The Murk Around Literacy

“Literacy is an issue of shame and blame, something to be glazed over, hidden. People question the statistics; they do not understand the definition of literacy. Educational institutions see it as a ‘grade level’. We need better messaging.” – Workforce Literacy Practitioner during Consultation

“Literacy is not a charity, but a foundation for learning and life. Seen as a charity, the importance of literacy work is diminished, not an essential part of community socioeconomic well-being. Seen as a foundation for learning and life, literacy is brought to the centre of the table.” – Report on Literacy Practitioners Visioning Conference

“My recommendation is that we stop using the word literacy all together and talk about lifelong learning.” – Participant in the Workforce Literacy Practitioner Survey

The Big Picture

• Literacy is often described in contradictory ways – and is, for that reason, confusing. Many of the people we talked to, for example, refer to it as a broad and inclusive continuum of contextually relevant skills – along the lines of the five IALS measures or as overlapping with employability skills. Others, particularly educators, define it as a clearly measurable grade or academic achievement level. Without reconciling these two notions of literacy in some way, the confusion around the term will likely continue.

• Similarly, conversations about literacy seem to be segmented into age- or context-related silos. That is, distinctions are drawn between “family literacy”, “adult literacy”, and “workforce literacy”, for example, with the implication that separate streams of programming are required. At the same time, the notion of “literacy and lifelong learning” seems to be universally understood – but implies a more holistic and seamless approach to the issue.

• Literacy issues are bundled up with numerous other issues – making it that much more difficult to define, identify, and address.

• Literacy tends to be positioned as either a philanthropic issue or a socio-economic issue. We have not created messages about literacy that reconcile these opposing views.

• The word “literacy” is seen to have negative connotations. Numerous other terms are used in its place, including “foundation skills”, “employability skills”, “basic skills”, and “essential skills”.

Up Close

The following summarizes what we learned from the literacy practitioners’ and learners’ visioning conference, our two telephone surveys, and our community consultations.