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Turning a New Page cont'd...

Reading the children's books gave the participants an opportunity to experience success and feel positive about reading, and gave them the motivation to move on to more challenging reading material.

In addition to an improvement in literacy skills, the results included improved confidence and reduced recidivism. Only 4 of the 42 inmates who were actively involved in classroom instruction have returned to the correctional center after being released. They did not commit a crime; rather, they returned for consuming alcohol which is a parole violation. The national average in Canada for returning to prison is 43%. Although it is too early too draw conclusions, the return rate for participants in this study is approximately 13%.

Finally, the exit survey that was distributed to teachers indicated that the audiotapes and accompanying books were used in listening centers and for guided reading. The audiotapes and books allowed children to independently develop their vocabulary, phonological awareness, and fluency. The students who used them the most were the at-risk readers in the classroom.

Implications
This study suggests that programs such as Turning a New Page can support the literacy development of all learners, regardless of age or situation. Perhaps similar programs can be established in adult literacy programs throughout New Brunswick. It would be an excellent way to form partnerships with elementary schools. The repeated readings of books would be a practical strategy to use with adults who are beginning readers. The adult students could be encouraged to take the book home and read it to their children. Engaging children in repeated readings with their parent would also enhance the children’s fluency and instill a love of literature.

Reference
Taylor, R. T., & McAtee, R. (2003). Turning a new page to life and literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46(6), 476-480. Dr. Pat Campbell is a researcher, teacher and writer from Alberta.

What is a literature review? By Marina Niks

During the 2002 Adult Literacy Research-in- Practice Pre-conference in Vancouver, Shauna Butterwick described the literature review using the metaphor of a conversation. She explained that doing a literature review is finding out what conversations are happening in the field. Without knowing what others are talking about, researchers cannot truly participate intelligibly in those conversations. Dancing in the Dark (2003, www.nald.ca/ripal) describes some potential challenges of doing a literature review in research in practice projects:

“If we understand practitioner knowledge and research approaches as not being solely based on and informing the literature, we are faced with important questions. Who is participating in the conversations that are happening in the literature? Who is not? Are conversations happening elsewhere? How does new knowledge build on previous knowledge if it is not done through the literature? How does new knowledge get incorporated into the field knowledge if it is not in academic writing? (…) Perhaps our attempt to use the literature is a reflection of the role that literature plays in practitioner research (p. 10).”

Practitioners discovered that their knowledge was not represented in the literature and that the literature was not speaking to and about their work. Therefore, this was not the space where they could contribute their findings and questions.

Written materials is one of the ways a field “holds” its knowledge.

Since participating in Dancing in the Dark, I’ve been interested in better understanding what the role of the literature review is in research in practice projects. One idea that I am starting to explore is one that expands the notion of review, including literature and other sources of knowledge. I believe written materials are one of many ways in which a field represents and “holds” its knowledge. Other ways knowledge is represented in a field may include common practices, conversations among practitioners, and presentations at conferences and other forums. Indeed, a review of the literature only taps on the knowledge that gets published, which is by no means, all the knowledge developed through research.

Although challenging, I believe it is worth trying to discover ways in which a research project can be framed within current conversations in a field that is not used to documenting its knowledge in writing.

Marina Niks works as a research friend with literacy practitioners in British Columbia.