A learner's response
The next day a learner called to tell us the doctor said their child needed to stay indoors for one week. The learner asked if it was possible to have materials dropped off at their house: books to read, cloze exercises and a math review. We prepared and dropped off these materials. The learner showed program staff all the writing that they were doing and talked about the books that they were reading while at home. What the learner was doing at home showed that motivation mattered as much as attendance and we felt justified in shifting our thinking about attendance.
 Sometimes life’s challenges keep learners from coming to the classroom, but they can still participate in learning by doing class work at home.. |
Another learner who returned to the program after a three-week absence due to circumstances beyond their control stated:
“I’m
not sure how to put it in words. I keep attending because I want to be
here. And because there were so many times when something would come up
and, in the past, the door would close, and I would be told...you have
to be more punctual, you have to learn to manage...I know I’m not
ready for the work force, because I still have a challenging time in the
morning, the last minute things at night. But here, nobody said, look;
you have to make more of an effort. The flexibility is important...I know
I would have given up by now – one step forward, two steps back.
But because you guys were so positive, when I called, I’m not hearing
negativity, I’m hearing support. So when I hang up I feel positive
and I think to myself, ‘that happened this time, next time I get
back up and try it again.’”.
(Saint John Learning Exchange, 2002)
Shift in perspective
Finding out the impact our perspective shift and subsequent action had on this parent’s perception was profound, and permanently changed how I approach facilitation and administration of adult and family literacy.
| “As
long as I continue to self-reflect and adapt my practice, I will
be engaged in research. Research isn’t something I do as an add on to my practice, but is inherent in the process itself.” Cheryl Brown |
What I learned about reducing barriers was also significant. I began to think about overcoming barriers as a process, and that barriers are as individual as the learners and may arise periodically. The assistance needed in reducing these barriers is also very individualistic, and requires flexibility on the part of program staff, and in program policies.
I learned some adults wanted to be involved in literacy and improve their skills. However, the venue needed to be different than a conventional literacy program. A way to provide an alternative for these adults was to involve them in the creation of a community group that would work as a committee to organize and deliver learning activities for the children in their neighbourhood. Literacy is embedded in the tasks they perform: taking committee minutes, making flyers, taking registration, seeking donations, making signs, researching crafts and so on. This ‘embedded literacy’ (Auerbach, 2002) has been recognized as being as valid as other forms of skill acquisition, and doesn’t present the same barriers to these learners as a classroom environment.
Research in action
“Trying out our ideas in practice as a means of improvement and as a means of increasing knowledge is research in action” (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1982, p. 1). McNiff et al (1996) talk about the action research cycle as having nine basic points: review current practice, identify an aspect you want to improve, imagine a way forward, try it out, take a look at what happens, modify your plan in light of what you have found out and continue with the ‘action’, monitor what you do, evaluate modified action, and so on until you are satisfied with that aspect of our work. As long as I continue to self-reflect and adapt my practice, I will be engaged in research. Research isn’t something I do as an add on to my practice, but is inherent in the process itself.
References:
Auerbach, E. (2002). Shifting roles, changing rules: Community collaborations (plenary). International Conference on Portraits of Literacy: Critical Issues in Family Community and School Literacies. University of British Columbia: Vancouver, BC.
Kemmis & McTaggart (1982). The action research planner. In M. Pereira (2000) My reflective practice as research [online]. Available: www.bamaed.ua.edu/~kstaples/Reflectivity.htm
Long, E. & Middleton, S. (2001). Patterns of participation in Canadian literacy and upgrading programs: Results of a national follow-up study. Toronto, ON: ABC Canada.
McNiff, J., Lomax, P. & Whitehead, J. (1996). You and your action research project. London: Routeledge.
Saint John Learning Exchange (2002, April). Family Learning & Health: midpoint evaluation. Saint John, NB: Author.
Cheryl Brown is a Community Literacy Facilitator in Saint John, NB.