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Esha R. Chaudhuri |
Introduction 1. Within the redefined context of literacy, in the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)', the professional development program for literacy educators in Canada acquire a new sense of priorities and professionalism. The Canadian Report of the IALS indicates how the concept literacy has evolved'. Literacy now means more' than the basic ability to read and write. In denoting a broad set of information processing competencies, the- IALS approach points to multiplicity of skills that constitute literacy in-advanced industrialized countries. As competencies of participation, learning and change, literacy skills form the very basis of Canada's multicultural society'. The IALS model also provides important insights for diversity initiatives in literacy education. They are primarily based on the acknowledgement of the relative dimensions of literacy, such as the following.
1.2 The pointers of the IALS. model direct towards a diversity focus of tutor training. The goal is to develop literacy instructors who understand the limitations of the "single literacy" criterion, learns not to use the dichotomous scale of 'literate/illiterate' and most important of all, instruct and evaluate diverse group of learners within the contexts of their individual traits, dispositions and competencies. Thus the professionalization of literacy tutors depend on their abilities to appreciate the "big picture" of literacy as a complex concept as well as their training in specific pedagogies - of linguistics and adult learning. 1.3 Ideally, both instructors of mainstream literacy programs
and volunteer tutors of English As A Second Language (ESL) should receive
training in facilitation and animation, teaching as well as leading, training
as well as sensitizing adult participants about literacy skills. True to
the practices of a "learning organization" - an innovative perspective
of professionalization in Canada today non-formal and formal centres of
literacy should encourage all their tutors to seek training that empha-size
both vision and systematic thinking, teaches about the purpose as well as
processes of relative literacies education. While the philosophies of non-formal
education continue to provide the vision, the need for systematic education
of tutors becomes apparent to acquire practices of coordination and management,
techniques of pedagogies and theories of academic disciplines. 2. Literacy Tutors and ESL Volunteers 2.1 The professional development of literacy tutors is well established in Canada 4 There are excellent models of integrating literacy instruction with development issues of health and nutrition, job training and employment skills. Systematic workshops deal with topics of environment, consumer education, life-skills and parenting. Tutors can enroll for short courses in computer education which typically include sessions like, 'navigating the net' or 'browsing the web' and various 'how to's' dealing with uses of computers in literacy instruction - as a curricular resource, a teaching medium or learning strategy'. Technology helps the tutors to learn about 'learning skills' and be connected to the world through computer literacy - a necessary skill for interpretation of knowledge along the "information highway" 2.2 Most of these approaches are seldom associated with volunteer tutors' training for what is known as "ESL Literacies". 2.3 The ESL or English As A Second Language courses for adult learners in Canada are among the most important diversity initiatives. The ESL initiative, developed primarily for immigrants whose mother tongue is not English, also address literacy concerns of rural conununities, ethnic groups, and the indigenous people (the First Nations and the Innuit communities of the North). This link of programs is generally established through the two important parameters of the ESL initiative, linguistic competencies and cultural assimilation . 2.4 The ESL volunteers generally come from very different backgrounds - young internees from university Faculties of Education, New Canadians seeking some work experience, retired school teachers (of all subjects), homemakers who are able to make regular time commitments, senior citizens with interest in volunteer opportunities, church-members, social workers and occasionally some past alumni of the project, to name only a few. 2.5 Although content knowledge is assumed to be mandatory for all instructors in the adult basic education (ABE) stream, ESL volunteers are not required to take relevant courses in linguistics or English grammar. Their preference for 'grammar-drills', a favourite teaching strategy of the ESL volunteers, is not sufficient to help adult learners to become functionally competent in English and acquire the various information-processing skills. The question is, why are the volunteer ESL tutors not getting any purposive training? The non-formal nature of the discipline and the vocation has little to do with this problem. Models like "Literacy Through Parent Coaching", a popular resource for community literacy projects, are readily available and can be used as an effective tutor-training resource in this context The following chart of the LPC model illustrates the point made abov e, in section 2.5. 3.1 Chart of the LPC Model ORGANIZATION: Collaboration of university, school board, community college and other training providers (such as individual, institution or consulting firms) PROCESS: Phase 1 = Coachining The 'coach' illustrates appropriate reading behaviour; video lessons on additional reading techniques; one-on-one sessions of parent and coach, guided discussion of the parent group Phase 2 = Peer Modeling Parents model for the whole group how they would read books to children, emphasizing specific strategies;. other parents provide feedback and coach one another in use of the strategies; coach acts as facilitate or making links between what parents know and need to know more., encourage critical review of training tapes; praise and support parent discussions Phase 3 = Parent/Child interaction Children are brought to class and read to, coach delegates authority to parents functions as supportive audience; offers suggestions about books; evaluates interaction; provides feedback OUTCOME: Parents gain insights about process learning; choice of reading techniques
indicate an increasing awareness of what Children know and more importantly
what they need to know. as parents improve their practices, children become
more active as readers and participants; parents' involvement encourage
children to accomplish beyond their regular performance level. PROMISING PRACTICE Community involvement; recruitment of parents by agency business, ordinary people, church, local grocery stores, teachers and librarians; community lends support also through organizing transport of participants and child-care services. 3.2 The literacy agency or organization can effectively adapt this "Coaching" model to educate volunteer tutors in specific teaching techniques. As the chart in section 3.1 indicates, the process is non-formal, integrates innovative insights about the delivery and planning of sessions and operates within a cost-effective, collaborative structure. Such adaptations could also reduce chances of duplications - a typical weakness of ESL volunteer training programs.
3.3 A brief review of "non -ESL" literacy education models point to other 'promising practices' which are commonly used for training literacy instructors within the adult basic education (ABE) stream. These include family literacy and literacy fairs, internship programs, projects for school drop-outs, transitional employment and GED prep, joint venture and corporate volunteering and numerous life-skills courses9. The models can also be successfully utilized for training ESL volunteer tutors. Indeed, the practice of the models illustrate an interesting contradiction, ABE literacy instructors, through their training in the various innovative approaches, are able to acquire more andragogical insights for diversity literacies than their ESL counterparts. The volunteer tutors of the ESL - though actually engaged in education of diverse literacies - are encouraged to operate only within the perceived parameters of the diversity initiative, language pedagogics and cultural assimilation.
3.4 Because literacy tutors and ESL volunteers often work on the
same topic, there is a critical need for their collaboration. At present
ESL volunteers typically go to their own workshops and literacy tutors attend
their specific conferences. Rarely, if ever, do they meet at a professional
level to discuss the common challenge, teaching about and learning from,
literacy and diversities. TUTOR TRAINING AND DIVERSITY INITIATIVES 4.1 Research conducted by Fernand Ouellet (1992) on multiculturalism and the French Education system in Quebec, describes the traumatic transformation of the Quebec society. from "a state of quiet possession of truth" (la possession tranquil de la verite) in the 1960's to a society "where many systems of global convictions co-exist in the same social space". The transition was perceived by many even as "a collapse of the Quebec sky" (un effondrement du ciel Quebecols)"'. The description fits the pervasive perception of diversity as a constraint. But there is seldom any mention of diversity as a context of critical education. 4.2 The reality. of the multicultural context, in Ouellet's opinion, required that all teachers be trained to face the new educational challenges of the diverse society. A promising approach was found in the proposal of Dumont which defined the role of the teacher in a plural society as that of "an integrator and an initiator" of an emerging, culture. The definition poses a challenge of 'peculiar actuality' in the present context where the dynamics of interethnic relations has become an important concern for the future of Quebec as a distinct society in Canada and North America. Ouellet translates these concerns into a series of questions which identify, the main components of education for teacher training in a multicultural context . The questions are: 1) How can those responsible for the formation and further training of teachers prepare them to face the "diversity challenge" not only in multicultural programs, but also in those learning areas where ethnic plurality is not part of the learners' experience? 2) Specifically, what are the main areas where it would be possible to enrich the training teachers so that they be better. prepared to face the challenges of' pluralistic' 4.3 Four main fields of knowledge are identified by Ouellet, whose 'systematic exploration' Would enrich the content of teachers' training
4.4 According to Selman and Dampler (1 994), the professional development practices in Canadian adult education have been influenced by two major traditions from the early days of the adult education movement. The traditions refer to the following models: 1)The MASTER CRAFTMAN whose primary claim to tutoring lies in his subject knowledge 2) The COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT where instruction would be based not only on the tutor' subject knowledge' but also on the nature of the educational activity. The vast majority of adult education activity is based on the CRAFTMAN model where the emphasis is on subject matter and content expertise". This idea of the professional fails to address the challenge of the IALS model of literacy, a complex web of diverse dimension which does not have conventional field boundaries 5. DEALING WITH DIVERSITIES: WORKSHOP THEMES FOR LITERACY TUTORS 5.1 Are diversity insights relevant only for ESL volunteer tutors? To what extent do they provide a framework for all Literacy, instruction" The foregoing sections of the paper shares insights on the debate using examples of tutor training in Canada. This section is a summary of a workshop 1 developed for ESL Literacy volunteers in Canada. Presentation of a shortened version of this workshop follows section 5. 1. THEMES: 1. Overview of Approaches to Diversities 2. Case studies of Approaches to Learners and Learning 3. Integrated Model of Teaching About and Learning From Diversities 4. Appreciating the Diversity Context as a Curricular resource 5. Group projects to utilize the sustainable insights of the diversity model of learning and teaching PROCESS: 1. In the Overview session, tutors are introduced to some of the central approaches to diversities 1.1 Assimilation Where members of all ethnic groups abandon their specific cultures and are socialized through education to become members of the 'Canadian' culture 1.2 Intercultural Communication Emphasizes harmonious relations between the various groups through increased opportunities for co-operation and exchange 1.3 The Multicultural Option The State has the responsibility of helping all groups to preserve their language and their cultural heritage 1.4 The Trans cultural Vision Members of all groups are encouraged to go beyond their group boundaries and create a new dynamic society to face the challenges of the global times. Tutors are introduced to biases in assessment of non-English speaking learners and approaches to minimize failure of these participants. 2. We talk about common assumptions of teachers and how they might' affect the learning processes of the participants 3. Tutors are introduced to basic principles of developing, delivering and evaluating literacy projects for adult learners and plan lesson-units on diversity themes 4. Tutors are encouraged to role play or simulate possible literacy class
scenarios and initiate guided discussion on the topic 5. REFERENCES 1. International Adult Literacy Survey (1994). A collaborative effort by seven governments and three intergovernmental organizations, it's aimed to develop a broader understanding of literacy issues across industrialized countries. Canada was one of the participating members. "Literacy, Economy and Society.," the international report of the survey was released in 1995 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Statistics Canada. It is the first international survey of adult literacy. 2. In keeping with the unique role and importance of literacy in OECD societies, the IALS refers to "literacy" primarily as a mode of behaviour, namely the ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities, at home, at work and in the community-in short, a broad set of information-processing competencies. Following the example of previous North American surveys of literacy, in particular that of the Canadian study Literacy Skills Used in Daily Activities (LSUDA, 1989), the. IALS defined literacy in terms of three domains. textual prose, information documents and arithmetic operations. Results were compared on the three scales of prose, document and quantitative literacy along a continuum of skills from 1 (lowest) to 4/5 (highest). 3 . Reading the Future. A Portrait of Literacy in Canada (1 996) is the Canadian report on the findings of the IALS. It provides a portrait of Canadian literacy that adds to the understanding of the benefits and consequences of literacy in the society. The report shows that complex social and economic forces influence literacy. The Canadian data indicates that individual choice and supportive actions by governments and employers can shape some of these forces. 4. See James A. Draper, "Learning through Research " in J. A. Draper (ed) Adult Literacy Perspectives (Culture Concepts Inc., Toronto, 1990). Also, see "The work of a Literacy Teacher" in H. S. Bhola, A Sourcebook for Literacy work (UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 1994) and the Section on "The problems of training Teachers" in Helen Abdazi , "What We Know about acquisition of Adult Literacy" (World Bank Discussion Paper No. 45, The World Bank, Washington DC. 1994) 5. As Canadian economy and society becomes increasingly linked with computers, communication, living and production skills become an integrated part of computer literacy programs. See Assumptions in the Foundations for Adult Learning and Development Policy, Government of Alberta, November 1991; also compare recommendations in the New Directions for Adult Learning in Alberta, October 199 6. Adult Learning Services Through Innovation; Draft White Paper: An Agenda for Change. Alberta Advanced Education and Career Development, March 1994. 7. Planning Instruction.. A Manual for Vocational Educators and ESL Instructors. U. S. Department of Education, Office of Adult and Vocational Education , 1997. "More than the 3 R's: The Development of Black Adult Education in Manhattan" and "Linguistic Minorities and Adult Education in the US" in B. Cassara (ed) Adult Education in a Multicultural Society, New York, Routledge, 1997, also compare readings in Alpha '94 - Literacy and Cultural Development Strategies in Rural Areas, Jean-Paul Hautecoeur (ed), UNESCO Institute of Education, 1994. 8. Educating Teacher Educators. The Next Story,, To be Told in Teacher Research and Urban Literacy Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, 1997, Also see, A Stone in My Shoe. Teaching Literacy in Times of Change, Pegus Publishers, Winnipeg, Canada, 1994. 9. Jack C. Pear point reviews some of these models in his paper on the pioneer Literacy Institute, The Frontier College in Toronto in The Challenge of Literacy, Zoghloul Morsey (ed), UNESCO International Bureau of Education, Geneva, 1995. On issues about Collaboration and Co-operation, also see recommendations in Draft Report, UNESCO:5th International Conference on Adult Education, Hamburg, 1997. 10 Ouellet, Fenand in Beyond Multicultural Education (K. Moodley ed.) Dedtselig, Calgary, 1 992; for reference on Dumont, F. see Ouellet in Moodley, the Integration theme also provides the basis of UNESCO's Teacher training Project for a Multicultural Context (Raul Gagliardi, ed.) UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 1996. The Report describes the IBE's Project "Basic Education for Participation and Democracy: Key Issues in Human Resource Development"; similar insights are echoed in Learning. The Treasure Within by Jacques Delors Report to UNESCO (The International Commission on Education for the 2 1st Century 11 Adult Education in Canada.. Gordon Selman and Paul Dampier, Toronto: Thomson Education Publishing, 1991
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