Developing a Framework for Research in Practice in Adult Literacy
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The final report will be distributed in hard copy to: national literacy organizations; provincial/territorial literacy coalitions; university-based adult education and research organizations; provincial/territorial government representatives; federal policy makers. In order to ensure the report is also available to practitioners and community-based organizations, the report will be posted in full-text on the National Adult Literacy Database and on the web sites of interested and relevant organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Other project outcomes will include: increased skills and interest in research in practice among practitioners; and increased knowledge by a variety of stakeholders about the breadth and depth of research in practice activities. Anticipated long-term outcomes include: further development and visibility of a research culture within the Canadian adult literacy field; greater connectivity and linkages among people and groups involved in research in practice.

NEED FOR THE PROJECT

Research in practice in adult literacy has been gaining strength and visibility in Canada since the National Literacy Secretariat held a policy conversation on literacy research in 1996. In fact, a second consultation sponsored by the NLS in March 2004 identified as a priority a continued focus on and support for research in practice. The momentum for research in practice in Canada, and internationally, clearly demonstrates its importance and value to the field of adult literacy. Practitioner-based research is a rich source of knowledge, a dynamic professional development tool, and a powerful catalyst for practice-based change.

Doing research is an activity generally associated with the academy, and, indeed, much research on adult literacy comes from academic sources. Encouraging practitioners to conduct research is a means for also articulating, developing, and circulating knowledge from other “places” in the field. In this way, research in practice enriches our collective understanding about how to promote people’s abilities to read and write and to enhance their opportunities and resources for reading and writing.

Research in practice, however, is about more than doing research. Research in practice gives practitioners other ways to engage with research: learning about and from research by reading and responding to it; reflecting on research and its implications for practice; and applying research findings to practice (Horsman and Norton, 1999). It opens up opportunities for practitioners to critically reflect on existing knowledge and to apply findings to their practice. The literacy field is also strengthened when practitioners have access to documented research, occasions to think about and to discuss its connections to practice, and opportunities to make changes and improve their practice as a consequence (Horsman and Norton, 1999).

The growth and development of research in practice in English-speaking Canada has been particularly evident in recent years. At the national level, for example, an inter-provincial web site (www.nald.ca/ripal/) is centralizing information about research in practice in Canada; research in practice events for three consecutive years in Edmonton (2001), Vancouver (2002), and St. John’s (2003) have given practitioners the opportunity to present their work and connect with colleagues; and, since 2003, a new Canadian journal, Literacies: Researching practice, practising research, has offered an accessible forum for the publication of practitioner writing.