The Rise and Fall of Adult Literacy: Policy Lessons from Canada

IF 1.2 Q2 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults Pub Date : 2020-02-12 DOI:10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela9203

Maren Elfert, Judith Walker

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引用次数: 8

Abstract

There was a period of time, from the late 1980s until the early/mid-2000s, when interest in adult literacy in Canada was strong among the public, in the media, and with policymakers, and a policy window opened for the mainstreaming of literacy. Against this background, it is surprising that the Canadian literacy infrastructure was subsequently largely dismantled. Drawing on theories of policy formation, and recent and previous research, including interviews with key stakeholders, we argue that mainstreaming literacy has failed and explore the reasons for this failure. The paper is structured in three sections. First, we report on the construction of an adult literacy infrastructure in Canada over two phases: i) the period from the 1970s up until the launch of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in 1994; ii) the story of IALS and changes occurring up until around 2005. Second, we examine the reasons for the failure of the mainstreaming of literacy in Canada. We conclude with further reflections on the present situation in which adult literacy has been largely reduced to employability skills which are under-supported.

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成人识字率的兴衰:来自加拿大的政策教训

从20世纪80年代末到21世纪初/中期，有一段时间，加拿大公众、媒体和政策制定者对成人扫盲的兴趣非常浓厚，扫盲主流化的政策窗口打开了。在这种背景下，令人惊讶的是，加拿大的识字基础设施后来基本上被拆除了。根据政策形成的理论，以及最近和以前的研究，包括对主要利益相关者的采访，我们认为扫盲主流化已经失败，并探讨了这种失败的原因。本文的结构分为三个部分。首先，我们分两个阶段报告了加拿大成人扫盲基础设施的建设:i)从20世纪70年代到1994年国际成人扫盲调查(als)的启动;ii)直到2005年左右发生的als和变化的故事。其次，我们考察了加拿大扫盲主流化失败的原因。最后，我们对目前的情况进行了进一步的反思，在这种情况下，成人识字率在很大程度上被降低为支持不足的就业技能。

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来源期刊

European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-

CiteScore

1.80

自引率

12.50%

发文量

审稿时长

6 weeks

期刊介绍： The European journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults (RELA) is a refereed academic journal creating a forum for the publication of critical research on adult education and learning. It has a particular focus on issues at stake for adult education and learning in Europe, as these emerge in connection with wider international and transnational dynamics and trends. Such a forum is important at a time when local and regional explorations of issues are often difficult to foreground across language barriers. As academic and policy debate is increasingly carried out in the English language, this masks the richness of research knowledge, responses and trends from diverse traditions and foci. The journal thus attempts to be linguistically ''open access''. Whilst creating a forum for international and transnational debate, contributions are particularly welcome from authors in Europe and other locations where English is not the first language. RELA invites original, scholarly articles that discuss the education and learning of adults from different academic disciplines, perspectives and traditions. It encourages diversity in theoretical and methodological approach and submissions from non-English speakers. All published contributions in RELA are subjected to a rigorous peer review process based on two moments of selection: an initial editorial screening and a double-blind review by at least two anonymous referees. Clarity and conciseness of thought are crucial requirements for publication. RELA is published on behalf of the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA).

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