Linking Adult Literacy and eLearning

Kathryn Chang Barker, 2005, 227 pages

This report summarizes findings from an ABC CANADA research study on the use of eLearning tools in adult literacy programs.

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Nonparticipation in Literacy and Upgrading Programs: A National Study

Ellen Long, 2002, 265 pages

This report is the first Canada-wide study of nonparticipation of potential adult learners. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, this two-stage study builds on earlier work in the area of nonparticipation.

The findings are presented in two self-contained reports. The Stage One report (the qualitative phase) is rich in interview quotes, bringing to life people’s experience of nonparticipation. The Stage Two report (the quantitative phase) contains nonparticipation facts and figures. When read together, these two reports provide a tremendous amount of insight into the depth and scope of the complex issue of nonparticipation.

Stage One of this study engaged interviewers in 12 provinces and territories to conduct in-person interviews with 44 people across Canada who had never participated in a literacy or upgrading program. Although the number of adults interviewed was small, the results revealed a number of patterns, thus laying the foundation for Stage Two: a large-scale phone survey conducted by EKOS Research, with a representative sample of 866 people who had not taken a literacy or upgrading program since leaving school without a diploma.

View Why Aren’t They Calling? Summary of results from Nonparticipation in Literacy and Upgrading Programs

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Patterns of Participation in Canadian Literacy and Upgrading Programs: Results of a National Follow-up Study

Ellen Long and Sandy Middleton, 2001, 121 pages

This publication addresses how the recruitment and retention of literacy learners are among the most serious challenges facing the literacy field.

In January and February 1999, 55 literacy groups from across Canada collected the names and phone numbers of more than 500 individuals who were seeking literacy or upgrading programs for themselves or for family members/friends. Literacy groups asked permission from all eligible callers to contact them for a follow-up phone survey six months later.

The central purpose of this study was to explore what happens once people make initial contact with a literacy group: What percent of people enroll in a program? What are the barriers for those who do not enroll? What percentage of callers is on waiting lists? What are the factors associated with dropping out of programs? Nationally-representative statistics related to these questions addressed serious gaps in our knowledge about recruitment and retention, which has implications for both policy and practice.

View Who Wants to Learn? Summary of results from Patterns of Participation

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