Literacy surveys

This article compares some of the first findings of the International Adult Literacy Survey for Canada, the United States, our largest trading partner, and Germany, the principal economic power of Europe.

This report suggests that youth in North America do not fare as well in their literacy skills as their European counterparts. The findings were based on data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) which was conducted in seven countries in 1994, and later extended to include 24 countries.

This study was designed to document who calls the Literacy BC helpline and why they want to improve their literacy skills. What do their motivations and goals tell us about the role of literacy in society, in the economy, and in their personal lives? The study was also designed to examine what happens after they call. Do callers access and participate in the programs we help them to locate? If not, what stopped or prevented them?

This report keys in on the findings of the International Adult Literacy Survey (i.e., "the large number of Canadians with low literacy skills") and reviews "coping strategies" used by those Canadians to deal with departments such as Revenue Canada (e.g., filling out income tax returns) and large institutions such as banks.

The International Adult Literacy Survey(IALS) was a seven-country initiative conducted in the fall of 1994. The Canadian component of the IALS study was primarily funded by the Applied Research Branch and the National Literacy Secretariat of Human Resources Development Canada. This document, published by Statistics Canada, is a report that stems from IALS.

This article describes a pilot project conducted with 20 community service providers that included health, social, and other professional workers from an inner-city area in one of Canada's capital cities.

More and more research demonstrates that social, demographic and economic factors and practices affect the health of a population. However, much less is known about literacy skills and practices among those with higher health risks. Understanding these relationships is important, since weak literacy skills may impede good health care practices and healthy lifestyle decisions.

This is the presentation made by Dr. Harvey Krahn, Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta, as part of the “Breakfast on the Hill” series.

The research project described in this document investigated barriers to attaining literacy training with a sample of low literacy youth (aged 16 to 25 years) from both urban and rural settings in Southwestern Ontario. The study found six identifiable factors as barriers, and found that the reasons for nonparticipation in literacy training programs were multidimensional.

Consultations on the results of the IALS were held in Vancouver, Regina, Toronto and Fredericton. Each involved literacy organizations and stakeholders in the literacy movement. A wide range of professions and organizations were represented at the consultations including community colleges, universities, provincial government, multicultural organizations, chambers of commerce, associations, not-for-profit organizations and consultants.