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representatives from school districts,
colleges, alternative schools, and Community Skills Centers |
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family, adult, and workforce literacy
practitioners |
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community development workers |
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industry representatives, both from
business and organized labour |
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government representatives from the
BC Ministries of Education; Advanced Education; Social Development
and Economic Security (now Human Resources); Children and Families;
and Human Resources Development Canada |
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representatives of the Industry Training
and Apprenticeship Commission and of Forest Renewal BC |
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representatives from school districts,
colleges, alternative schools, and Community Skills Centers |
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First Nations peoples |
Throughout the consultation process, these groups were asked difficult
questions. Their responses were recorded and synthesized as fairly and
clearly as possible. In March of 2002, a report on the outcomes of this
province-wide consultation – entitled The Big Picture Up
Close: Literacy and Learning in BC – was released and
distributed. In addition to summarizing the many recurring themes that
arose from this consultation, the report tabled twenty recommendations
intended to contribute to the development of a long term strategic plan
for literacy and learning in BC. At their briefest, these recommendations
can be summarized as follows:
- Continue benchmarking awareness about literacy…
- Be diligent in our approach to collecting, promoting, and using
IALS data…
- Reconcile the “disconnects” in our own definitions
of literacy…
- Position the issue as “literacy and lifelong learning”…
- Develop and implement a comprehensive and integrated communication
strategy…
- Fully embrace and accommodate the complexity of literacy issues
in our messaging…
- Support the traditional education system in undertaking necessary
reforms…
- Provide traditional education institutions the necessary resources
to do their job…
- Acknowledge the contribution of nontraditional learning models…
- Acknowledge the need for and merit of multiple programming strategies…
- Create stronger linkages between different providers and strategies…
- Increase activity in literacy for First Nations, “at risk”
teens, and those in the workforce…
- Continue to promote and implement a learner-centered approach…
- Foster inter-ministerial collaboration on literacy and related
issues…
- Promote inter-agency cooperation on literacy and related issues
at the community level…
- Acknowledge and respect the diversity of our communities…
- Initiate and support strategies that foster “learning communities”
in BC…
- Develop integrated and realistic funding strategies – both
federally and provincially…
- Collaborate on meaningful accountability models…
- Create incentives for private sector investment in literacy and
lifelong learning…
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