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Literacy in North America [edit]Canada [edit]Colonial Days (1600s to 1762) Research on the literacy rates of Canadians in the colonial days rested largely on examinations of the proportion of signatures to marks on parish acts (birth, baptismal, and marriage registrations). Although some researchers have concluded that signature counts drawn from marriage registers in nineteenth century France corresponded closely with literacy tests given to military conscripts,[10] others regard this methodology as a “relatively unimaginative treatment of the complex practices and events that might be described as literacy” (Curtis, 2007, p. 1-2).[11] But censuses (dating back to 1666) and official records of New France offer few clues of their own on the population’s levels of literacy, therefore leaving few options in terms of materials from which to draw literary rate estimates. In his research of literacy rates of males and females in New France, Trudel (as cited in Magnusen, 1985)[12] found that in 1663, of 1,224 persons in New France who were of marriageable age, 59% of grooms and 46% of brides wrote their name, however, of the 3000 plus colony inhabitants, less than 40% were native born. Signature rates were therefore likely more reflective of rates of literacy among French immigrants. Magnuson’s (1985) research revealed a trend: signature rates for the period of 1680-1699 were 42% for males, 30% for females; in 1657-1715, they were 45% for males and 43% for females; in 1745-1754, they were higher for females than for males. He believed that this upward trend in rates of females’ ability to sign documents was largely attributed to the larger number of female to male religious orders, and to the proportionately more active role of women in health and education, while the roles of male religious orders were largely to serve as parish priests, missionaries, military chaplains and explorers. 1752 marked the date that Canada’s first newspaper (the Halifax Gazette) began publication.[13] [edit]From the British Conquest (1763) to Confederation (1867) The end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763 allowed two Philadelphia printers to come to Québec City and to begin printing a bilingual Quebec Gazette in 1764, while in 1785 Fleury Mesplet started publication of the Montreal Gazette, which is now the oldest continuing newspaper in the country. [13]. From the British Conquest (1763) to Confederation (1867) The end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763 allowed two Philadelphia printers to come to Québec City and to begin printing a bilingual Quebec Gazette in 1764, while in 1785 Fleury Mesplet started publication of the Montreal Gazette, which is now the oldest continuing newspaper in the country. [13]. In the 19th century, everything about print changed, how it was produced, how it was distributed, and who read it[14] ).[11] Literature in its many forms became much more available. But educating the Canadian population in reading and writing was nevertheless a very big challenge. Concerned about the strong French Canadian presence in the colony, the British authorities repeatedly tried to help establish schools that were outside the control of religious authorities, but these efforts were largely undermined by the Catholic Church and later the Anglican clergy.[15] From the early 1820s in Lower Canada, classical college curriculum, which was monopolized by the Church, was also subject to growing liberal and lay criticism, arguing it was fit first and foremost to produce priests, when Lower Canadians needed to be able to compete effectively with foreign industry and commerce and with the immigrants who were monopolizing trade (Curtis, 1985)).[11] Liberal and lay attempts to promote parish schools generated a reaction from the Catholic and later the Anglican clergy in which the dangers of popular literacy figured centrally.[15] Both churches shared an opposition to any educational plan that encouraged lay reading of the Bible, and spokesmen for both warned of the evil and demoralizing tendencies of unregulated reading in general. Granted the power to organize parish schooling through the Vestry School Act of 1824, the Catholic clergy did nothing effective.[11] Despite this, the invention of the printing press had laid the foundation for the modern era and universal social literacy, and so it is that with time, “technologically, literacy had passed from the hands of an elite to the populace at large. Historical factors and socio-political conditions, however, have determined the extent to which universal social literacy has come to pass”[16] 1868 to 1986 In 1871 only about half of French Canadian men in Canada self-reported that they were literate, whereas 90 percent of other Canadian men said they could read and write (Greer, cited in Green, MacKinnon & Minns, 2005),[17] but information from the Canadian Families Project sample of the 1901 Census of Canada indicated that literacy rates for French Canadians and other Canadians increased, as measured by the ability of men between the ages of 16 and 65 to answer literacy questions.[17] Compulsory attendance in schools was legislated in the late 19th century in all provinces but Quebec, but by then, a change in parental attitudes towards educating the new generation meant that many children were already attending regularly.[15] Unlike the emphasis of school promoters on character formation, the shaping of values, the inculcation of political and social attitudes, and proper behaviour, many parents supported schooling because they wanted their children to learn to read, write and do arithmetic.[15] Efforts were made to exert power and religious, moral, economic/professional, and social/cultural influence over children who were learning to read by dictating the contents of their school readers accordingly. But educators broke from these spheres of influence and also taught literature from a more child-centred perspective: for the pleasure of it (Murphy, 2012).[18] Educational change in Québec began as a result of a major commission of inquiry at the start of what came to be called the Quiet Revolution in the early 1960s. In response to the resulting recommendations, the Québec government revamped the school system in an attempt to enhance the francophone population's general educational level and to produce a better-qualified labour force. Catholic Church leadership was rejected in favour of government administration and vastly increased budgets were given to school boards across the province.[15] With time, and with continuing inquiry into the literacy achievement levels of Canadians, the definition of literacy moved from a dichotomous one (either a person could, or couldn’t write his or her name, or was literate or illiterate), to ones that considered its multidimensionality, along with the qualitative and quantitative aspects of literacy. In the 1970s, organizations like the Canadian Association for Adult Education (CAAE) believed that one had to complete the 8th grade to achieve functional literacy. Examination of 1976 census data, for example, found that 4,376,655, or 28.4% of Canadians 15 years of age and over reported a level of schooling of less than grade 9 and were thus deemed not functionally literate (Thomas, 1983, p.52).[16] But in 1991, UNESCO formally acknowledged Canada’s findings that assessment of educational attainment as proxy measure of literacy was not as reliable as was direct assessment (UNESCO, 1991, p.5).[19] This dissatisfaction manifested itself in the development of actual proficiency tests that measure reading literacy more directly.[20] It wasn't until 1977 that the seed of a literacy movement was planted when a conference in Ottawa was held and the Movement for Canadian Literacy (MCL) was formed. From there things began to develop and by 1984 the Ontario Literacy Coalition (OLC) was conceived. Even though the OLC had its roots in community literacy groups, today it includes local, regional and national organizations, labour, immigrant and employment groups too. The OLC continued to change and grow as the government policy changed and grows and literacy in the workplace is one of its main priorities.Throughout the 1980's and 1990's unions were strong advocates of literacy and education in the workplace. In the city of Toronto the Toronto and York Region Labour Council created a Labour Education Centre which helped to organize classes in various workplaces such as factories and offices. Not only do they provide basic communication skills, they now also provide computer skills among others that are necessary in today's workplace. In 1986 the Ontario government gave the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture (MCC)the authority to take the lead in the field of literacy programs.

A brief history of Adult Literacy As early as the 19th century there was an interest in adult literacy and education. Dr Thomas Pole documented how literacy education programs were introduced into the English-speacking world. It came in the form of the Bristol Institution for Instructing Adult Persons to Read the Holy Scriptures, or the Bristol Adult School (Pole's History 1814, reprinted by Verner 1967, see also Quigley 2006). A lowly door-keeper of a Methodist chapel named William Smith came up with the idea of teaching the poor to read the bible(Hudson, 1969, original printed 1851). He had nothing to base this type of teaching/learning, no existing knowledge of literacy programs, and no funding. With the help of a couple of friends a room was rented and the doors open in March 1812. It grew so quickly that more rooms in the community were engaged in this program (Hudson 1969). The program was such a success that it grew from 21 schools in 1813 to 41 by 1815 across the country. A report from the Methodist Society stated that in just four years there had been 24 schools for men and 31 for women opened with a learner population of 1,581 (American Missionary Association,1868). This model of the Bristol Adult School spread to many of the British colonies as well as some areas of the United States some two hundred years ago(Kelly 1962). Pole stated that he believed England would benefit from adult schools because, "Our poor rates will thus be lightened, our hospitals, alms-houses, dispensaries and other public charities less encumbered" (Verner 1967 p 18 original published 1814). This still holds true today as literacy programs will, it is believed, ease the unemployment and welfare programs, help decrease crime rates while helping to improve the economic growth and the self-esteem of the learners themselves (Verner 1967). In Canada the year 1987 brought a growing interest in adult literacy and a study was done to identify the extent of the literacy problem in Canada. The Department of the Secretary of State consulted with numerous partners to discuss the literacy challenge facing Canada. Business and labor sectors were provided with funding through the Ministry of Skills Development (MSD) in the form of new a new program call Ontario Basic Skills in the Workplace (OBSW). The following year other groups, such as family literacy, were being funded by newly formed government agencies like the National Literacy Secretariat (NLS). In 1994 courses for practitioners working in or with literacy programs were developed as modules and originally delivered through distance learning by an organization called Contact North. By 1998 similar courses were being offered by colleges. Anew organization launched by the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities (MTCU) called Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS).It is a learner-centered program with specific goals and outcomes. Recently a new committee on adult education in order to better assist those providers involved in this field with guidance for policies, programming and coordination of these organizations. This committee is comprised of three ministries; Ministry of Education, Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities and the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. [edit]Direct Systematic Measures of Literacy in Canada, 1987 to Present Canada conducted its first literacy survey in 1987 which discovered that there were more than five million functionally illiterate adults in Canada, or 24 per cent of the adult population.[20] Statistics Canada then conducted three national and international literacy surveys of the adult population — the first one in 1989 commissioned by the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) department.[20] This first survey was called the “Literacy Skills Used in Daily Activities” (LSUDA) survey, and was modeled on the 1985 US survey of young adults (YALS).[21] It represented a first attempt in Canada to produce skill measures deemed comparable across languages. Literacy, for the first time, was measured on a continuum of skills.[21] The survey found that 16% of Canadians had literacy skills too limited to deal with most of the printed material encountered in daily life whereas 22% were considered “narrow” readers. In 1994-95, Canada participated in the first multi-country, multi-language assessment of adult literacy, the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS).[21] A stratified multi-stage probability sample design was used to select the sample from the Census Frame. The sample was designed to yield separate samples for the two Canadian official languages, English and French, and participants were measured on the dimensions of prose literacy, document literacy and quantitative literacy. The survey found that 42.2%, 43% and 42.2% of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 65 scored at the lowest two levels of Prose Literacy, Document Literacy and Quantitative Literacy, respectively.[21] The survey presented many important correlations, among which was a strong plausible link between literacy and a country’s economic potential. In 2003, Canada participated in the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL). This survey contained identical measures for assessing the prose and document literacy proficiencies, allowing for comparisons between survey results on these two measures and found that 41.9% and 42.6% of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 65 scored at the lowest two levels of Prose Literacy and document literacy respectively.[21] Further, Canadians’ mean scores also improved on both the prose and the document literacy scales. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is expected to produce new comparative skill profiles in late 2013.[22]