• A substantial number of Canadian seniors are currently back in school. In 1996, almost 20,000 were enrolled in some kind of formal educational program.
• Seniors have, on average, relatively low levels of formal educational training.
• The majority of today’s seniors, over six out of ten, never completed high school; 25% had attended, but had not graduated from high school, while 37% had less than a Grade 9 education.
• 8% of all Canadians aged 65 and over had a university degree in 1996, compared with 17% of people between the ages of 25 and 64.
• Many seniors have difficulty reading written material. 53% were only able to perform simple reading tasks, such as locating one piece of information in a text, in the International Adult Literacy Survey conducted in 1994.

[Taken from the International Year of Older Persons Website at : http://iyop-aipa.ic.gc.ca/ Statistics prepared by Statistics Canada for the Division of Aging and Seniors.]

Networks, the newsletter of the National Adult Literacy Database Inc., provides the Canadian literacy community with current information on educational activities in adult literacy and basic adult education.

NALD keeps literacy practitioners, learners, administrators, policy makers and researchers informed on trends, recent publications, available resources, upcoming events and ongoing activities both nationally and in the regions.

For more information or to give your comments, please contact:

The Editor - Networks
c/o National Adult Literacy Database Inc.
Scovil House
703 Brunswick Street
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Canada E3B 1H8

Toll-Free: 1-800-720-NALD (6253)
Tel: 506-457-6900
Fax: 506-45 7-691 0
E-mail: info@nald.ca
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*NALD is funded by the National Literacy Secretariat, Human Resources Development Canada

NALD Networks Production Team:
Editor : Lorette Chiasson
Assistant Editor and Layout Manager: Lorraine Nolan
Proofreader: Florence Mills
Graphics Managers: Earl Letts, Sandra Barry and Tracy Hine

NALD would like to thank Carleton Literacy Council CASP-NB, Carnegie Learning Centre-BC, Victoria READ Society-BC, Frontier College, Mr. Howes, Ms. Laidlaw, Second Chance for Seniors-SK, Revenue Canada, Bow Valley College-AB, Projet Aîné.e.s à la page-ON, Fédération canadienne pour l'alphabétisation en français, Pluri-elles Inc.-MB and the Northwest Territories Literacy Council-NWT for the opportunity to use photographs within this newsletter.