National Adult Literacy Database

New research shows that bilingualism assists the brain in its ability to focus and can stave off the negative effects of Alzheimer's disease in old age.

Decoda will be involved in the full literacy continuum – from early childhood to family, adult, workplace and emerging literacy. It will use literacy as a key strategy to help solve fundamental societal issues, as well as business and industry challenges. Decoda brings together the work, experience and expertise of two previous literacy organizations: Literacy BC and 2010 Legacies Now.

Adults going back to school to upgrade their skills or obtain their high school diploma may find it difficult to take the first step. Unable to find the right resources and guidance can leave many frustrated with nowhere to turn. There are, however, programs geared specifically for adult learners who want to complete their education.

Many youth in Canada have noticed that high debt levels and heedless spending – the very issues that have led to our having a financial literacy issue in the first place – are problems created by their parents.

Many families face competing priorities when it comes to savings. Despite these challenges, parents in all income groups place a high value on saving for their child's post-secondary education.

According to a new agreement in Quebec, one month before turning 18, youths who submit a last-resort financial assistance request or an employment service request are made aware of specific programs offered by Emploi-Québec to promote his/her personal, social and professional autonomy.

Many Canadian children have never seen a school librarian and never will. Nova Scotia has none, and the full-time equivalent of just three are left in New Brunswick. At least one school board in Ontario hasn’t had a teacher-librarian in 15 years, and numbers have declined in Alberta and British Columbia as well.

More Canadians hold community college degrees, diplomas or certifications than university degrees (31 per cent versus 21 per cent) and contribute to Canada’s spot at the top of the OECD pile when it comes to the number of citizens with post-secondary education (49 per cent in 2008).

This important reference document from The Alliance of Sector Councils takes a look at Aboriginal human resources issues in Canada. It also provides practical information for promoting partnerships that lead to new and meaningful work for Aboriginal peoples.

For its 12th edition, The Gift of Reading® is giving 30,512 new books to as many underprivileged children aged 0-12. The Literacy Foundation and project spokesperson, actress Marie Turgeon, are proud to announce that this initiative, which aims to prevent reading difficulties that lead to children dropping out of school and then to illiteracy, has been an unqualified success. Since 1999, more than 255,000 new children’s books have been given out through this program.

This free, interactive one-hour webinar focuses on different solutions to encourage organizations and employees to use leadership and coaching techniques to improve quality of developing and delivering services.

Money Matters is a unique, in-class program that brings financial experts/volunteer-tutors from TD Bank Group together with literacy practitioners to help adult learners understand finances and gain confidence in their day-to-day management.

CREPUQ is calling attention to two key issues that Canada must address quickly and seriously if it hopes to maintain the competitive position of Canadian universities with regard to research.

ABC Life Literacy Canada is actively involved in social media as a way to engage and interact with its internal and external stakeholders, sponsors, donors and the community-at-large. With that in mind, it has recently produced Social Media Guidelines, a document which includes helpful tips and suggestions.

International Adult Learners’ Week (IALW) received much support from literacy organizations across Canada as was indicated by the number of articles posted to the IALW news releases page on NALD.