Illiteracy and adult literacy teaching'Canadaln Serge Wagner
'I was born in an Indian family. My father and mother had to go hunting in the forest because they were very poor. So I had to go too.' (Alice, 49 years.) 'We were a large family. I went to school up to the fourth year.' (Jeanine, 5 r years.) 'We were a large family, and then I went to remedial school.' (Pierre, 34 years.) 'In my first year, I had difficulty reading and seeing the blackboard. I had more and more difficulty and I got the strap, more and more, and then I often used to get sent out of the room.' (Denise, 2I years.) These statements are not fictional. They may be the voice of a minority, but it is a minority whicli has so far been pushed into the background and ignored by the dominant society. Illiteracy exists in Canada; illiteracy exists in industrialized countries where education is provided, even if such a fact may seem paradoxical, and even if the existence of such a phenomenon is little known or recognized by the literate. Literacy teaching, in its most immediate sense, is the process of learning to read, write and count. Because in recent decades school has been the main place where these skills are acquired, the distinction between the concepts of literacy teaching and schooling has become blurred and they have almost become synonymous. However, the existence of illiterates who Serge W a g n e r (Canada). Professor at the University of Quebec, Montreal. Extensive experience in adult literacy provision in Quebec; expert for the Canadian International Development Agency. Author of several articles and books on adult literacy and popular education.
have been to school casts doubt on whether the concepts can be equated. In this article, I shall try to depict the problem of illiteracy in Canada with figures and facts, and then try to describe the development of literacy teaching there, concluding by singling out certain questions facing Canadian society and outlining certain analogies with illiteracy in the Third World.
Illiteracy in Canada 'As I grew up, I realized I was missing something because I was barely able to read and couldn't write at all. All the same, I grew up, but I didn't accept it. I felt I wasn't like the rest. I felt I was the only person who couldn't read or write. At that time I could barely sign my name. I couldn't admit publicly that I didn't know how to write. Rather than admit it, I kept my distance, I was afraid to show my face anywhere because I didn't know how to write.' (Alice) These words are a good illustration of the tragic situation of illiterates in a society of mass education and mass literacy. The illiterate is all the more painfully aware of his situation because he lives in a society whose collective life is largely based on writing and the printed word.
COMPLETE,
FUNCTIONAL
AND SOCIAL ILLITERACY
The above statements by people who were or are completely illiterate are only one aspect,
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although the most striking one, of the phenomenon of illiteracy. Illiteracy is a complicated condition which affects individuals regarded as illiterate in various different ways. Without being controversial about deftnitions, it is possible to make a distinction between total illiterates, who have no mastery or very limited mastery of basic reading and writing, and those known as ~functional' illiterates, who cannot read and write sufficiently well and who do not have the minimal skills needed to play a normal part in the life of their community. As it is difficult to measure knowledge Of reading, writing and even basic arithmetic, it is often difficult to make a clear distinction between those who are Completely illiterate and those who are functionally illiterate, or even those who are functionally literate, in that they have a certain mastery, however limited, of the skills necessary for social life. In addition, as functional literacy opens the door to skills and knowledge, it goes beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. The concept of basic education or basic training is often used to designate the process of acquiring the fundamental equipment necessary for the various roles the citizen plays in society. Finally, one is bound to admit that in the industrialized societies, the level of basic training considered as minimal for the needs and development of individuals and society has risen considerably over recent years. Barely twenty years ago, completion of primary education was still considered enough for employment (completion of the seven-year course was grounds for satisfaction among the working class). At present, however, people of the generation who completed elementary education realize that they are no longer considered very educated. As society becomes increasingly complicated, illiterate or under-educated people have become under-qualified and, especially with the economic crisis, feel that they have come down in the world. In Canadian society there are people who are totally illiterate and they are all the more conscious of their illiteracy as a personal weak-
ness because most of the population is literate and because social, economic and administrative life is largely based on writing and the printed word. However, even the partial illiteracy of functional illiterates is becoming harder to bear, because they know enough to be aware of their 'ignorance'. CFunctional' illiterates are increasingly conscious of their limitations and are hindered in their daily life by their lack of skill with the communication codes of the society they live in. A MIXED GROUP
Illiteracy is not experienced by all in the same way and illiterates do not form a homogeneous social group. However, certain categories can be identified. For example, there are people who can be described as 'historical' or 'accidental' illiterates. These are people who did not have the chance t o attend school f o r long enough. The main reasons for this residual illiteracy are the historicaUy limited development of educational systems in Canada, or else circumstances such as sickness or the need to go to work at an early age. Certain ethnic communities have a higher illiteracy rate. T h u s the original inhabitants of the country, the Amerindians and the Inuits, are the least literate. T h e French-speaking population has the highest proportion of illiterates. Illiteracy is also a serious problem in more recent immigrant ethnic Lcommunities such as Italians, Greeks, Portuguese and Haitians, w h o had little or no education in their countries of origin. There is also the problem of the mentally handicapped and the physically handicapped. A certain percentage of the first group can never become literate, but there are great problems involved even in the physical integration into the educational institution of anyone who differs from the average student. Finally, mention must be made of exliterates, who have forgotten how to read and write, often because their initial schooling9 was limited or because their social and economic activity did not require much use of the written
Illiteracy and adult literacy teaching in Canada
word. The cultural environment has a decisive influence because the written word is rarely met with in certain circles. This situation is frequently aggravated by the low level of sociocultural facilities. Although these groups may overlap, and although illiterates do not form a homogeneous social group, it has been established that undereducation and poverty go together in all countries. There is a heavy concentration of illiterates in the poorest strata of society. A large number of illiterates are at the bottom of the ladder both educationally and socially. In most cases there is a close relation between illiteracy and insufficient education. A large proportion of illiterates were misfits in educational as in other social institutions, often ending up as drop-outs or Crejects' and relegated to remedial or %pecial' classes or the 'short vocational course'; or else they received their schooling in remote country areas, in worldng-dass districts of towns or in schools with a high proportion of immigrants. This structural illiteracy is the most resistant to attempts at literacy work.
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enrolment. As it has been shown that at least four years of elementary education are required to assimilate the rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic, one can presume that a large proportion of the 75o, ooo Canadians who have had less than five years of schooling may be totally or functionally illiterate. Similarly,~an equally large proportion of the 2,9oo, ooo PeOple with between five and eight years of schooling can be considered as illiterate to various degrees. All things considered~ although the number of the under-educated has fallen in recent years, it remains considerable and can even be said to be increasing in so far as society's qualification requirements have actually increased (cf. Tables I, 2 and 3)What conclusion is to be drawn at this point? The problem of illiteracy in Canada is still insufficiently defined to allow precise figures to be given. On the basis of present data, one could state without fear of error that the scale of illiteracy is much greater than is believed, but a little less than some claim.
POSITIVE ILLITERACY SOME F I G U R E S
One of the main subjects of discussion in adult education circles in Canada is that of numbers. Groups involved in literacy teaching usuaUy quote rather large numbers which the public authorities question. The only figures available are those for school
It is easy to imagine the daily problems facing total illiterates. Talking about illiteracy as a scourge may, however, do more harm than good. As soon as the terms qlliteracy' and 'ignorance' become too interchangeable, the illiterates themselves are regarded as ignorant and there is a real danger of their being treated as cultural lepers. Yet the 'rejects' of formal
TtmLl~ I. N u m b e r s of those aged 15 and over not in full-time education in I961, 1971, 1976 and I981
Year 1961 % I971 % 1976 % 1981 %
Total numbers aged 15 and over
Less than 5 years' schooling
5-8 years' schooling
Less than 9 years' schooling
11,o46,6o5
I,O24,785 9-3 937,440 7.I 856,o6o 5-5 775,645 4.7
4,141,56I 37-5 3,961,905 30.1 3,520,595 22.8 2,289,115 I7.6
5,I66,346 46.8 4,899,345 37.2 4,3761655 28.3 3,664,76O 22.3
13,I68,020 15,4o2,o3o I6,438,465
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TABLE 2. Numbers of those aged 15 years and over not in full-time education, by level of education and sex distribution (census of I98I)
Total %! %S Men %1 %s Women %t
%z
Numbers
Less than 5 years' schooling
5-8 years' schooling
Less than 9 years' schooling
I6~38~465 Ioo IO0 8,o21,3oo IOO 48.8 8,417,I65 IOO 5z.Z
775,645 4.7 IO0 378,62o 4.7 48.8 397,025 4-7 5z.z
2,889,n5 I7.6 IO0 I~378,510 I7.2 47-7 1,510,605 I7.9 52.3
3,664,760 22.3 IO0 1,757J35 21.9 47.9 1,907,625 22.7 52.0
t. When read horizontally, the percentages represent relative proportions within the named group. 2. When read vertically, the percentages represent relative proportions within two named groups. (Source: Statistics Canada, Population, frdquentation scolaire et niveau de scolaritd. Recensancnt de ~98x (Catalogue 9z-914 and microfiches SPC 8IB92).
TABLE 3. Numbers of those i 5 aged years and over not in full-time education--level of education by age (census of z98z ) Age-group
Total number in group
Less than 9 years' schooling
I5-I9 % 20--24 % 25-34 % 35--44 ~0 45--54 % 55-64 ~0 65 and over %
785,860 Ioo 1,900,995 Ioo 4,0507850 IO0 2~916,690 IO0 2'469'765 zoo 2,I 34,980 IOO 2J79,33o zoo
90,720 n.5 104,940 5.5 313,856 7.8 517'730 I7.8 737'685 29.8 794,280 37.2 1,1o5,55o 50.8
I6,438,465 IO0
3,664,760 22. 3
TOTAL ~o
Source: Statistics Canada, Population, fr~quentation seolaire et niveau de scolaritL Reeensement de 198r (Catalogue 92-9x4).
education are often experts in knowledge acquired out of school. The old cars which skilled mechanics would write off but which working-class youths rejected by the educational system manage to renovate are a case in point. At a deeper level, many illiterates partially compensate for their illiteracy by making the
best use of the spoken word. The idea of illiteracy which lays too much stress on failure to master a code of reading and writing, leaves unmentioned positive and very real aspects of the experience of illiterates--their creativity and originality of thought. However, illiteracy is still an objective and practical problem. Being unable to read, write
Illiteracy and adult literacy teaching in Canada
and do arithmetic, together with incomplete basic education, are real handicaps for both the social integration and the personal development of those who suffer from them.
Literacy teaching and practice in Canada As has already been said, there is hardly any general and public acknowledgement of illiteracy in Canada. Both the existence of the problem and the numbers involved are still regarded very scepticaUy by literate circles. The fact that there is only limited recognition of the problem, together with certain cultural and geopolitical factors peculiar to Canada, means that literacy teaching is still rather a vague area and its practice is still of uneven quality, irregularly distributed and, in a word, peripheral. A quick review of the main authorities involved (based on knowledge of literacy teaching practices among French-speakers, in Quebec and elsewhere, and within certain English-speaking communities) will give a general outline of the practices followed and show that the nature of literacy teaching activities often depends on the nature of the authority concerned. VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS
Historically, English-speaking society has developed a community tradition with its roots in Canada's British past. This tradition of local community action on behalf of the needy has led m the establishment of organizations for economic and social aid, but there is also a tradition of community involvement in education and culture. In this way, various associations for the encouragement of libraries and reading were, and are, concerned with literacy. In various regions of English-speaking Canada there are also Community Councils for Literacy. In addition, the pioneering work of Frontier College and its spread to the remotest regions of Canada should be mentioned. While
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continuing the tradition of voluntary work and individual tuition, Frontier College has also developed community education programmes in which professionals give their services to the fringe sections of society--people from disadvantaged urban backgrounds and remote regions, the mentally and physically handicapped, prisoners and ex-prisoners, for example. In addition, two American organizations have made their influence felt in Canada: the Lanbach movement (Laubach Literacy of Canada) and the Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA). The activities of these two movements revolve around voluntary work and individual tuition. The Laubach method is standardized and almost completely preplanned, whereas the approach of LVA is more responsive to local conditions. The Laubach movement has expanded considerably over the last eight years. On the whole, voluntary work and individual tuition seem to be the main features of the associations' activities in literacy teaching. Within French-speaking Canada, the literacy association movement began to develop at the end of the I96OS. So far, this movement has been marked by its often militant social approach to the question of literacy. Literacy teaching takes place mainly in workshops rather than by individual tuition. Until now, this movement has developed almost exclusively in Quebec, although several organizations outside Quebec, including the F6d#ration des Francophones hors Qu6bec, are beginning to be concerned about the high illiteracy rate in their community. The associations involved in literacy teaching form a very mixed group. Some have made literacy teaching their only field of action, others work within the framework of adult education activities, yet others as part of campaigns for the socio-cultural development of an area, a region or a particular social group. Organizationally, some groups are completely independent and in certain cases the people being taught take part in running them. Other organizations were established by public educational bodies with which they still have links.
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In some Canadian towns, certain ethnic communities have become concerned at the high number of illiterates in their midst and various organizations have begun special literacy activities for these communities. The content of the literacy teaching often takes into consideration the total situation and needs of illiterate immigrants, and these organizations have consequently conducted experiments in mother-tongue literacy teaching. On the subject of ethnic communities, mention should be made of the activities of the 'Services to New Ontarians' of the Ministry of Civic Affairs and Culture of Ontario, and of the Portuguese and Haitian ethnic communities. This survey of the activities of voluntary organizations would be incomplete ff no mention were made of two organizations which, in English-speaking Canada and in Quebec, bring together and encourage voluntary literacy organizations and play a decisive role in bringing the fact of illiteracy to the attention of the general public and the authorities. These are the Movement for Canadian Literacy and the Association of People's Literacy Groups. T H E R O L E OF T H E G O V E R N M E N T
To a large degree, the development of adult literacy teaching in Canada is part of the wide system of adult education. During the last fifteen years, the adult education sector has taken on its own character and developed considerably, and during this period the provincial governments have become the main agents in this field. In addition, even if government literacy activities are stiU quite limited, they are nevertheless the main source of finance and provide the main infrastructure for such activities. To understand the role of the different provincial governments in literacy teaching, it should be borne in mind that, in accordance with the Canadian Constitution, education, including adult education, is officially the responsibility of the provinces, although the federal government intervenes directly through its adult vocational training
policy, just as it provides the greater part of the funds for adult education in the provinces. The federal government During the first half of the I97os, the federal government was the prime contractor for literacy teaching activities in Canada. At the end of the I96os, the Canadian Government had in fact decided that it was a matter of urgency to contribute to the general and vocational training of the country's work force. This commitment gave rise to several programmes, including the Programmes of Preparatory Courses for Vocational Training, Pre-employment Training and the 'Fresh Start' Projects. All these projects offered fulltime training facilities for the unemployed. The first programme hinged mainly on extra coaching in school subjects to bring students up to the academic level needed for entry to vocational training, whereas the other two programmes experimented with certain approaches to functional literacy (the integration of basic education with work). During the second half of the I97OS, the federal government gradually withdrew from involvement in the general education of the work force and restricted access to its training programmes to the illiterate and undereducated. This restrictive basic education policy has been criticized both by those involved in literacy teaching and within the federal government itself, for example in the Adams Report on study leave (I979), the Alimand Report on employment prospects for the x98os (I98o) and the report of the Committee on leave for further training (I983), but the policy has remained unchanged and, as a result, undereducated adults now have much less training available to them than at the start of the I97os. Provincial governments Now that the federal government has given up its involvement in the general education of those who have not completed secondary education, literacy teaching has become mainly the responsibility of the provincial govern-
Illiteracy and adult literacy teaching in Canada
413
ments. The development of literacy teaching in adult literacy teaching in Quebec over the varies very much with the attention given to last four years~ as can be seen from the volume adult education in each province. On the of activities, the production of teaching and whole, except in British Columbia and Quebec, audio-visual materials, and from training and no special attention has yet been given to research. There is no doubt that Quebec is the province literacy teaching. In most provinces, therefore, literacy teach- of Canada which has invested the most in hag remains a fringe activity, mainly carried literacy teaching even if, in the opinion of all out by school councils and/or community involved, present activities and budgets are colleges which, in some cases, cover the not yet sufficient for the problem to be tackled running costs of certain voluntary organizations. radically. British Columbia has made basic education one of its priorities in adult education. At the Other institutions involved beginning of the I98OS, the province adopted This list would be incomplete if no mention a general basic education policy and made was made of the activities of other public publicly funded educational institutes respon- institutions which have shown an interest sible for providing activities in this field. The in literacy, such as some public libraries, Ministry of Education remained responsible provincial educational television services (in for co-ordination, evaluation, research and Alberta, Ontario and Quebec) or universities supervision, while giving its financial support (University of British Columbia, Ontario to the various activities. Institute for Studies in Education, University The basic education programme developed of Montreal, Universit6 du Qu6bec ~ Montreal). quickly. The University of British Columbia was associated with a training programme and SOME SPECIAL ASPECTS it has been estimated that half a million dollars were spent on basic education by various public authorities. Among other activities, After this brief survey of the situation of teaching materials have been produced. illiteracy and literacy teaching in Canada, At present, literacy teaching activities are here are some comments and questions. most developed in the province of Quebec. In 198o-81, the Ministry of Education drew Good intentions and empiricism up a plan for the role of School Commissions. Until now, the development of literacy teach' Subsequently, the government announced that ing in Canada has remained an almost exclusive it also intended to contribute to the financing monopoly of the teachers themselves. Whether of a network of voluntary organizations. The volunteers or paid, the people involved in Study Commission on Adult Education rec- literacy teaching show remarkable interest ommended, in 1982, the launching of a literacy in their work. Their devotion and creativity campaign as part of the priority being given partially compensate for the' shortcomings of to basic education. the government authorities. In addition, those Although it has not accepted all the sugges- actually involved, especially in associations, tions of the Study Commission, the govern- have been the main champions of the literacy ment of Quebec is allocating $3 million cause in Canada over the last fifteen years. in 1984-85--$1,5oo, ooo for voluntary organ- In several regions, this pioneering stage is izations and $I,5OO,OOO as an additional con- nearing its end. More systematic action must tribution to the School Commissions' literacy now replace the empirical approach of the budget. It is estimated that this will make it first years. possible to reach about I5,OOO illiterates. Thus there has been a significant advance
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Serge Wagner
The spedfic nature of illiteracy and literacy teaching Paradoxically, it sometimes seems that literacy teaching has developed at a faster pace than the knowledge of illiteracy. The experience of recent years has certainly made it possible to identify certain categories of illiterates and to have a better grasp of certain questions such as tracing the illiterates, and discovering their motivatiom. How it feels to be illiterate still remains iU-defmed and insuffidently investigated. Discussion of illiteracy has remained static and is frequently clicht-ridden, this article being no exception. This will be the case as long as the experience and the needs of the illiterate are insufficiently understood. One result is that the problems and strategies of literacy teaching are frequently uncertain. It has not yet been possible to define the specific nature of literacy teaching as compared with basic education, with the teaching of English or French as a mother tongue or second language, with remedial teaching in schools, etc. These different terms are often associated with literacy teaching but they do not all refer to the same situation. Once the various agents have defined the particular problems of the field that concerns them, the specific concerns and the complementarity of the networks can be better established. For example, it might be worth considering whether the network of institutions should not be more concerned with general education and with improving the links between literacy teaching and general and vocational education. Where methods are concerned, considerable efforts have been made over recent years to adapt or produce teaching materials tailored to different groups of adult illiterates. In French-speaking areas, the materials must be devised and produced locally, whereas in English-speaking areas there is a great temptation to import material produced in the United States or the United Kingdom without adapting it.
A second chance for a secondfailure? As has been seen, there is a great shortage of statistical data both on illiteracy and on literacy teaching. For example, it is almost impossible to know how people are illiterate and what the drop-out, success and failure rates are. Empirical knowledge of certain practices and the limited statistics available lead one to think that the failure and/or drop-out rate must be considerable. This would imply the paradoxical situation that literacy teaching provides most of those receiving it with little or no opportunity to become literate. University institutions have a valuable contribution to make to research on questions like these.
Literacy teaching and democratization Illiterate and under-educated people are those who made the least use of the educative resources of Canadian society when they were young. Statistics show that, in adult life, people in this group have the least access to training. This means that public authorities are faced with a problem of fairness and access to which they have not provided a satisfactory solution. The sums at present allocated for literacy teaching are insufficient both as regards the number of illiterates and the seriousness of the problem. More funds should be spent on the basic education of the under-educated, but the reverse is happening. There should be better intergovernmental co-operation on this question and the provincial governments should formulate a finance and action policy which takes into account both the importance of the problem in each of their territories and the present state of literacy teaching practice. In other respects, we know enough about literacy teaching to be able to say that it has to be taken in its totality and, as a result, an approach which is either based too much on economic considerations (in terms of vocational training) or else is too academic (limited to the learning of reading, writing and arithmetic) will not be very satisfactory. At a perhaps even deeper level, one must ask whether any society can in actual fact exclude from its plan for
Illiteracy and adult literacy teaching in Canada
the development of human resources that section of the population which needs it the most? In addition, the provincial governments concerned should not only take an interest in encouraging literacy teaching from the point of view of social development, but should also consider the reforms needed in the education of the young. The phenomenon of illiterates who have been to school calls for a reexamination of early education, especially in environments which are on the fringes where school is concerned, such as working-class areas in cities, remote rural areas, certain ethnic groups, and so on. Finally, for the sake of effectiveness and democratization, there must be a certain degree of flexibility both in the way the teaching is organized and in what is taught. So far, it is associations which have played the leading role in the development of literacy. It is primarily they which have carried out experiments involving the management of activities by the individuals concerned. In all cases where illiterates were given the chance to express themselves and not just to learn reading, writing and arithmetic, remarkable results were obtained. In addition, some voluntary organizations have succeeded in establishing themselves in socio-cultural environments which had been and still remain closed to the action of public institutions. All these are experiences which it is important to examine and turn to account.
Illiteracy in Canada and in the Third World S I M I L A R I T I E S AND DIFFERENCES
There are obvious similarities between illiteracy in Canada and in the Third World. To begin with, of course, all illiterates are deprived of a basic tool for communication and cultural development. Furthermore, in Canada, most illiterates are concentrated in a sort of 'local
415
Third World'. Whether they live in the Third World or in Canada, illiterates are usually relegated to the fringe of their country's economic, social and cultural life. In Canada as in the Third World, illiterates are the most deprived group. As in the Third World, it seems that Canadian rural communities, working-class districts in cities, certain ethnic groups and migrants are most likely to be illiterate. More positively, as in the Third World, Canadian illiterates have their own cultural life, a living culture which is often little known (and sometimes not recognized) by the literate. However, there are differences. For instance, it is obvious that the scale of illiteracy is less in the industrialized countries than in the Third World. Sometimes, however, in a society where the majority is literate, it is objectively and subjectively more intolerable to be illiterate. On the other hand, as all illiterate immigrants from the Third World agree, it is easier to survive economically in the opulent societies of the North. Comparing illiteracy in the countries o f the North and the countries of the South brings out the important fact that illiteracy is an extremely relative concept. We have made a distinction between total illiteracy and functional illiteracy and advanced the idea that a functional illiterate is a person with insuttident mastery ef reading, writing and arithmetic to be able to participate properly in community life. However, such a definition obviously depends on the level of development of the social community to which the illiterate belongs, so that a person classified as illiterate in the North could very well have sufficient knowledge to manage very weU and even to prosper in the South. Research on this subject has shown that people with only a rudimentary knowledge of the alphabet or of arithmetic, but who do have specific and useful knowledge related to their activities or the circumstances of their life and work, can make a reasonable success of their work, have no difficulty holding positions in a firm and even run their own businesses. Nevertheless, in the North, these same people would
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lose their social position and be reduced to unemployment and state hand-outs. This shows the importance of the concepts of functional illiteracy and functional literacy for understanding what actually takes place in different contexts and situations. In the North, if one holds to an abstract and academic definition of illiteracy, the problem seems to involve no more than a tiny minority. However, taking into consideration the complexity of the technological society being built before our eyes and the new demands on those who wish to participate in it actively, we are faced with the very serious problem of millions of people who cannot satisfy these demands. On the other hand, in the South, there are an increasing number of functional and creative literates who, because the pace of development in their society is slower, have not yet lost their status and can therefore act usefully in and for their environment. To make this parallel complete, it should also take into consideration the resemblances between the literate majority in the industrialized countries and the corresponding minority in the developing countries. After all, in both North and South, the conscience of the literate comes to terms with poverty and ignorance at home and abroad only too often.
THE
POTENTIAL
OF THIRD
WORLD
CONTRIBUTION LITERACY
TEACHING
Experience of literacy teaching is much more advanced in the Third World than in Canada. On more than one question (e.g. mothertongue literacy teaching, research management, staff training, assessment), the countries and peoples of the Third World have developed 'expertise' and possess resources which are often lacking in Canada. Until now, Canadian literacy teaching has not made the most of these resources. There are many means and channels for exporting Canadian products and knowhow to the Third World. Importation seems more difficult. Nevertheless, some bodies have concerned
themselves with developing links between literacy teaching in Canada and literacy teaching in the Third World. The decision of World Literacy of Canada, Inter Pares, Match and other organizations to act in this direction can be cited, as can the example of the group of illiterates in Montreal who decided to contribute to the Literacy Campaign in Nicaragua and organized a sale of pencils, the proceeds from which ($7o, ooo) were sent to that country. In conclusion, I should like to mention something I consider to be a very real danger to literacy teaching, both in Canada and in the Third World. Faced with the relative failure of mass literacy and school enrolment campaigns, many teachers and specialists have come to question the relevance of literacy teaching among people who might have no need for it, and whose economic, social and cultural life does not involve the written word. Furthermore, in the industrialized countries, some people find that there is no great social demand for literacy teaching and conclude, with varying degrees of clarity, that it is perhaps inappropriate to 'force' this demand. It is not my purpose here to caricature these two attitudes. Although they do in fact relate to questions which have arisen, everything that reinforces the status quo of inequality should still be approached with caution. In fact, it is not enough to attack only illiteracy in societies whose life does not involve the written word; the fostering of literacy should go hand in hand with the promotion of economic and social development. Specialists in false dilemmas insist, on the contrary, that literacy teaching, even though necessary in itself, cannot be successful until a later stage when economic development has gone much further and the most urgent problems, such as food, health, the birth rate, etc., have been solved. Such a falsely rational approach will only put off the great task of education indefinitely, and at the same time put off economic and social development itself, as it is now accepted that the economy and education are two equally essential conditions, two vital factors of development, continuously inter-
Illiteracy and adult literacy teaching in Canada
acting and thus stimulating new development. It should also be borne in mind that literacy on its own often has important effects on development, including economic development. This was noted by the World Bank, as John K. Galbraith mentioned in the Theory of Mass Poverty: the result of literacy can be that people no longer put up with poverty. This idea was expressed, in their own way in writing, by members of a group of newly literate people: 'One day, I decided to learn to read and write. I had difficulty living my life like everybody else . . .'. 'As soon as we learnt to read and write, several changes took place in our life. We have learnt to accept ourselves and accept other people; we understand more than before. We have less difficulty communicating with other people . . . . We find it important to co-operate, to help each other, to share with others. We have also learnt to reflect and to think, to express ourselves to other people, to come to a decision and to express our opinion.' 'We are proud of the progress we have made.'
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