Research

Nonparticipation in Literacy and Upgrading Programs:
Why aren’t they calling?

ABC CANADA’s latest research project is a national study on adults who have never contacted a literacy or upgrading program.

Nonparticipation in Literacy and Upgrading Programs: a National Study and the executive summary version, entitled Why aren’t they calling?, examines responses from 866 Canadian adults without a high school diploma, and explores the reasons why they have never asked for help to further their literacy skills.

Some key findings include:

• Almost 60 per cent of those interviewed had thought about the idea of taking upgrading or completing their high school diploma, although only 20 per cent think they will actually take a program in the next five years.

• Regardless of need, interviewees are more likely to expect to take an upgrading program, the higher their level of schooling.

• 60 per cent of respondents are aware of programs in their communities.

• 60 per cent of respondents indicate a need for improvement in at least one skill area.

• Work-related reasons are most frequently cited as reasons for thinking about taking a program, especially among the young.

• Those who state they might take a program in the next five years indicate that a classroom in a local school, college or university is the preferred venue. Among this group, small classroom settings with 5-10 students or one-to-one tutoring were preferred formats.

The report includes several suggestions for action:

• To policy-makers, on how they can help remove barriers to upgrading related to financial and family care challenges;

• To employers and unions, on how they can help remove work-related barriers;

• To the literacy field, on how it can help remove cognitive/emotive barriers and improve the appeal of programs.

To order the full report or the executive summary, contact ABC CANADA at 1-800-303-1004. For an excerpt of the executive summary, link to http://www.abc-canada.org/research/watc_summary.asp.