Research Front …
Learning from Learners

The B.C. Literacy Electronic Network and Conferencing Service connects people in literacy from across B.C. and offers opportunities for:

• easy access to relevant and current literacy information and resources
• professional development and training, and access to leading practitioners within the field of adult education
• planning and facilitating group work
• developing and participating in new forums for discussion and learning

Here's what the network can do for you…
Share experiences - Build relationships - Make connections - Develop community - Reduce isolation
To find out how you can be part of this on-line literacy community contact Sandy Middleton at Literacy BC.

An electronic conference on the B.C. Literacy Electronic Network and Conferencing Service (aka The Hub) - September 15 -December 15, 2000

This fall, join literacy researcher Allan Quigley for an electronic conference on "The Hub" to examine questions such as:

• How, when, why and what do adults with low literacy skills learn when they are not in adult education programs? What are the patterns, if any?
• Do these patterns change when they participate in an ABE or literacy program?
• How can research in this area inform practice, policy, and program development?

Background

Despite half a century of organized adult literacy education in Canada (and over a century of literacy work through Frontier College), we still know remarkably little about the ways adults with low literacy skills actually learn outside of ABE and literacy programs. Many of the stereotypes in the public domain, and in the early literature, suggest they don't really "learn" but merely "cope." Interestingly, there is an extensive body of literature on the self-directed learning of "mainstream" adults, but little written on the self-directed learning skills and learning patterns of adults with low literacy skills.

The stereotypes and the literature, however, are now beginning to be challenged and important questions raised about the engagement of adults with low literacy skills in learning. The recent International Adult Literacy Survey makes clear how few eligible adults in seven industrialized countries ever attend structured adult education and training programs. It also points out that virtually none of these learners ever visits a public library. Yet, both IALS and a recent Canadian study, New Approaches to Lifelong Learning, indicate the phenomenal amount of time adults with less than high school actually do read, do access public knowledge, and do engage in self-directed, informal learning.

This won't be surprising to most ABE or literacy practitioners. But the literature and the (funding) policies of Canada seem to assume that if adults with low literacy skills don't come to programs, they aren't "motivated," "can't be 'reached'," and "obviously can't be learning." Yet they are-they read newspapers, books, and watch television for information almost as many hours per week as college graduates-and do so with little or no help from others. But how? When? Where? Why? With over 40% of the Canadian population affected by low literacy skills, these are important – long overdue – questions.

This electronic conference will challenge us to think about the myths, the realities, and the practicalities of how our learners learn on their own. It will encourage us to ask questions of our learners which most of us-learners included-may have never considered before. Above all, it will lead to a critique of the many assumptions we encounter every day about our learners and provide some real strategies on how to engage more adults with low literacy skills in opportunities for learning.