Wanted: research documents for a The University of Alberta’s Centre for Research on Literacy has received NLS funding to develop a comprehensive directory of adult literacy research. The directory will contain annotations of research that has been completed in the past five years as well as research in progress. In some cases, full length research documents will be included. The finished directory will be accessible on the NALD website (www.nald.ca). The term “research” is used to refer to the systematic, purposeful process of creating knowledge. The directory will include research that has the following components: problem or purpose, background or context, methods for data collection and analysis, and discussion of results and implications. It will not include opinion pieces, testimonials or program descriptions. This directory will help disseminate information on research that is not published in mainstream sources. An increased awareness of current research may facilitate collaboration among researchers. If you are currently working on a literacy research project, please e-mail Patty.Campbell@ualberta.ca or phone 780-492-2984. If you completed a literacy research project in the past five years, please send a copy of the document to Pat Campbell, Centre for Research on Literacy, Faculty of Education, 653 Education South, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G5. The Literacy, Welfare and Work As noted in literacy.ca Vol. 1, No. 2, the Literacy, Welfare & Work study is investigating the relationship between literacy and employment, in the context of welfare reform. Sponsored by the Coalition for Brandon Literacy Services and funded by the NLS, it has published two reports so far. Literacy, Welfare & Work: A Preliminary Study examines trends in current welfare legislation and the labour market, and explores their effect on adult learners and instructors. This phase uncovered some key issues, such as the personal and structural barriers to students’ efforts to find and keep a job. Literacy, Welfare & Work Year II: A Case Study of the Lives of Seven Adult Learners “offers a glimpse into the subtle and often complex connections between literacy and poverty, abuse, poor health, etc., and how these issues have affected these students’ lives, as well as their education and employment history.” Both reports are available on the NALD website. Hard copies are available for $5 each from Literacy Service of Canada Ltd., Box 52192, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2T5. Tel: 780-413-6491, Fax: 780-413-6582, E-mail: brokop@telusplanet.net. For more information about the Literacy, Welfare & Work project, contact Janet Smith, Common Ground Consulting, 336 4th Street, Brandon, Manitoba, R7A 3G9, Tel/Fax: 204-726-8090, E-mail: commonground@mb.sympatico.ca. Welfare-to-Work Programs: A National Inventory These documents from the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) contain the most comprehensive and current information about welfare-to-work programs across Canada. Some of the concerns raised are that the programs appear to be contributing to worsening poverty by lowering benefits and forcing some people into uncertain employment; that most programs do not pay enough attention to the needs of recipients and their children for supports such as training and child care; and that evaluation of the programs is usually based on cost savings, not on outcomes for recipients. “If the programs are simply reducing the number of people on welfare, without increasing the number who have jobs, they should be considered as a failure, not as a success” according to the CCSD’s Associate Director. (Source: Community Action, Canada’s Community Service Newspaper, March 15, 1999) |
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