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It is a great pleasure to be here with you this morning, to celebrate Family Literacy Week, and to share in the events aimed at highlighting the importance of learning in general, and literacy in particular.
Because, as we all understand, literacy is critical to the prosperity, productivity, social fabric and success of any country. It also contributes to the success of individuals—their sense of personal pride and fulfilment, their well-being, and the breadth of opportunities they enjoy.
We also know that Canadians are not yet where we need to be.
When 9 million adults in this country do not function at literacy levels adequate for today’s labour market, we know there is a challenging road ahead. When half of working-age Canadians cannot perform basic calculations, and 55% can’t adequately cope with medical information vital for their health, there is cause for alarm.
And yet it is precisely this reality that gives purpose to your work, and to the work of the Canadian Council on Learning.
The vision of the Council is to be a catalyst for lifelong learning in Canada. CCL was created, not as the brainwave of an academic or public servant sitting in isolation, but as the result of demand from Canadians, from all walks of life.
Aware of the need for their families, their regions, their country to acquire the tools for success, Canadians called for a national body that would report on the state of learning across the lifecycle. An independent organization that could identify effective approaches to learning, and what can be done to improve learning during every phase of life.
During its brief existence, CCL has been doing just that. Like the great railways of the 19th century, CCL approaches learning as a unifying force for Canada in the 21st century.
And so we have rolled out a variety of new vehicles to deliver vital information about learning to educators, governments, learning advocates and the public.
Our Composite Learning Index, for example, is an innovative new tool to assess Canada’s performance across the full spectrum of learning—in school, in the home, the workplace and the community. Last month we released the first Canada-wide study on the state of post-secondary education, calling for a national approach to increase the effectiveness of this crucial sector.
And today, it is my great pleasure to tell you about CCL’s inaugural report on the State of Learning in Canada.
The State of Learning paints a comprehensive portrait of learning and education, describing what we know about learning in Canada today, as well as what we need to know in order to chart our progress.
It takes us from early childhood, through the school years and post-secondary learning, right into adult learning—at home, at work, and in the community. The report also contains a chapter on Aboriginal learning, which examines how we measure success among First Nations, Inuit and Métis learners.
The State of Learning is not a static document. It will be refreshed with annual updates in the years ahead. And each year, there will be a special chapter that furnishes an in-depth look at a particular aspect of learning.
It is no accident that we have chosen to focus on literacy as our first special feature. Within the vast range of human activities that encompass learning, literacy occupies a unique and prominent place.
I would like to give you a brief overview of some of the report’s highlights. Then, I would be pleased to take your questions.
This report tells us that there is no room for complacency with respect to the state of learning in Canada.
Yes, there is much to celebrate. The vast majority of children in this country are born healthy, and grow up with a solid education. A growing number are going to college or university—and, as a result, Canada’s workforce boasts the world’s third-highest proportion of workers with post-secondary education.
Once in the workforce, many Canadians are also pursuing formal or informal learning to upgrade their skills and knowledge. And, on the home front, many adults take interest courses, volunteer in their communities, or find other ways to expand their personal horizons.
But there are also serious grounds for concern.
One in four youngsters in Canada enters Grade 1 with some sort of learning or behavioural problem that could jeopardize their later success.
In school, a growing number of children and teenagers are developing health problems, including obesity, while others arrive in class hungry. There is bullying in our schoolyards, and too many youth feel disengaged and disenfranchised. High-school dropout rates have fallen, but they are still double those in other countries—notably Norway.
At the post-secondary level, we know attendance is going up, but we lack the tools to measure the quality of the education our young adults are receiving. Nor do we know if their studies are a good match to labour market needs.
When we look at the workforce, we see more cause for concern. Even though many employees would like to have additional training—to boost their skills or wages, for instance, or to improve performance in their current jobs—three-quarters of them don’t see a day of employer-sponsored training.
Sometimes the reason is a shortage of time or money, or just too many family responsibilities that interfere with formal or informal worker training. It is clear that there are obstacles to training that are not being addressed. Indeed, to the extent that employees take any training at all, it’s often on their own time, financed from their own bank account.
Aboriginal Peoples in Canada face particular challenges. Aboriginal youth are more than two-and-a-half times as likely to drop out of high school as other students, meaning that their opportunities are limited from the start.
In terms of literacy, the picture is equally troubling.
We know that solid literacy skills are crucial for success in the workplace, particularly in our internationally competitive knowledge-based economy. But there is more: higher literacy is also associated with better health, greater community engagement and many other benefits.
And so it is sobering to note that more than four in 10 Canadian adults fall short of the level of reading and writing skills required in a modern economy. Half have inadequate numeracy skills. Moreover, those figures are substantially higher for certain groups, including Aboriginal people, immigrants, people on social assistance, and seniors.
More striking still, the statistics haven’t improved perceptibly in more than a decade.
And there’s still more disturbing news, presented for the first time in this State of Learning report.
Fifty-five percent of working-age Canadians have an inadequate level of health literacy. By health literacy I mean the degree to which people are able to access, understand and apply the information necessary to promote and maintain good health.
Health literacy skills are vital to so many aspects of life. To ensure people administer the right dosages of medicine to themselves and their children. To understand and follow safety instructions for machinery and heavy equipment. To give informed consent to medical treatments. And to make wise and healthy lifestyle choices.
The statistics are even more troubling among seniors, who are the heaviest users of medications, health information and medical services. Nearly nine in 10 seniors lack adequate levels of health literacy. In light of our aging population, this should be a concern for everyone.
So the State of Learning tells us about the good and the bad in Canada’s learning landscape. When it comes to matters of equality, there’s also a bit of the ugly.
Consider, for example, that children growing up in poorer families are up to twice as likely to be delayed right from the start. Not only do they lag in their acquisition of language, vocabulary and counting skills, they fall behind in their overall cognitive development.
And if that is happening at an individual level, think about the impact within Canada’s Aboriginal population, where four of 10 children are growing up in poverty. Furthermore, many Aboriginal youngsters have poor health as a result of unsuitable living conditions, also impeding their ability to learn.
The data reveal other inequalities as well. In gender, for instance: girls and women tend to be ahead of boys and men by multiple measures, from fine motor development among preschoolers, to university enrolment among young adults, to workplace learning among older adults.
Immigrants—both recent and established—also lag behind the rest of the population. Language is one common barrier. Many immigrants also find that their prior learning and credentials gained in their countries of origin are not accepted or recognized here.
Henry Ford is supposed to have said: “Don't find fault, find a remedy.”
And that’s what the State of Learning is about. It’s a clear-eyed account of where Canadians stand with respect to learning. It tells us what we know. It also tells us what we don’t know, and need to find out.
This report should be a call to action—this is no time for complacency. Even as we applaud the successes, it is clear that there is much work to be done.
And with respect to learning in general, and literacy in particular, the solution is everyone’s responsibility.
Governments most certainly have an important leadership role to play. As do institutions of learning at all levels. Employers of course, unions and business organizations. Social institutions, including advocates and other NGOs, also play a pivotal role in delivering services and building capacity in communities.
And, as underscored by the Family Literacy Week events here in B.C. and the Family Literacy Day across Canada, literacy begins in the home, with parents, children and extended families.
The State of Learning report puts forward a wealth of concrete ideas to improve literacy across Canada. I look forward to the conversation it generates.
I want to assure you that the Canadian Council on Learning will continue to work with the many individuals and organizations at this event, and across the country who share our commitment to learning, and to fulfil our vision of being a catalyst for lifelong learning in Canada.
Thank you for your attention this morning. I welcome your questions and comments.
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