conflicting ideo logies.

In fact, it is intrig ui ng to note Harman 's observationth at:

Bot h coupl e d notions about reading with the texts tobe read- the Bi bl e and the Communist Manifes t o. Be yond that, it does no t appear th....t much atte n tio n was paid to the uses of literacy. (p.22)

Certain ly, the intrinsic valueof literacy as a means of attainingself-fulfil lment or its enter tainmentpotential was de-emphasized. Rather, literacywas construed as a means of atta in ingan end tha t someone else defined, a position tha t contrasts sh arp l y with tha t of Dauzat and Dauzat who suggest :

Li t eracy ha s persona l -social value . The li te ra te perso n is less ha n d ica p p e d in achieving self-esteem and feeling,s of inadequacy th an is the illiterate. The literate pe r s on is notfor c ed into maneuve rs to camouflage and otherwise ra tio na l i ze his readi ng and wr i ti ng inadequacies. Literacy increases the potentia l fo r act i v e involveme nt in society. It alsoincreases theoptions for

self-learni ng of satisfying skills, for discoveringta l e nt , and for recreation. (p. 4) The per-s cnaLeaccLaI value of li t e r a cy lends itself to otheruses aswe l l. The activeinvolvementinsociety has increasingly adopted economicovertoneswhich Ha rman suggests evolvedas:

In....ester n count r ies work p laces be c a me larg e, sophisticated, complexarenas nolonger capable of sustaining the ms e l ve s ....ith ....ord-of -mou th orie ntatio n and informal on- the-job training.

It ....as found increasingly necessary to rely upon written materials as a cent ral mode of communication and instruction. Wri tten directio ns, manuals, de s c r i p t i o n s of procedur es - all of these made the workplace more reliant on pr i nt than eve r be for e. Here litera c y, defined in nine teenth ce nt ur y te rms as ability to sign one' s na me or re c i t e the alpha be t , ....as no lo ng er adequate. Read i ng abil ities ha dto be de v eloped to leve l s th at brought this new plethora of ....ri tten matte r within the purv i e.... of the pe ople . Litera cy itself be c ame mean ingful only when accompa n i e d

25 by a notation of standard or leve l , which in turn req u ire d definitions of functi onal literacy. (p. 22)

Indeed, a revi e w ofLitera c y in an AchievingSociety' policyst a t eme nt on Adult Lit e ra c y illustratesthe lin k which the Pr ovince of NeWfoundland perc ei v es betwe en economic performance and literacy:

Amo ng the seve r a l objectives for economic development is the re d uction of the provincial unemployment rate to at le a s t the national Le ve L, Currently, a significant proportion of the Province's unemployed have limited skills and low educational attai nment. occ upati ona l forecastsreveal that most new jobs require at least the completion of secondary education.

If the undereducated are to have access to these jobs adult li t e r a c y programs will be re quir ed. Furthf::rlDore. workers will also be re qu i r ed to improve their literacy skills in order to maintain their present jobs and participate in ongoing education and training programs. Economicobjectives are closely

27 It mu s t be emphasi zed that the pr oponents of l it e r a c y wi th i n th e re spective sphe res (re l i g i o u s, politic al and econ omic) advo cated the atta i nmen t of literacy for purpose s that are notreadil yreconcilabl e.

For ins t a nc e , i f a meeting cou l d be arranged between Mart in Luther, Lenin and Jo h n Cr ow (the cu r re nt gov erno r of the Bank of Canada), it is difficultto imagine that they would agree upon a sing l e defi n it i on of literac y.

Yet it is literacy that is cent ra l tothe atta inme nt of their respective goals and i t thus seems reas onab l e to postulate that literacy has generic el ements and that thisnatu re of litera cy le nds itselftodefin i t io n .

Ce rver a (198 5 ) ex pl o res the possi bili t y of establishing a common defi ni t i o n and sugg e s t s that:

Agree menton aprinciplethat shou l dbe us ed in defining adult literacy is one thing. I t is quite another matter to provide a de f i ni tio n that could be us ed in sp e c i f y ing goal s forand evaluati ng literacy programs ; specifying the app r op r i a te co nte nt for litera cy ins t ruc t i o n; diagnosing,placingandassessing studE,nts ;and determining ho w many ad u l t s are illiterate.

The former may be thought of as a mi s s ion

2.

intertwined witheducat ionalobjectiv es in the area c! literacy.

Dauzat and Dauzat (1977 ) would apparently agree with the Province^Is motivation in this respect. These authours argue that asi g ni fi c a nt propertyof literacy is based on the fact that:

Li teracy has economic value. The literate pers on isles s li kel y to encounter diff le ulties in securing and maintaining jobs than is the illiterate. Insp i te of the fact that elt'",erts have been bu sy rewriting materials to attain lower readinglev e l s, one mus t be able to read withunderstanding at theni nt h or tenth level to deal with the simpledocumentsof government bure au s, industry, business organizations , t rade unions , etc. Literacy restrictions on job promotions since most jobs have entry level literacy requirements with increasing levels of literacy being required tor advancement on the job. Literacy facilitates the economic dependence of its possessor. (p. 4)

28 statement (something so gene ra l that almost everyon e can agree to it) wh i l e the lat ter demands an operational de fin ition. (p. 51) Ce rv e r a' s scepticism lJith respect to attaining a common operationa l def inition arises from his observa t ion that the val ue-lade n implicat ions of an operatio'.3.1 definition cannot possibly accommodatethe plethor a ofval ues in a pluralis ticsociety. He arguesthat:

The funda mental problem is that anydefinition of lit era c y specific enough to prov i de goals and conten t for progratnll\inq is principa lly an expression of values. •.. Thu s , the major issue that would have to be addressed in fo rmulat i ng a commo n de fi ni tio n is whethe r the re exists a set of values that is commo n to al lpeople. (p. 52)

The chal lenge to this point app e ars to be one of meshing the gen e ric pro c e s s i ng skills of lit e r acy with the gener icvalues (if any) ofthe popula tion . Cerver o argues that while such a common defini tion is not fe a s i bl e (at lea s t in the American context) , operati o nal def i nit ion would provide the fol lowing benefits:

One group whose need s might be served by a common definition wo uld be tho s e cent ra lized agencies, suc h as the fed e r a l and state governments, tha t pr o v i de fund ing for adu l t lit e r ac y pr ogra ms . Ima g in e a systeminwhich t;very pe r s on could clear l y be id e nti fi e d as litera te orilliterate al ong clearl y specified

29

dimensions. Litara e y programs would be designed to help students to remedy the ir deficiencies along the se dimens ions and thus become l i te r a t e. Ac co un t abilit y would be thlo tradema rk of th i s sy s te m. One could know exactlyho w many ill i te rates wez e in the tar get popuLa tiLon , how ma nywe r e served in prog r a ms , andhow ma ny be c a meliterate. There would be a nu.nber of benefits to th i s system. Amongthe m woul d be : 1) th es e central ized bodies could fu 1f il~ thei r goal to pro v ide st a tistics on adult lit era c y; 2) litera c y programs and those who administe r them cou l d be much more ac c ou nt ab l e to fund ing age nciesthan theyare now. (p.53)

30 The rather Orwellian overtones of this piece with its implied notion of literacy programming being driven by Big Brother tends to obscure the fact that these benefits may not be all bad. In the provincial context of shrinking educational bUdgets, some measure of accountability is necessary ....hen one considers the costs assvclated with program delivery. For instance, the cost of implementing a full-time literacy program for 15 students (assuming training allowances will be paid) exceeds $247,000. (Program Development Office, Western community college). Sh:J.ilarly, Cervera downplays the fact that students would in fact benefit frOm clearly articulated policies guiding access to and progress within literacy programs.

Goodman (1 9 8 5 ) presents arguments which tend to underscore Cervera's point that a common definition may not be possible in a pluralistic society. He suggests that:

1i teracy programs must be rooted in the realities of the communities that they serve, and must relate to real opportunities to use literacy in improvement of the quality of life.

(p. 389)

31 Goodman further argues that:

Those runctnons of literacy that are most uni v e r s a l , needed for surviving , llke dealing with lo g os , signs, label s , forms, directories , etc.. are the ones to which ch ildren will respon d most unive rsa l ly. Respo nses to book- ba s e d li tera c y are much less universal. (p.

39 0 )

Ul timate ly, Goodman proposestha t :

Successful programs for literacy in an informatio nage are expansionist , building out from where the pupils are in their 1 iteracy development . Successful programs are relevant both perso na l ly and socially. They are dynamic, keyed to social chang e and per'a cn aLysoc LaL aspirat ion. They are holistic in the context of cur ren t functions and lif e expe rie nces . (p.392)

If this is wha t successful lite r a cy programs are, then litera c y mus t of necessity be defined in terms of the individual le a r ner in the contex t of hi s curre nt env ironment and pe r s o nal/ s oc ialas piratio ns. In essence,

32 Good man has pro vided the mission statementthatCervera (19 8 5 ) alludedto butfailedto produce.

However, LevInc (198 2) , in a blistering attack on cur r e nt notions of functional illiteracy , argues that suc h notionsshould be imp leme nted cautio usly. He states emphati c allythat:

The heart of the ca s e to be mounte d against currentnotions of functional literacyis that they obscur e the iden t if ica t i on of appr o p r iate targets, goal s , and standar ds of ac h i eve ment in the education of adults by promi s i ng, though failing to produce , a quantitativelyprecis e, uni ta ry sta ndard of "s ur v iva l " lit e racy.

Further, the se varyIn g conc e p ti o n s of func tional literacy enc o ur ag e the ide a that re l a t iv e l y lo w levels of in div i d u a l achievement- low in relationto the demands of typical literacy-mediated acti vities- W'ill directly result in a set Of universally desired outcomes, such as empl oyme nt, pe r s onal and economic groW'th, job ad va nc e me nt , and social integration. I will argue, however, that the attainment of functional literacy rarely

33 produ ces su c h outcomes, And thAt the elevat ion of lite racy as a panacea for adults lack ing basicskills isdisingenuous, parti cularl ywith respect to th e goal of emplo y ment in competitive la bo r mark 'ts. (p.250 )

Levineseemsto suggest that the fundamenta l problem with cu r re nt notions of functional litera cy is that they preclude the es tablis hme nt of what Cerv era (1985) would call an ope rat ional defin iti on of literac y. However , Le vine als o points to the common val ue s wh ich Cerver a argued were prerequisite to the es ta bli s hme nt of an operationa l definition. un fortunate l y, Levine 's eub eequerreattempt to pro vide ope r a ti o n a l definitions :

Lit e r ac y in general, therefore , becomes the ex e r c i s ed capacity to acquire and exch.ange information via the Iri tt e n word. Funct ional literacyis taken to be the possession of, or access to the competencies and information required to accomplish those transact ions entailing rea ding or wri ting in whi ch an individual wi shes- or iscompelled-to engage.

(p . 26 4 )

34

are perhaps best liken ed to the notio n of mission statement as describedby ceeverc. As was the case with the opening defin i t ion in this chap t e r , quest ions begged that render Lev i ne's definition ina dequate for operationa l purpo s e s.

Val ent i ne (1986) pos i t s that :

the major task confronting those wh o wo ul d offer functiona l l iteracy instruction is th e ope rationalizationof two constructs, litera c y ability and litera c y demands , and, as Knowles suggests in his de fin i t i on of educational needs, this ope rationa lizationcan occur on one of thr e e le vel s : indivi dual,organizationa l and societ al. (p. 10 9 )

Essentia lly, Valenti ne argues tha t definitions such Levine 'scan be app l iedeasily at an individ ua l le vel and feasib lyatth e organizational le vel , but any effort to imp lement a cons iste nt functiona l literacy curr icu lum acr os s a count ry, for instance, is dest ined to fail.

(p.l09-11 0 ) Again , the prob lem may be traced to the sheer diversi tyof li t erac y values and uses. Valenti ne illust ratesin his asse r tion th a t :

35 it is remarka b ly difficul t to arrive at more tha n a ve ry short li st oflit e ra c y taskswhich are commontoallAmericans. Tr a f f i c signs are re l e va nt only to drivers and ur banpedestrians.

Job application forms are relevant only to individuals Who plan to seek a job. Recipes are rel e va nt only to those whocook. Although i twouldbe ni c e if everyone in society could re a dtho s e things, even these fundamenta l tasks are not necessary tasks for functioning in society, and thus can ha r d l y be considered universal l iterac y demands. Any uniform curric u lum based on the specif icat ion of

~ (tha t is, common to most or many individuals in society) rather than unive rsa l lit era c y demands will be te a c h i ng functional liter a c y to somelea r ne r s and useless literacy to othe rs. (p. 110)

Literacyin anAchieyingSQc i e t y ' A po li c y Sta tement on Adult Li t e ra c y gives some ins i gh t intothe provincers interpre t ation of universal literacy demands in its identificationof thefoll owi ng skills :

36 the ability to calcu l a t e at same minimal level, theabi lityto usecognitive skills for resolving day to day problems, the ability to communicate effectively within todayIs inc r e a s i ngly compl e x socie t y . se n e level of compute r or technica l li t era c y .

Th e s e skills ar e embr a c e d by UNESCO's defin!tia n of literacy which the Province has adopted as its working definition. This definition sta t es that:

a person is functionally literate "who can eng a g e in all those acrtvfures in which litera cy is required for effe ctive function ing of his /her group and community and also for ena b l i ng him/her to continue to use re a d i n g , writi ng and calcula t i on for his/her and thecommunity'sdevelopment" .

Again, this definition is best described as a mission statement in that translation is required to transform the elementsof the definiti on into an operational plan. Indeed , the ski l l s presented above ar e used inthe policy sta t e me nt to respond to some of the questions that this definitionbegs.

37 Clark (19 8 4 ) , in an anal y s i s of fo ur types of lit eracy de fi ni t i o ns, suggeststhat this definitionrests onfo ur as s umpt i o ns:

(aj lite racy is a prerequisite for erreceave functioning in a society; (b) li t e r a c y is a pre requisite for development; (0) li t era c y still appears to be unitary inth atthe r e is no clear definition of levels of literacy; (d ) literacy is not an end in itself. (p. 140) Add! tionally, Clark argues that the adoption of thi s definition:

allows policy makers to decide jus t 'What constitutesfunctionality and, thus,to be able to establish content guidelines for literacy activities . This provides the m witha means of contro lling the eventual range of programs wh ichcanbe offered. Because theoutcomes are tied to specific functions within a societa l context, it is possible to measure in a quantifiablefashion th e result of anyproqram.

Be caus e the skills are related to the cveeatr par ticipatio nof an ind ividual in the society.

th i s definition provides a justificat ion for

38 tying literacy educationwith broader policies like political participation, economic development, and recovery or community development. (p. 140)

Clearly, Clark's arguments bolster the Province's arguments for the use of li t e r a c y as a means of stimulating enhanced levels of economic activity.

Additionally, Clark points to significant benefits in terms of accountability and program efficiency which Cervera argues are the trademarks of an effective operational definition.

This writer suggests that the UNESCO definition is in fact inadequate in both respects in that the identification of appropriate skills is sUbject both 1) to the values and assumptions of the policymaker and 2) to the perils cited by Valentine regarding widespread skills. For instance, a review of the skills cited in Literacy in an Achieving Society suggests that these skills are SUbject to a great deal of interpretation if they are to serve as the basis for identifying appropriate content. "The ability to calculate at some minimum level" begs several questions, including: for what purpose? I in which context?; at what minimum le ve l ?

39 The answers to these questions must of necessity be tied

tot" -eloca l e in which the questionsar e beingasked anti

to the int e r pr e t a t i on applied to these skills by the person assignedto pen a program. Yet,if literacyis to be a provincial program and if institutio ns are to be evaluated in the context of this particulardefinition, there s u l t ma ybe cha o t i c. A person deli v eri ng a program in Flat Bay, fo r instance, might well be responding the needs ofalearne r who wi ll neverle a v e Flat Bay . In th a t re s pe c t , the ins t r u c to r and the program cannot be faulted, but it is when phr ase s such as "the abilityto communicate effectively in today's increasingl y complex society" are con s i d e r e d that proble ms emer g e . How is society to be defined? Is it local, regional, provincial, na t i ona l or global village? Compe te nc y within the bou ndaries of Flat Bay responds to satisfaction of a local obligation, but if a person wishes to adopt a more cosmopolitan life style, then the literacy demands will of necessity change. If the Provi nceis suggestingthatthis latterne e d must also be addressed, then program evaluation pr oc e d u r e s must reflectthe divers ityofde ma nd s.

.0

In ad d ition, the defin ition leav es the door wide open for a variety of me a ns of asse s s i ng the extentof funct i onal il l itera c y inthe provinc e. Prog r a llpl arwt.nq requires the etfect i ve targeting of the group s whose need s ar e 1I0s t urgent, and currentl y cite d meas ures are suc c e s sfu l only tothe extentthattheypaint ablur r e d portrai t of illite ra c y in this provi n ce. The Pr ovince ack n owl edg es the in a d e qu ac y of curren t meas ure s in its ra t i ona l e in Lit e racy in an Ac hi ey ing society as ev idenc ed inits asser tion that "noco mpre hens ivemeas ure of the li tera c y probl em in Newfo undland and Labrador exi s ts at th is time". Howeve r, the rati onal e does cite thre e surve ys in its at tempt to quantitythe extent of the prob lem, all of whIch point to an issue of majo r proport ions if the followi ng cla i ms areaccep t e d:

Ac c ording to 1986 ce n s us data, 27 percent of the province's populatio n fift een years and old e r hadlessthan a Grade 9 edu cation . Areas wit h grea terurba nconcent r ati ons tend to hav e a mu ch lower proporti o n of their popUlat ion (2 0-2 4 percen t) v ith le s s than Grade 9 educa t i o n , wh i le rural reg i ons exper ienc e d a significan tly higher proport ion (up to 43

percent) of their populationwith 1010/ le vels of educationa lattainment. Bycomparisonthe same sta t i s t i cs sho we d 19 pe rce n t of Cana d ians in thesa me category.

The results of the 1987 Southam Literac y Survey, a national test of litlolracy-related questions designed to asse s s an individua l ' s abi l ity to use print e d and writte n info rma tio n to functionin soc iety. esti matedthat as many as 44 percent of Newfoundland adults may be functionally illiterate. The nati onal figur e was es tima t edat 24 percent.

Analysis of the rea d i ng scores fromthe 1990 statistics Cana da Survey of Litera cy Ski lls indicated that 24 percent of the province's adul tpopulationtested at levels1 and 2, the two lowestlevels of readingskills. only J'J percent of the Newfoundland samp le tested at level 4. considered to be a levelat wh i ch individualcan meet most everydayreading

41

42 demands. This perce ntage is significantly lo v er thantheCanadianaveraqeof 62 percen t. A reviewof the s e findings sugges t s that two conclusio ns are appropriate:

1. the illit e ra cy rate in thispr ovi nc e ranges from 27percentto61pe rcen t (assumingthat levels1- J are level s at....hichonecan not cope ..,ith everyday reading demands), or :

2. theil li t erac y ratein thispr ovi nc e is being assessed....ith faultyinstruments.

Itmust be emphasized that these surveys were conduc ted in stat istically correc t manne rs and all poin t to a measureof ill iterc.c y in theprovinc e. However , it seems prudent , given the range in reported reSUlts, to scrutinize the guiding definitions that prod uce d the results.

The Statistics Canada find in gs based on the 1986 Census re st on the ass umption tha t literacy can be define d in te rn s of en individual 's age and yea rs of schoolingcomplete d. Dau za t and Dauz at (1977) cha llenge this assumpt ionintheir argument:

Can literacy be defined intermsof the number of yearsof school attendanc e? Thistoo,must

4J be re j e c t e d asa definitionof literacybe cause of the faulty assumption that per sons who co mp l e t e four to eightyears af schoolhavethe le vel of prof ic iency toco n f r o nt most reading and writing tasks with ease. The errors in this statementare obv ious. Furtherm ore, sucn a de fi n i t ion precludes a man's being literate wi thou t formal schooling. Many histo:-y and biograph icalacco untscan attesttothenumber s of self -e d u c at e d and highl y li t e rat e indi virlua l s who neve r att ended scho ol. Certa i nly. thenumbe r of years in school is a poor indexofli teracy, i fan indexat alL (p.

'I

With respect tothe age component, th e authors contend tha t:

Shou l d age be considered in a definition of literacy? Although it appears un f a i r to identifya child underte nor fourteenyears of age as being illiterate , it doe s not appea r that age would be of any si g n i f ican c e in a definiti on of lit er a cy . Fo r if age wer e the factor here , then there could be no literate

44 pers onunde r somees t ab l i shed minimum age. (p . 3)

Graves and Ki ns l e y (198 3 ) als o cha lleng e defin ition s bas e d onyear s of schooling. Theautho r s set out to:

de monstrat e emp ir i c all y the ina de qu a c y of conventi ona l operat iona l de fin i t i o ns of il l i t eracy wh ic h re l y on mea sur e s of educatio nal attainmen t, most specifically those ba s e d on Gr ade 8 or le s s. as the criterion for functional illite racy. Our dat a indica t e that most in d i v i d u a l s with educati on at le s s tha n the Grade 9 level, do, in fact , eng a ge in some readi ngactivi ty. (p.

316)

us ing data from the 197 8 Cana d ianRea ders hip Surve y , the aut hors repo r ted tha t over 78% of th e group with less tha n Gr ade 9eng age din reading as a leis ure act ivity (p.

319). No tab ly , however, the aut h ors make no claims aboutthe qualityofre ad ing at th is leve L

Cla r k (198 4) , too, addressesthenot i on ot ye ars of schooli ng as an indica torof literaoy and ooutends that thede fi nit i o nre sts onthe fol lowingassumptions :

45 (a) Specificleve l s of educationdo equate with qualitative levelsof litera cy ; {b} literacy is a directresultof schooling ; (e) literacy is a binary state (e i t h e r you have it or do not);

(d ) literacy is unitary (t he r e is only one kind); (e) there exists a normative standard for literacy; (el all points on the educational scale are of equivalent qual ity, Le .. every grade six graduate has equal l i teracyski lls. (p. 138)

Cumula t i ve l y . these arguments undermine the credibility of years of school ing and age as ind ices of literacy; still, this writer contends that the definition Is of some val ue in policy maki ng. For ins t a n c e , 28 of the province's52 electoral districtsr"port incidencesof 30 percent or greater in te rms of popula t i o n aged 15 and over with less than Grade 9. (1986 Census Profiles For Provincial Electoral Districts, Newfoundland and Labrador,Newfoundlandstatistics Agency, 1990) The range extendsfr om 7 percent for the district ofMe n i hek to a staggering55 percent for Torngat Mountains. While these resul ts may not convey an accurate portrayal of actual illiteracy rates in these districts, the y clearly point

4.

to a levelof undereducation that seems inconsistent in theco nt e xt of universal education. Signifi cant ly. at a sub je ctrLve level, experience suggests th a t the persons most likely to experience the frustrations described in thesc e na r i o inChapter One arethos e ....ho completedless thanGrade 9 inschool .

The 1987 South a m News Survey raises significant iss ues as well. ass..ntial ly. this survey defined li t era c y in terms of a respondent's ab i l i t y to perform thefoll o wi ng tasks :

read and unders t a nd the correct dosagefrom an ordinarybottle of cough syrup; from six road signs, piCk out which one warns of a traffic light ahead; figureout the change from $3.00 ifyou ordered a soup and sandwich; sign your name inthe correct spot ona social insurance card; circle the expiry date on a dri ver's tIce ns er answer fo ur questions about a meeti ng ar r a ngeme nt , including the date, time and people involved; circle the long distance chargeson a telephone bill. (p. 13)

A respondent was defined as functiona llyilliterate if he or she got three or more of the s e it e ms wro ng. In the

47 context of Valentine's earlier comments about the difficultyof identifying common tasks, it seems prudent to evaluate theseitems in t.eeasof their usefulness.

Imme d i a t el y , this writer questions the use of the me e t i ng arrangement items as a consequence of his living in a small commu n i t y. When a significant me e t i ng is to be he l d, the medium of choice is the telephone and this arrangementworks we l l. Consequently. anindividual in this wr i t e r ' s commun ity, when faced with a memo concerning a meeting to be held, might well stumble because it is a form of communication that is not widel y used and the individual might be deemed functionall y ill i t e r a t eon the basisofina bilit ytoco r rec t l y resp ond to the questions related to the cho i ce of thi s item.

Clearly, competency in understanding memos is essential in large organiz at ions , but this writer would suggest that the skill isone that is not essential in smaller (Le., rural) areas. Newfoundland'sperformance in this survey was the worst in Canada, with 44 .1\ of the respondentsdeemed to be functionallyilliterate.

At a national level, it is worth noting that the researchersfoundthat the indicatorof less than Grade 9 fared poorly as a means of identifying illiterateadults.

48 Extrapolatingfrom the sample, the researchers cla i mth a t 1.7 million adul ts with le s s than Grade 9 pa s s e d the southctm Literacy Test while2.4 million adults withGra de 9 or higher fai ledthe te st. The researchers concluded that :

using that arbitrary Grad e 9 cutoff to la b e l people meant that federa l and provinc ial policies havebeen missing theirtarg e t s by4.1 million people- the to t al of the 1.7 million false illiterates and th e 2.4 million fal s e literates. (p.10 )

statistics canada adopted a similar approach in a 1989 study, "Su rve y Of Literacy Skills Used In Daily Activities". The researchers in this study adopted a de fi nitio n tha t expres sedli teracyas:

the informatio n processing skills ne c e s s a r y to use the printed material commonly encou n t ered at work, at home and inth e community. (p . 1) using a muchlarge r samp le than theSoutham Survey and a more detailed analysis of reading . writingand numeracy skill lev els, the researchers th e n cate g o r i z ed Can adi an s inth e following levels:

Level 1: Canadian s at th is le v el hav e diff iculty dealing wit h printed materials.

Theymost likely ide nt ifythems elve s as people who cannot rea d.

Level 2: Canadians at this le vel prin ted ma te ri als onl y for limi ted purpo ses such as finding a fami li a r wor d in a si mpl e te xt. Theywouldlike lyre c og n i zethems elve s as ha v i n g difficu l t i es wi th common re adi ng materials.

Level 3: Canadians at thi s le vel read ing mate rials in a var i e t y of sit u a t io ns provided the material is sim p le, clearl y laid out and the tasksinv o lve d are not too co mp l e x.

While th ese people generally do not see themselves having maj o r reading diffiCUlties, they te nd to avoid situations requiringreading.

Level 4: Ca na d i an s at this lev el mee t most everyday re a dingdemands. Thisis a la r g e and diverse group which exhibits a wide range of reading skills. (p. 2)

49

50 As cited earlier, 24% ofthe Newfoundland sample tested at Levels 1 and 2, wit honly 39%fu n c t i o ning at the level deemed to be necessary to function in con te mporary society. Given the larger samp le and more detailed analysis of re a di ng, writi ng and numeracy skills, this wr ite r wouldarguethat thissurvey is morecrediblethan the SouthamNews Survey.

Conclusions

The quest for an operationa l defi nition has by no means ended. Th e discussion to thispoint has rccus.ed on the diversity of views su r rounding li t e r a c y. and a variety of definitions has been presented. At th is point, j~ seems appropriateto set the tone for the rest of this thesis; accordingl y. thi s write r poses ThomasI

(1989)observations:

a. that the grade-leve l co~·,p letionmeasu r e is ina d e qu ate for definitiona l pur poses;

b. tha t adult literacy is concerned with the abilities of ind i vi d ual s to function within specific social contexts;

c. that there is a literacy cont inuumrc:ong i ng from the mechanics of le a rning how to decode

and encode th r ou gh any number of "s p e cif i c li t era c i e s " to the mature utilization of literacy skill s an d pro cesses for informed actionand aesthetic appre c i a t i o n:

d. thatla ngua ge precedes literacyand how one uses language should be taken intoaccount in lite racyins truction:

e. that common operational de fi n i t i o ns in a pluralisticsocietyare unlikelybecauseof the underl ying valu e s and as sumptions of the definers and thevery varied environmentswh i c h exi s t ;

f. that literacy ma y inde e d be empower i ng for some individualsand groupsof people, but many se e k the safer ha ven of ada pt a t ion to ou r contemporary soc i e t y which process ca n, nevertheless, be self-enhancing for those individualsinvolved;

g. that the demands of contemporary North American soc i e t y are ever chang;ng and at a faster pace, sothat literacy "t hr e s hol d sII are likelyto be in aco nti nu i ng state of flux,and as long as somepeople have superior literacy

51

52

skills , ot he rs wh o ha v e limited skills ""il l remai nvul ne rable;

h. that even people with superior lit e r acy skil ls are at ri s k in today ' s la b o ur mar ke t where more and more peo ple are beco mi ng unemp loyed and find ing tha t their lit era c y le v el s either exc e e d the requi r eme nts for a larg e pa r t of the ec o no my or are not specialized enough, thu s forcing a rethi nki ng of many of th e assumptions underlying literacy defini tionsand programs . (p. 10-11) as guiding statements.

HoWever, this wr it er would app e nd another observa tio n to those expresse d by Thomas; indeed, the writer is somewhatsurprised tha t this point is notably absent from the literature. In the first insta nc e, l iteracy training does not occur in isola tjon. Eac h tra i ni ng situat i o n involves at least one instructo r and at least one student who areengagedin the fulfillment of a cont rac t . The instructor ha s as his ta sk the responsib i l ity of raisin g the level of a studen t 's read i ng, wr it i ng and nurneracy skills to the point wher e the stude nt canthen realiz ehi s or herambitions. The

53 task of the student is to attend to the instructor'5 efforts and to ensure that he has clearly articulated his ambitions to that instructor.

The instructor enters the relationship with a thorough knowledge of those basic skills which, when mastered, constituteliteracy in a rUdimentary sense. In other words , the student will learn to read, write and perform basic calculations. The instructor then sets the student on a path of reading to learn, or as Thomas says,

"t o the mature utilization of literacy skills and

processes for informed action and aesthetic appreciation". (p.11)

Note that the identification of the student^I5 ambitions, interests, experiences, etc. is a function of the instructor-student contract, a variable that is not evident in the literature. Tha skills mastered in all cases is the same, but it is the application of these skills in an instructional setting that is determined by the instructor and stUdent, and this seems to be the sticking point inany effort to establishan operational definition because i t is simply not amenable to definition.