Youth pathways to literacy, education, and employment on Prince

Transcription

Youth Pathways to Literacy, Education, &
Employment in Prince Edward Island:
Final Report
Report 4
Lead Researchers
Dr. Kate Tilleczek, Ph.D
Valerie Campbell
August 2011
This project is funded in whole or in part by the Canada/Prince Edward Island
Labour Market Development Agreement.
Tilleczek & Campbell (2011)
Youth Pathways to Literacy, Education, & Employment
in Prince Edward Island
Final Report
Dr. Kate Tilleczek1 & Valerie Campbell
August, 2011
1
Kate Tilleczek is the Canada Research Chair in Child/Youth Cultures and Transitions at the
University of Prince Edward Island. Valerie Campbell is the Project Manager and Analyst for
this project and the Manager of Child/Youth Cultures and Transitions Research at UPEI. They
can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected] respectively.
1
Table of Contents
ABOUT THE UPEI WORKFORCE STRATEGIES RESEARCH GROUP......................................................................... 5
OUR MANDATE ........................................................................................................................................... 5
OUR PLAN ................................................................................................................................................... 5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 7
Objectives ................................................................................................................................................... 10
Research Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 10
Literature Review Methods .................................................................................................................... 10
Qualitative Study Methods ..................................................................................................................... 12
Data Collection .................................................................................................................................... 13
Data Analysis. ...................................................................................................................................... 15
Study Results: Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 15
Defining Literacy Pathways ..................................................................................................................... 15
Conceptual Framework for Youth Pathways to Literacy ........................................................................ 17
Youth Literacy Context............................................................................................................................ 19
Facilitators............................................................................................................................................... 25
Study Results: Exploratory Qualitative Study ............................................................................................. 27
The study participants ............................................................................................................................ 28
Service Providers. ................................................................................................................................ 28
Young People. ..................................................................................................................................... 28
The meanings of literacy ......................................................................................................................... 31
Barriers and challenges ........................................................................................................................... 34
Facilitators............................................................................................................................................... 43
Evidence Bases for PEI Youth Literacy .................................................................................................... 49
Youth Pathways and Narratives .............................................................................................................. 50
Connections and Gaps in Youth Pathways.............................................................................................. 53
Discussion and Directions ........................................................................................................................... 57
Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................. 60
2
Appendix A: List of Literature Reviewed..................................................................................................... 67
Appendix B: Annotated Bibliography of PEI Literature............................................................................... 76
Appendix C: Informed Consent – Administrators / Service Providers ........................................................ 87
Appendix D: Informed Consent – Youth ..................................................................................................... 90
Appendix E: Face Sheet – Youth ................................................................................................................. 93
Appendix F: Face Sheet Administrators / Service Providers ...................................................................... 98
Appendix G: Information Letter – Administrators / Service Providers ..................................................... 101
Appendix H: Information Letter – Youth Intermediaries .......................................................................... 103
Appendix I: Information Letter and Consent to Contact - Youth .............................................................. 106
Appendix J: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................................ 109
Appendix K: Recruitment Poster ............................................................................................................... 111
Appendix L: Sample Summary and Thank You Note to Youth Participants .............................................. 113
Appendix M: Sample Summary and Thank You Note to Service Providers .............................................. 116
Appendix N: Programs .............................................................................................................................. 121
Figure 1: PEI youth programs and initiatives identified from internet searches ................................ 122
Figure 2: PEI youth programs and initiatives identified by service providers ...................................... 123
Figure 3: Internet searches compared to service providers ................................................................. 124
Figure 4: Youth compared to service providers .................................................................................... 125
Appendix O: Visual Narratives .................................................................................................................. 126
Mary ...................................................................................................................................................... 127
Carmen .................................................................................................................................................. 128
Dawn ..................................................................................................................................................... 129
Inez ........................................................................................................................................................ 130
Mona ..................................................................................................................................................... 131
Mitchell ................................................................................................................................................. 132
Jack ........................................................................................................................................................ 133
Nate....................................................................................................................................................... 134
Tyler ...................................................................................................................................................... 135
Fred ....................................................................................................................................................... 136
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List of tables
Table 1: Barriers in youth pathways from PEI literature ..................................................................... 24
Table 2: Highest grade attained by youth participants ....................................................................... 29
Table 3: Self-reported reading ability of youth participants ............................................................... 30
Table 4: Self-reported writing ability of youth participants ................................................................. 30
Table 5: Current attitude toward reading of youth participants ......................................................... 31
Table 6: Current attitude toward writing of youth participants ........................................................... 31
Table 7: Barriers from youth interviews ................................................................................................ 38
Table 8: Barriers from service provider interviews ............................................................................. 42
Table 9: Facilitators from Youth interviews .......................................................................................... 44
Table 10: Themes relating to positive aspects of literacy and education programs ...................... 45
Table 11: Themes relating to positive aspects of work place programs .......................................... 46
Table 12: Facilitators from service provider interviews ...................................................................... 48
Table 13: Programs that service providers would like to offer .......................................................... 57
4
ABOUT THE UPEI WORKFORCE STRATEGIES RESEARCH GROUP
The government of Prince Edward Island (PEI) has published an economic development strategy to
emphasize the role of new economic sectors in improving the income, productivity, and overall
prosperity of the province, known as Island Prosperity: A Focus for Change, often referred to as the
"Island Prosperity Plan".2 The Workforce Strategies Research Group (WSRG), in the School of Business at
the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), began work in January 2009 to assist with research and
analysis on the workforce of Prince Edward Island as it transitions into a skilled workforce of the future.3
This report is the fourth publication of the WSRG.
OUR MANDATE
Our mandate is to bolster dialogues on labour and workforce strategies with cutting-edge research and
to provide the targeted research necessary to support the workforce in critical sectors of the economy
on Prince Edward Island. In particular, we aim to provide:
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Insights into the workforce framework;
Research that examines the workforce dynamic on Prince Edward Island;
Contributions to public policy considerations relating to labour and workforce strategies.
OUR PLAN
By examining workforce dynamics, we aim to provide leaders in the community with the capacity to
develop workforce strategies that focus on sustainability. By leveraging the expertise at the University of
Prince Edward Island, and by partnering with government agencies, industry associations, businesses,
and other organizations, the WSRG seeks to contribute to new knowledge - and new solutions - for
workforce strategies, and to leverage knowledge to deliver educational programs essential for the
future success of organizations on PEI.
2
Island Prosperity: A Focus for Change. A Strategy Prepared for Premier Robert W Ghiz by
Michael Mayne. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, 2007.
3
Visit the homepage of the Workforce Strategies Research Group at http://wsrg.upei.ca
5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The WSRG gratefully acknowledges the Province of Prince Edward Island whose financial support
through the Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning supports our activities. The comments,
analyses, views, and recommendations expressed here are those of the WSRG, as an independent
research group of the university, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of
Innovation and Advanced Learning. The WSRG is responsible for all errors and omissions.
This research was sponsored by the UPEI Workforce Strategies Research Group, which is under the
direction Dr. Wendy R. Carroll, and funded by the Government of Prince Edward Island, Skills PEI
Division. The research was conducted by Dr. Kate Tilleczek, Canada Research Chair, and Ms. Valerie
Campbell, research analyst.
This project is funded in whole or in part by the Canada/Prince Edward Island Labour Market
Development Agreement.
6

Executive Summary
―If a person has trouble with reading and writing you‘re going to have a hard time on the
job, big time; even the simplest job like McDonalds, you gotta read the screen to say, if it
says no onions on that Big Mac, you can‘t put onions on that Big Mac and if you can‘t
read, you don‘t know what that sign says…I think it‘s a big, big deal. As for relating to
me, I‘ve applied for different jobs where I‘ve gone and been given an application that‘s
like 10 pages long and not understood a lot of the words on there so I couldn‘t answer
the questions, which maybe, if I knew, like if, somebody had said ‗you know this word
means this‘ Oh! Well I know the answer to that, that‘s easy!‖ (Inez) 4
The latest Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results were released in
December, 2010. PISA provides an assessment of the learning progress of 15 year old students in 74
education systems across the world. The numbers for Canada were relatively high compared to the
US, but 21 percent of Prince Edward Island youth were reading below Level 2, the level considered
internationally as the baseline of proficiency. Without hesitation, parents, public educators, industry,
media representatives, and academics responded with a host of questions: What do PISA scores
really mean? What is the character of pathways to literacy for PEI youth? Which young people
struggle with literacy and how? How long do these struggles last into their lives?
This report is based on an exploratory study designed to offer an initial examination of these
questions. It attempts to get beneath the PISA scores which measure only some important aspects of
literacy and only for young people in school. The aim of the study was to examine social processes by
which young people could better be supported in their pathways to literacy. The study began in 2010
with a synthesis of current literature on youth literacy. The experiences of young people in risk
situations are often left out of research and little is known about PEI youth who are no longer in
secondary school. Therefore, the study included individual interviews with twenty-two PEI youth
(mean age 21.6 years) who are under-represented in the research to date (only half of them were in
school or work). The study also engaged twenty-two PEI service providers (both front-line and
administrative personnel in education, industry and community agencies) in detailed interviews to
hear their perspectives about youth literacy on PEI. The literature review and interviews examined:
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The meanings of youth literacy;
A scan of youth literacy programs in education, industry, and community on PEI;
The gaps and connections in PEI programs;
The barriers and facilitators of youth pathways to literacy on PEI;
All participants in this study have been given pseudonyms.
7
The literature review yielded: a) an annotated bibliography of PEI youth literacy studies, b) a
summary and conceptual synthesis of the literature, and c) an initial scan of PEI programs for youth
literacy, education, and employment. The initial scan was followed up with information from the youth
and service provider participants to produce a better picture of the organization of youth literacy
programs on PEI. These scans are portrayed in visual maps which show a range of available
programs and knowledge/access to them. The synthesis of literature also demonstrates emerging
definitions of youth literacy. It is now generally recognized that a range of skills are needed to
negotiate pathways to adulthood successfully. This means that reading, writing, and numeracy are
critical and necessary but not sufficient measures of literacy as the successful transitions of young
people to adulthood is becoming far more complex and multifaceted in modern society.
The literature also demonstrates that career services for Canadian youth are fragmented and
inadequate, particularly for those young people who have left school and/or struggle with literacy. The
youth from Prince Edward Island form a group who are in risk for difficulty in securing work as many
are unprepared for the workforce due to early school leaving and struggles with literacy (PEI Literacy
Alliance, 2010; Timmons, 2005). Low literacy levels are a barrier to success for these young people
who should otherwise be poised to lead in PEI‟s Prosperity Plan (Carroll, 2009; Chaulk, McQuaid, &
Smith, 2002; McKenna & Penner, 2009; PEI Literacy Alliance, 2010). Indeed, almost 50% of PEI‟s
working population has less than high school education (McKenna & Penner, 2009) and those in the
16-25 age categories scored poorly in literacy assessments (Lees, 2006). PEI was one of three
Canadian provinces to demonstrate decreased reading scores between 2000 and 2006 as measured
by PISA (Bussiére, Knighton, & Pennock, 2007).
The interview data provide the perspectives of young people and service providers who are
presently living and working within the PEI context. These conversations yielded many facilitators and
barriers occurring in families, schools, and communities, a list that exceeded that reported in the
literature to date. Facilitators included a range of programs, services, and people that actively help to
build bridges for youth to further education and employment while addressing literacy skills. Young
people access and appreciate many programs on PEI but need further assistance. The system
suffers from gaps in collaboration, access, lack of evaluation, passive outreach, and clear entry
points. Supports are often fragmented, “yo-yo” and short-term, not well integrated, difficult to access,
and not collaboratively managed. Barriers also congeal around a complex spiral for young people
who are excluded from both access and success in education and/or employment and are not
continually gaining literacy skills necessary for adulthood. Familial socio-economic factors, academic
struggles, and public education‟s failure to collaboratively mitigate them are constant obstructions.
8
Nonetheless, important nuances of youth experiences appear in the narrative analyses presented in
this report. These young people spoke about enjoying school, feeling relatively literate, and trying to
negotiate their way toward full literacy with the assistance of solid programs. They possess a good
deal of “local knowledge”, insight, and reflection. They also demonstrate how literacy falters and
affects further education and employment and that even successful completion of high school has not
guaranteed them full literacy.
This report identifies conceptual, research, and practice gaps. There is a dearth of peer reviewed
research relating to PEI youth literacy. The study‟s findings echo Malcolmson (2001) in pointing to
inadequate evidence of the efficacy of programs. Conceptual gaps are evident in a lack of consensus
about definitions and measurements of literacy and/or “at-risk” youth. A conceptual framework is
provided in this report (Complex Cultural Nesting) to address broad, cross-sector, strength-based,
ecological approaches to youth literacy as we move forward toward an integrated provincial response.
The report ends with a discussion of the implications and directions for moving beyond this exploratory
study toward specific research and practice. For example, if youth literacy is the ability to proceed well
toward adulthood then how many young people on PEI are doing so? How do we know this? How
could we better integrate and coordinate efforts to achieve youth literacy given the varying meanings
and measures of literacy? What is the range and efficacy of programs and strategies in public schools
on PEI dedicated to childhood and youth literacy in the fullest sense? What more must be in place (in
schools, communities, and families) to assist all of PEI‟s youth in their pathways to literacy, education,
and employment? Who should be doing this and how?
―If it were simple and laid out so that I could see everything I had to do then it wouldn‘t be
that bad…but sorting things out and finding out what I need to do is ..it‘s like untangling
Christmas lights, I don‘t mind putting them up but I don‘t want to sit there and untangle
them.‖ (Mitchell)
―literacy encompasses every aspect of teaching, not just language arts, reading and
writing, but numeracy as well. [it is the] most important piece of the puzzle for students.
It affects every aspect of your life.‖ (Steven)
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
Objectives
The transitions of young people between secondary schools and the work force are becoming more
complex in modern society (Tilleczek, 2011; Furlong & Cartmel, 2007). A current youth policy framework
from the Government of Canada (Franke, 2010) demonstrates that sub-groups of young people in every
Canadian province and territory are at risk for unsuccessful life transitions. However, this project derives
its focus from the under examined youth population of Prince Edward Island.
There are currently 27,327 people between the ages of 15 and 29 living in Prince Edward Island
(PEI Statistics Bureau, 2010) and emerging evidence that youth from PEI form a group who are in risk
for difficulty in securing “decent” and meaningful work as many are ill-prepared for the workforce due to
early school leaving and struggles with literacy (PEI Literacy Alliance, 2010; Timmons, 2005).
Understanding the barriers and facilitators of successful transitions to literacy, education, and
employment for young people is critical to the ongoing development and evaluation of an integrated
response. Therefore, the objectives of this exploratory study were to: a) review and synthesize current
literature on youth literacy in general and for PEI specifically, and b) conduct in-depth interviews with
young people and service providers on PEI in order to examine:
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The meanings and place of literacy for youth pathways to adulthood;
The barriers and facilitators in youth pathways to literacy on PEI;
The existence of youth programs in education, industry, and community on PEI;
The gaps and connections in providing PEI programs;
Sources of “evidence” being used to guide current youth literacy programs on PEI.

Research Methods
Literature Review Methods
A systematic literature review and conceptual meta-synthesis5 were conducted from published
academic and grey6 materials. The review yielded: a) an amalgamation and annotated bibliography of
5
Systematic review techniques are used in qualitative research to access as many relevant documents
as possible (see Evans, 2002). The findings are then subject to a meta-synthesis which refers to the
conceptual analysis of this large collection of literature for the purpose of integrating the findings (Glass,
1976). The meta-synthesis is presented as findings arising from the systematic review of the literature.
10
previous studies, b) a summary and conceptual synthesis of the literature, and c) an initial scan of PEI
programs and services for youth literacy, education, and employment.
The systematic search made use of computerized English language databases available through
the University of PEI, including ERIC (The Education Resources Information Center), UPEI databases
and government documents; Social Sciences Index and the Google Scholar search engine for
websites/reports arising from national reviews and data. The reference sections of highly regarded
articles and reports were also examined for materials not previously identified.
The systematic search began with local (provincial and community), then national (Canada), then
international items in the generic “Google Scholar” search engine7. Many combinations and variations
of the terms “youth”, “Prince Edward Island”, “pathways”, “employment”, “education”, and “literacy” were
used. The searches were generally limited to material dated 2005 or later. Where Google Scholar did
not provide full text access to material, document titles of scholarly articles were entered into
EbscoHost or ERIC databases through UPEI‟s Robertson Library.
Grey literature and government documents were accessed through UPEI‟s government
documents or from the website of the government department or organization through which they were
published. In one case, the author was contacted directly and provided electronic copies of reports after
receiving permission from the provincial government department.
Since few of the documents
identified in the initial searches related to specific programs, a second search was conducted. This
search used the generic Google search engine and varying combinations of the terms “programs”
“youth”, “Prince Edward Island”, “employment”, “education”, and “literacy”. If organizations identified
through this search had websites, those sites were explored to gather information about the programs.
Many of the programs identified through these searches were associated with provincial or federal
government initiatives, often in collaboration with industry partners or educational institutions. The
initial systematic search led to the following 102 sources:
6
Grey literature refers to research summaries, special publications, statistics, and other data that offer a
more comprehensive view of a topic. Virtually everything outside of journals and books can be considered
grey literature. The internet, government publications, fact sheets, statistical data, etc. are all examples of
grey literature. For a complete definition see Science & Technology Section of Subject & Bibliographic
Access Committee (2003)
7
Considering that there were a small number of studies that comprehensively and empirically examined
youth pathways on PEI, we also sought more general studies of youth pathways (national and
international).
11
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Published, academic (peer reviewed) papers from various disciplines (n=6)
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Large scale reviews of literature (n=2)
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Policy documents (n=15)
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Reports (government, NGO, community, university/college) (n=64)
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Other grey literatures (papers, presentations, news articles (n=15)
The 102 materials were then culled for items that specifically related to literacy, employment,
and education for youth on Prince Edward Island. Of the 102 items, 39 documents were judged to be
on-point across 4 categories (academic peer-reviewed articles (n=1), academic research reports and
presentations (n=10), government/grey literature (n=16), and news/press releases (n=12).
(See
Appendix B for Annotated Bibliography of PEI literatures).
The conceptual meta-synthesis of the literature then proceeded in the following manner: a)
identification of material which assists in contextualizing and defining the issues, b) identification of
main themes around barriers and facilitators to successful youth pathways, and c) a systemic mapping
of institutions and programs relating to youth pathways. Education (post-secondary and public),
industry, and community organizations emerged as important locations of service provision.
Government funded agencies were primarily funding programs for community and industry initiatives.
These programs were visually mapped to glean an emerging systems profile (see Appendix N, Figure
1). This map was then shown to the service providers who were key informants in the qualitative phase
of the study.
It was used to elicit responses about further programming, as well as gaps and
connections in the system. As the study proceeded, the map was updated to reflect their input and
represent a more reflective system map for the province (See Appendix N, Figure 2). Additional
literature came to light throughout the study as documents were released or revealed through key
informants and further reading.
Qualitative Study Methods
The exploratory qualitative study was designed to further examine questions and directions
arising from the literature. To follow the rules of thumb of qualitative sampling of speaking with a range
of people who have experienced the phenomenon under study (Morse, 2000) and to reach theoretical
saturation in the data, interviews with 44 key informants (22 service providers and 22 young people)
were conducted to garner the following:
12
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The meaning of literacy and its role in youth pathways on PEI.

A listing and description of the programs and services currently in place for youth
pathways to literacy, education, and employment on PEI. Service providers were
asked to respond to our initial mapping of services that was generated through
the literature review.

A detailed discussion about the barriers and facilitators to youth pathways on
PEI.
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Information relating to the processes and evidence-bases used to govern and
evaluate these programs and strategies.
All research tools were created for use in this study including the socio-demographic Face
Sheets, the interview questions for service providers and for youth, and the research ethics forms for
informed consent of participants and are available in the Appendices.
Data Collection. The main inclusion criterion for selection of youth participants was age (18-27
years). The target age range for youth participants was 18-27 years for three reasons; a) to cover the
age range of the various definitions of “youth” used in service and programming (the range is from 15 to
29 years); b) to address the age range that demonstrated the largest gap in the literature (young people
who are no longer in secondary school) and c) to speak to young people for whom parental consent
was not necessary according to ethical guidelines (over the age of 18 years). The inclusion criteria for
service providers were both front line and administrative roles from across three sectors: education
(secondary school, post-secondary school, PEI Department of Education), industry, and community
agencies.
To address the qualitative sampling principle of sample variation (hearing a wide range of
experiences in an exploratory qualitative study) both youth and service providers from various
communities across PEI were identified through a snowball sampling technique. We sought to speak
with service providers from front-line (n=15) and administrative (n=7) positions and youth from rural
(n=13) and urban (n=9) communities. Many of the youth participants were suggested by program
providers to fit the target of both male/female, urban/rural communities, and with/without a high school
diploma. Youth participants were either currently taking part in youth programs or were outside of
school, programs, and services. Service providers assisted in finding youth participants and/or
recruitment posters were placed in public areas such as youth centers, shelters, and food banks
(Appendix K). As suggested in the literature, this population of young people is difficult to find by virtue
of their “in-between” status and lack of connection to education, social services, and programs. But,
their stories and perspectives on pathways to literacy are of value and often missing from research.
13
Service providers and administrators were contacted via an emailed letter (Appendix G)
introducing the study and requesting their participation. This was followed by direct telephone contact
requesting an interview. In the cases where email was not adequate, information letters were directly
delivered. Where youth participants were recruited through key informants, service providers assisting
with recruitment were given an Information Letter regarding recruitment (Appendix H) and a Letter of
Introduction and Consent to be Contacted (Appendix I) which was passed on to prospective youth
participants. Once youth contact information had been returned to the Project Manager, youth
participants were contacted directly through their preferred method.
The service providers and youth were interviewed at a mutually agreed upon and convenient site:
their places of work, UPEI, a local restaurant within their community, or community centres. Interviews
lasted approximately 45-60 minutes and were audio-taped. The interview began with the completion of
informed consent forms as approved by the UPEI Research Ethics Board to provide an overview of the
study purpose (Appendices C and D). A brief socio-demographic Face Sheet (Appendices E and F)
was then presented to participants who recorded important variables for analysis (for instance, age,
gender, position in the system, years of service in the system, cultural/ethnic identity, educational
background, literacy level, etc.). The Face Sheet took approximately 15 minutes to complete. The
interview ensued with a list of specific questions; each group of informants (youth, front-line service
providers, and administrators) had a unique list but with some common questions (Appendix J). The
service providers were also presented with the emerging map of the youth pathways system as
produced from the literature and asked for comment (e.g., Did we miss anything? How are these
services connected? ). (Appendix N, Figure 1).
Youth participants were provided with a $20 honorarium for their participation. Cash was placed
into envelopes on which a formal receipt was attached. Once the participant had signed the receipt,
they were given the envelope. This transaction took place after the informed consent forms were
signed. Participants who chose to withdraw from answering questions (none did) were also to have
been provided the honorarium. All participants were asked on the consent form to select the way they
would like to receive the study findings. Past research (Tilleczek, 2008; Tilleczek et al., 2010) suggests
that young people provide a number of suggestions including the “real” mail, email, through the school,
and so forth. Of the 22 youth participants interviewed, 10 requested results via email and 6 asked for
mail to their home address; the remaining 6 were not interested in receiving the summary. Main
findings will be provided to all who are interested in receiving them. (See Appendices L and M for the
Project Summaries).
14
Data Analysis. Three types of analysis are provided for the qualitative data.

The socio-demographic Face Sheets were analyzed with SPSS to provide descriptive
statistics about the samples and their perspectives on literacy, education, and employment.

Interviews were made into transcript notes by listening to the audio recording and noting
each participant‟s answer to the interview questions. These notes were then analyzed for
main themes in definitions of literacy, barriers and facilitators, gaps and connections in youth
services, and evidence-bases for programs.

Interviews notes and Face Sheets from the young people were also narratively analyzed
and written as visual transition narratives (See Tilleczek et al., 2010) to provide a less
fractured picture of their lives and pathways.
Analysis of the interview transcript notes was a process of progressive focusing, whereby
understanding of the research problem was refined, detailed descriptions developed, and explanations
considered (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995; Silverman, 1993). To develop main messages and
analytical codes from the transcripts, notes from each were read by two research team members to
obtain an overall understanding. Transcripts were then examined for themes and narratives and a
coding plan was developed that followed the answers to each of the questions posed in the interviews.
Themes across transcripts (barriers, facilitators, meanings of literacy, evidence-bases, experiences,
recommendations) were derived. Inter-coder disagreements were not encountered in the analysis of
the data but would have been resolved by returning to discuss original texts and audio files. The
interviews were analyzed towards theoretical saturation of the data.

Study Results: Literature Review
Adolescent youth literacy or literacy for “youth-at-risk” is a specialized area of interest that
has not yet received a large amount of focused research attention. To date youth literacy
has been analyzed largely along a series of tangents: social and demographic, economic,
interview-attitudinal and to some degree educational. At no point has the field been subject
to a detailed research effort aimed at demonstrating scientifically which particular programs
or methods carry which levels of efficacy, or the reasons why some programs succeed
while others fail (Malcolmson, 2001, p.2).
Defining Literacy Pathways
The emergence of progressively broad, ecological (spanning all spheres of life in school, family,
community, and so forth) and culturally based definitions of youth literacy can be traced in the literature.
15
For instance, Malcolmson (2001) shows how the notion of literacy as a simple dichotomy of reading
and writing proficiency has evolved into the OECD notion that
... literacy is no longer just a question about being able to read, but is a more complex
grouping of skills. The survey included a number of prose sections, such as texts from
newspapers and brochures; an array of maps, schedules, charts and graphs to measure
document literacy; and arithmetic operations to test basic quantitative literacy. These are
the skills identified by experts as being necessary to survive and prosper in advanced
industrialized countries (OECD, 2000 cited in Malcolmson, 2001, p.3).
However, it is argued that workplace skills and labour market knowledge are also fundamental to
ensuring successful pathways for young people. The changing economic and social milieu in the
knowledge economy adds additional skills to the mix. The Association of Canadian Community
Colleges (ACCC) expanded their definition of literacy essential skills to incorporate the fact that these
skills are necessary in seeking and maintaining employment (ACCC, 2003). They combined the
definition of essential skills used by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) with that of
employability skills used by the Conference Board of Canada into essential employability skills (EES)
as :
The generic set of skills, attitudes, and behaviors that are necessary in any career area
and which are essential to any person aiming to be successful in obtaining and
progressing in his or her job. The essential employability skills are the foundation skills to
a fulfilling personal and work life. These include literacy, numeracy, and document use,
inter-personal and intrapersonal skills (ACCC, 2003, p.7).
Indeed, this inclusive definition of literacy as providing educational and economic opportunity for
youth crosses paths with narrow ideas about literacy.
While the move from merely functional to
contextual definitions is apparent, the addition of skills such as creativity and critical thinking have also
been added in youth-specific literacy of late. Malcolmson (2001, p.6) states that “an examination of
promising practices in adolescent literacy amply demonstrates that it is precisely this aspect of quality
literacy programming that can awaken interest in learning and creative expression amongst youth who
have had negative experiences with schooling”. The Government of PEI`s Proceedings of the
Minister`s Summit on Learning (2010a, p.17) shows agreement by insisting on the context of 21st
century learning skills needed for all young people – creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and
communication. Indeed, the Summit dialogue addresses a PEI focus on a need to educate the whole
student with more student-centred learning and the creation of a “larger tool kit” for lifelong learning.
Consequently, youth literacy research and practice is directed to much more inclusive, ecological,
strength-based, and culturally grounded approaches and measurements. Research should examine
both the risk and protective influences in the culture of youth education and employment. Youth literacy
may be considered to be that which “shapes the core strategies by which adolescents learn to
16
negotiate meaning and think critically about the texts in their lives, whether in the context of the school
or the world outside of the school” (Vacca, 1998 cited in Malcolmson, 2001, p.6).
There is currently an extensive research literature dealing with literacy and literacy
programming in general. At the same time, there is a developed body of research dealing
both with “youth-at-risk” and with conditions required to redress the risk factors faced by
youth. It is at the intersection of these largely separate fields of research that [youth literacy]
literature … can be situated (Malcolmson, 2001, p.3)
Conceptual Framework for Youth Pathways to Literacy
This exploratory study examines literacy at the intersection of these two fields. Youth literacy is
nothing less than a cultural tool kit for negotiating a successful pathway to adulthood. As one youth
participant has stated, his includes the ways in which ―literacy helps you get through everyday things‖ at
school, work, with friends, with family, and in the community. It is at these intersections of literacy and
youth research that youth pathways are examined. Beaujot & Kerr (2007) have shown that there are
differing youth “transitions regimes” in different countries but all are influenced by complex social,
economic, political, cultural, and institutional arrangements.
Researchers and policy makers are just beginning to make use of interdisciplinary and ecological
models of youth development to examine these multiple levels of influence and track of the burgeoning
number of risk or protective factors in each. The Complex Cultural Nesting approach (Tilleczek, 2008;
2011) is one such interpretive framework that can be used for studying youth literacy. Young people in
Canada today face many challenges and opportunities relating to literacy within and across
interconnected and nested sectors of life (home, school, work, family, community, and so forth). And
young people and those closest to them are inseparable from, and nested within, their cultures and
contexts.
Being a young person and becoming an adult is the result of many social forces that impinge
upon the daily lives of young people. Tilleczek (2011) suggests that a focus on the tensions in the
social processes of being, becoming, and belonging encapsulate and define the bulk of research on
youth. These are fundamental social processes in youth transitions and shown to be critical
developmental tasks of identity negotiation/construction and developing an autonomous sense of self
(Eccles et al., 1993). In conjunction with their social class, minority group status, gender, and cultural
experiences, young people form identities and histories as learners, friends, family members, and
community members. These life histories are an important part in understanding youth. The move
towards autonomy is traversed on physical, biological, cognitive, emotional, and social terrains (Lerner,
2006). Personal coping resources that help to buffer ill effects of stress include a sense of autonomy,
self-efficacy, competence, and confidence (Lord, Eccles, & McCarthy, 1994).
17
Bronfenbrenner‟s (1979) work has been highly influential in describing multiple social levels at
which various risk or protective influences occur. These levels of concentric systems - chronosystem,
macrosystem, mesosystem, and microsystem - are well known to researchers and policy makers who
describe the contexts within which young people develop. Youth adapt to role and setting changes such
that young people making life transitions confront “ecological transitions” (1979, p.26) and “every
transition is both a consequence and an instigator of developmental processes” (1979, p.27). The
Complex Cultural Nesting approach moves beyond this descriptive model of ecological settings and
towards a deeper sense by which social contexts are structurally (politically, economically, and socially)
organized and the processes used to negotiate them. It draws upon Bronfenbrenner‟s Ecological
model, the Developmental Contextual model (Lerner, 2002), the Socioeconomic Gradient and Income
Inequality models (Keating and Hertzman, 1999; Wilkinson & Pickett, 2009), the Life Course model
(Elder, 1995; 1997) and the various sociological lenses used in Institutional Ethnography (Smith, 2002).
The Complex Cultural Nesting approach does not view development in the traditional sense in
which young people are understood to move along easily determined linear pathways. Time and growth
(physical, social, emotional, psychological, spiritual, academic) do remain central aspects of the model,
but transitions are instead conceived as non-linear and dynamic (Furlong, Cartmel, Biggart, Sweeting,
& West, 2003; Tilleczek, 2011) and nested within complex cultures. This makes it necessary to
determine how and why young people live out their complex narratives, become resilient, and make life
changes (Pais, 2003). This approach helps us to avoid the mistake of seeing all members of risk
groups (e.g., youth struggling with literacy,
in poverty,
early school leavers, and so forth) as
necessarily and simply “at-risk” without also seeing how they are at-risk, their potential for resilience
(Unger, 2004), and the fluidity of risk situations for youth (Tilleczek et al., 2010).
According to
Schonert-Reichl (2000), research often focuses on the negative aspects of “at-risk” youth‟s
experiences, leaving little room for analysis of their resiliency. Similarly, Fine & Weis (1996, p.270)
suggest that “simple stories of discrimination and victimization, with no evidence of resilience or
agency, are seriously flawed and deceptively partial, and they deny the rich subjectivities of persons
surviving amid horrific social circumstances”. Thus, personal stories may also generate narratives of
“hope and possibility” (Smyth & Hattam, 2001, p.412) that seldom emerge from strictly negative or
pathological analyses. In summary, the Complex Cultural Nesting approach calls for a strength-based,
ecological, broad, and nuanced study of the everyday lives of young people who are striving towards
literacy, education, and employment.
18
Youth Literacy Context
The context for this project was derived by attending to this broad perspective and an examination
of international, national, and provincial literatures on youth pathways to literacy. At the international
level, the Organization for Economic and Community Development (OECD)‟s Program for International
Student Assessment (PISA), International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and Education and Income
Statistics are the most relevant to youth pathways and literacy. A recent US policy paper on PISA
findings cites a Stanford University Hoover Institute and OECD study in which it is suggested that if the
US could boost its average PISA scores by 25 points over the next 20 years, it could lead to a gain of
41 trillion dollars in the US economy over the lifetime of the generation born in 2010 (Paine &
Schleicher, 2011). New PISA data, however, signals a problem in literacy for youth in Prince Edward
Island, with 21.2% of students below Level 2, which is the level considered as the baseline level of
proficiency by the OECD; the Canadian average below Level 2 is 10.3% (Knighton, Brochu, &
Gluszynski, 2010).
The OECD (2010) continues to demonstrate long term trends in relationships between parental
socio-economic status and PISA literacy scores such that lower socioeconomic status continues to
relate to lower test scores. They also show how educational practices such as class size, active
pedagogy, and governance can influence these scores. For example, students who know how to
summarize the information they read can perform better than those who do not and having a deep
understanding and use of reading strategies predicts later reading for pleasure (OECD, 2010). Students
from less advantaged backgrounds can lose interest in reading earlier and at a greater rate than those
from advantage. Autonomous school governance, better educated teachers, low student-teacher ratios,
and positive teacher attitudes are related to better school performance for youth (OECD, 2010).
Canadian researchers often access and analyze international data bases for secondary analyses
to describe the contexts of vulnerable youth populations (Tilleczek, 2010) or trends in literacy (Willms,
1999, 2009). The gap encountered is that this level of data analysis is not fully suitable to the small PEI
population and it provides trends rather than community culture or programmatic explanations.
Questions remain as to how these trends become entrenched and what is being attempted to address
them. Willms (1999) has shown how the OECD trends in literacy performance are echoed in Canadian
youth transitions landscapes. Using OECD‟s IALS and Canada‟s National Longitudinal Survey of
Children and Youth (NLSCY) data, he demonstrates strong relationships between familial socioeconomic status measures (parental education, income, household income) and literacy skills. He
shows how literacy skills can wane by grade 3 for those from lower socioeconomic families with the
19
trends lasting through high school. He also demonstrates how “schools matter” through their
educational practices with a need to provide more literacy supports in middle schools. “Communities
also matter” according to Willms in that some local communities have lower economic and social
capital, resulting in lower academic achievement.
Thus, any explanation of why some provinces have particularly steep social-class
gradients [in literacy], like any discussion of polices that might increase equality of
opportunity and outcomes, necessarily requires an understanding of the competing
individual interests of those with differing social status and how these affect access and
opportunity. If we consider geographically defined communities…a province could have
steep gradients if there were a number of communities with very low levels of economic
and social capital … Alternatively, a province‟s gradient could be steep if within most
communities students were allocated to schools or school programs, through either
formal or informal selective mechanisms, in ways that segregated children along socialclass lines. If this were the case, social class gradients would be steep for most
communities and for the province as a whole. This would call for policies that aimed to
increase the heterogeneity of schools and classrooms, and provide greater opportunities
for children of lower social-class backgrounds (Willms, 2009, p.91).
At the national level, the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network (CLLRNet) closed
its doors in March 2010 as did the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL). At the same time, youth
policy frameworks are being written which draw on meta-analyses of the research and policy relating to
youth transitions and populations of vulnerability (Bell & Bezanson, 2006; Bell & O‟Reilly, 2008; Franke,
2010; Freiler, 2010). Databases such as Statistics Canada‟s NLSCY and the Youth in Transition Survey
(YTS) have begun to be mined for national trends in the opportunities and constraints in youth
pathways. Willms (2009) has released a set of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
(HRSDC) funded papers from YTS and NLSCY defining how poverty, lower family income, lower
parental education, disability, and minority or immigrant status continue to define vulnerable youth
populations. Data from the Canadian Council on Learning (2010) demonstrates that many of Canada`s
provinces are functioning at or above the OECD`s literacy standard. However, Prince Edward Island
remains below this level.
The context of Prince Edward Island is, therefore, of direct interest. However, this review has
found that youth pathways to literacy have seldom been directly or empirically explored at the provincial
level. Indeed, both the Literacy Action Plan for Atlantic Canada set out by the Council of Atlantic
Ministers of Education and Training (2009) and the Prince Edward Island Task Force on Student
Achievement (Kurial, 2005) overlook youth by jumping their foci from early childhood to elementary
education to adult literacy. The latter document does mention a need for integrated child and youth
services at a provincial level (a new Commission was appointed in May 2010). Both documents focus
on the public school system as an important location for improvement. However, there are many young
20
people who have left the public educational system and are neither in post-secondary school nor
employment. Although estimates vary, the early school leaver rates for PEI range from 16.4% for
twenty year olds in 2000 (Bowlby & MacMullen, 2002 cited in Timmons, 2005) to 21% in 1995 (Frank,
1995 cited in Timmons, 2005) to an annual (rather than longitudinal rate) of 5.7% in 2005 (Timmons,
2005). More recent reports estimate the early school leaver rate for PEI for the three year period 20072010 at 8.9% (Gilmore, 2010; Richards, 2011). However, it is not only the young people who leave
school early that experience struggles with literacy. Graham and Carroll (2010) report that university
students on PEI (the majority of whom graduated from PEI high schools) had reading comprehension
skills below the grade 12 level (36.7%) or at or below the grade 9 level (29.5%) and that males
outperformed females in their sample. The implications are that
without the necessary reading skills, many [young] people may not persist and complete
their post-secondary education thus limiting their productivity and flexibility in the labor
market. Perhaps more profoundly, the implications of lower literacy levels and fewer
graduates with the necessary skills may be found in a lagging supply of job-ready labor
for the emerging knowledge economy. (Graham & Carroll, 2010, p.8)
Indeed, the relationship between early struggles with literacy and the pathways to further
education and employment are paramount in mapping out youth pathways and much more needs to be
done to fully examine the best ways to break problematic spirals on PEI. However, this review has
found that much of the literature relating to youth pathways to literacy on PEI is too general (not relating
exactly to youth), and not published in scholarly journals. Reports and studies focus on one program at
a time from within one sector rather than on the interconnections. Many scholarly journals such as the
Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Youth and Society, and International Journal of Youth Studies
provide a scholarly home for debate and evidence in the field of youth literacy. However, there are no
publications in these journals relating to youth on Prince Edward Island. In addition, the five PEIrelated academic research reports reviewed (Flanagan, 2009; Lees, 2006; McKenna & Penner, 2009;
Timmons, 2005; Timmons, Roach O‟Keefe, & Wagner, 2007) and one peer-reviewed themed article
(Goddard, 2010) appear to use a combination of methodologies. However, only Timmons (2005),
Timmons, Roach O‟Keefe, and Wagner (2007), and McKenna and Penner (2009) provide any
discussion on methodology in their reports. Flanagan (2009) and Lees (2006) both make reference to
key informants but do not indicate the methods used in recruiting, sampling, contacting, or interviewing.
It is also unclear as to the type or scope of information the informants contributed to the research.
Statistical information provided by Flanagan (2009) and Timmons (2005) is derived from a variety of
Canadian sources, including (but not limited to) Statistics Canada, National Council of Welfare, PEI
Annual Statistical Reviews, the Youth in Transition Survey, the School Leavers Survey, and the School
21
Leavers Follow-up Survey. Statistics specific to PEI are limited and most are found within larger,
Canadian sources such as those mentioned above.
Two publications served as strong starting points for the provincial literature review; an
environmental scan conducted by the PEI Literacy Alliance in 2010 (focused mainly on work place
literacy) and a PEI Literacy Research Network review (Lees, 2006) of research material specific to
literacy on PEI (though not youth specific). The PEI Literacy Alliance (2010) environmental scan of
literacy in PEI provided a synthesis of a roundtable discussion with Literacy Essential Skills (LES)
experts from various Prince Edward Island organizations. While not specifically youth based, the scan
was compiled from a focus group of key informants on PEI who use the LES framework in their daily
work. The informants identified the most pressing challenges in their LES work to be:
a lack of
understanding of Essential Skills (ES) and the HRSDC LES framework among PEI high school
graduates, workers, and employers; lack of time for employers to assess LES and provide employee
training opportunities; lack of employer buy-in in literacy programs; and a workforce that lacks basic ES
training (PEI Literacy Alliance 2010, p.3). They listed a number of assets by way of programs and
strategies designed to increase LES on PEI but only the Holland College High School Transitions
Program was specific to youth. Assets which were thought to enhance literacy included: programs
targeting
early
years;
public
library
initiatives;
workplace
programs;
transitions
programs;
upgrading/GED programs; and a number of government sponsored programs designed to assist in
obtaining skills required to enter the workforce (e.g., Career Development Services, Career Bridges,
and Trade Essentials). However, evidence for the efficacy of each was not presented and the report
demonstrates that PEI is yet to launch a concerted effort at empirically evaluating youth programs and
strategies. The recommendations arising in the PEI Literacy Alliance scan crossed five main themes as
follows: 1) LES must cross the life course and all sectors (education, workplace, family, community); 2)
LES must be responsive to those who have left the school system; 3) LES must be promoted to
workplace, employers, families, communities, 4) LES could be better represented in rural communities;
5) LES must build on and share successes of models such as Trout River Industries.
The PEI Literacy Research Network (Lees, 2006) reviewed general (not youth specific) literacy
research from 1990 to 2006 and concluded that relevant research material for PEI was scarce and
difficult to find. This report concurs with Lees (2006) as currently we found very little empirical research.
The recommendation for the Literacy Research Network coalesced around 4 themes as follows: 1) a
central clearing-house and accessible searchable data base be established for literacy-related material
developed in PEI or in which members of the Island community are participants; 2) funding be
committed for research, collaboration, knowledge sharing purposes; 3) mentoring be established with
22
experienced and less experienced researchers to bridge research and practice; 4) the Literacy
Research Network make presentations to provincial and national PEI governments to establish funds
for research related to the provincial literacy initiative.
However, these recommendations are yet to be enacted by the PEI Literacy Research Network (a
partnership between the PEI Literacy Alliance and the University of Prince Edward Island). While this
report continues the work of both the PEI Literacy Research Network and the PEI Literacy Alliance, it is
both narrower and broader in scope. It is broader in the focus on mapping out a system of pathways to
literacy, employment, and education for young people who are already moving beyond high school. It is
narrower in that it is specific to PEI youth literacy. The literature we have reviewed points to a number
of barriers, facilitators, and gaps in current youth literacy practice. Each is now summarized in turn.
Barriers to youth pathways to literacy on PEI fit into two categories: barriers to access or
participation in workforce or education programs, and barriers to success in those programs.
Barriers to participation are the practical or logistical considerations that permit youth to access
opportunities that exist. Lack of money is one such barrier (Flanagan, 2009; McKenna & Penner, 2009;
Timmons, 2005; Watt, 2002) that is tied with family socioeconomic status and poverty. Although some
programs such as Holland College‟s Adult Education and GED preparation are tuition-free, the cost of
transportation and child care can still be prohibitive for those with low incomes (Flanagan, 2009). Low
wages and seasonal employment exacerbate this challenge, particularly for those who require child
care (Flanagan, 2009). Also included in barriers to participation are: seasonality of available work
(Flanagan, 2009; Murphy, 2001), lack of time to participate in educational programs (McKenna &
Penner, 2009; PEI Literacy Alliance, 2010; Watt, 2002), uncertain career goals (Berringer, Penner, &
Sutton, 2007), lack of understanding about the courses to take (McKenna & Penner, 2009), lack of jobs
commensurate with education for graduates (Carroll, 2009; Canadian Rural Partnership, 2007; PEI
Advisory Council on the Status of Women, 2010), family responsibilities (McKenna & Penner, 2009;
Timmons, 2005) and lack of confidence or low self esteem (Berringer et al., 2007; McKenna & Penner,
2009; Timmons, 2005). A certain complex spiral occurs for the young people who are uncertain or
unable to follow their pathways to education and employment and then become less than confident
about their abilities. The spiral could be broken by addressing why literacy levels are faltering in the first
place for that young person.
Indeed, low literacy levels are a key barrier to success in the workplace, especially in the
knowledge economy, the focus of PEI‟s Prosperity Plan (Carroll, 2009; Chaulk, McQuaid, &
Smith, 2002; McKenna & Penner, 2009; PEI Literacy Alliance, 2010).
23
With a focus on
knowledge-based industries (bioscience, information technology, aerospace, bio-resource, and
wind power) PEI has seen a significant increase in jobs that require a post secondary degree
with a corresponding decrease in jobs that require a high school diploma or less (McKenna &
Penner, 2009). Almost 50% of PEI‟s working population has less than high school education
(McKenna & Penner, 2009) and those in the 16-25 age categories scored poorly in literacy
assessments (Lees, 2006). These levels of education and literacy are not adequate for the “new
economy” in which people have multiple careers throughout their lifetime (Murphy, 2001) and
the emerging focus on part-time and contract work makes it difficult to become established in a
career or to continue to pay back student loans. For recent post secondary graduates, lack of
employment relevant to their education, or underemployment, are also barriers to success in the
workforce (Canadian Rural Partnership, 2007; PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women,
2010; Carroll, 2009).
Table 1 provides a synopsis of the barriers across youth pathways to literacy, education,
and employment identified through the PEI literature. They have been organized in relation to
the complex cultural nesting approach such that there are barriers at macro (societal) meso
(work, school, and home) and micro (individual) levels. The barriers intersect such that poverty
or financial stress tends to exacerbate situations at the level of the individual daily struggles at
school, home, or work. Indeed, a complex spiral can be seen for some young people who are
barred both access and success in either education or employment. Without education, literacy
falters and affects employment. But even high school education does not guarantee full literacy
or participation/success in either. This begs an important but neglected set of research studies
as to how and why this is so. How is the current high school system failing youth literacy goals,
especially those who are currently living in lower socioeconomic conditions?
Table 1: Barriers in youth pathways from PEI literature
Culture & Society
Social class – poverty
Work, School & Home
Early adult status
(family responsibilities)
Minority status
“Place” (rural)
Immigration/resettlement
Labour market demand
(seasonal,
underemployment, too few
jobs, new jobs demanding
Lack of time to be in education
or training
Lack of career training or
information in high schools
Lack of caring adults as
mentors or guides
24
Individuals
No transportation
Lack of Literacy and
Employability Essential
Skills
Lack of confidence (selfesteem) in pursuing
further education
Lack of knowledge about
what/how to pursue
more education)
Low value placed on youth
literacy / education and low
literacy levels in community
Poor fit between youth
education experiences and
skills and the labour market
needs
Family literacy issues and/or
low value placed on literacy /
education
Public education at high school
level not necessarily
preparatory for work or postsecondary success (ill prepared
for access or success)
additional education or
training
Lack of motivation (if
already employed)
Facilitators
Facilitators are the people, programs, and strategies that are in place to assist young
people along their pathways to literacy, education, and employment and attempt to overturn the
barriers outlined above. The grey literature from PEI reports on programs designed to help
people gain the skills they need to be successful in the workforce. Most of these are not
specific to youth but, as with the academic literature, contain information that is relevant to
young people. The majority of these documents point to increased self-confidence and/or selfesteem as a key benefit to participation in workplace education programs or job skills programs.
Additional benefits include: job experience/job skills (Chaulk, McQuaid, & Smith, 2005) learning
to cope with stress and anxiety (Chaulk et al., 2005) opportunities to pursue further education
(Watt, 2002), and career advancement (Gagnon, 2005; Jenish, n.d.; Watt, 2002). However,
many of these initiatives are shorter-term and/or one-time events or programs. There have been
no ongoing evaluations and no discussion regarding the long term result of these programs as
they impact youth literacy on PEI.
Work place education programs, such as Trout River 101, (Roy, 2010) are discussed as
facilitators to education and career advancement for the employees as well as beneficial to
employers with resultant increases in production and workplace cohesiveness. The majority of
information on these programs is found in case studies presented by the Conference Board of
Canada (Campbell, 2002; Gagnon, 2005; Kitagawa, 2005; Watt, 2002) but there have been no
formal evaluations or follow-up studies completed. Similarly, the review of Holland College‟s
Adult and Community Education (ACE) Program (Berringer et al., 2007) concludes that the
program was successful in preparing students for post secondary education. However, there is
no indication as to whether those students enrolled in post secondary education following the
ACE program, or if those who did enroll were successful in achieving their educational goals.
25
There is anecdotal and journalistic evidence presented in news articles on the success of
the workplace education programs (Day, 2010; Jenish, n.d.; Roy, 2010). Benefits for employers
include increased productivity, a happier workforce, and higher degrees of employee initiative;
employee benefits include increased self-confidence, more opportunity for promotion, and the
opportunity to increase their level of education. News articles and press releases also identify
programs being offered and new initiatives planned. Many highlight partnerships between
educational institutions (Holland College) or government (HRSDC) and communities/industry.
For example, an HRSDC press release (January 2005) announced funding for eight short term
projects through the Youth Employment Strategy and Youth Awareness Initiative. Partners
receiving the funding were:
PEI Council of the Disabled, Construction Association of PEI,
Charlottetown Boys & Girls Club, John Howard Society, Tourism Industry Association of PEI,
The Adventure Group, and Skills Canada PEI Inc. All eight projects focused on helping youth
attain life and employability skills. Another press release (Holland College, September 2006)
reported on a partnership between PEI Department of Education, Holland College, Tim Horton‟s
and Wendy‟s to promote the GED program and improve literacy levels among young adults. In
addition to the advertising at Tim Horton‟s and Wendy‟s restaurants across PEI (using tent
cards, tray liners, and message boards) Tim Horton‟s and Wendy‟s, with the assistance of
Workplace Education PEI, implemented a workplace program for their own employees to help
them acquire GEDs while at work. Although there has been no formal evaluation of this
initiative, it is listed as a factor in the increasing numbers of adult learners in PEI taking and
passing the GED test (Nicholson, 2010).
There are also a number of emerging initiatives and programs on Prince Edward Island
that begin to address young people in transition to post-secondary school, employment, and
literacy. For instance, the PEI Rural Action Plan (Rural Development PEI, 2009) demonstrates
the importance of addressing youth employment as a part of community economic
development. To this end a Rural Youth Conference was hosted by the Government of Prince
Edward Island in April 2010 to engage and communicate with rural young people. The research
team was invited and attended
this conference, which included 75 high school students,
Provincial MLAs, representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and
members of community employment and funding agencies (such as Alberton Rural Community
Learning, Active Communities PEI, etc.). This highly interactive conference provided young
people the opportunity to express their concerns around education and employment in PEI.
The report, released in November (Government of Prince Edward Island, 2010b)
contained recommendations around four key issues: youth representation in government, strong
26
communication ties with youth, employment opportunities for youth, and youth community
involvement. The resounding message from these recommendations is that youth want to be
part of the process and not passive recipients of government policy/decisions. The youth
participants expressed concern that there is a disconnect between education and employment
and would like to see learning opportunities at the high school and post secondary levels that
reflect the types of employment available on PEI. In particular, they felt the need for quality
courses in high schools that focus on the resource based industries (e.g., agriculture and
fishing) of rural PEI. Access to education was also highlighted with young people recommending
public transportation between rural and urban centres as well as increased financial support for
students who participate in distance education. Students also wanted more opportunities to
participate in meaningful work experience while in school. Once in the workforce, the youth
participants highlighted a need for accessible career counseling and jobs that are suitable to
various levels of education. These youth voices are important but neglected aspects of
addressing youth pathways to literacy on PEI. As will be seen below, many of the concerns
shared by the young people at the Rural Youth Conference are reflected in the perspectives of
the young people who participated in the interviews in this exploratory qualitative study. Both
similarities and differences will be presented in the following section.

Study Results: Exploratory Qualitative Study
"Some days we're planting seeds; some days we're harvesting." (Leslie)
The interviews with 22 young people and 22 service providers yielded rich information and
poignant quotations to encapsulate their experiences and perspectives on youth pathways to
literacy, education, and employment on PEI. The interviews were conducted to examine how
intersecting barriers and facilitators occur and what could be done about assisting young people
beyond the complex spiral of illiteracy. The qualitative results are presented in seven sections.
The first provides background information on the participants including socio-demographic and
descriptive answers from the Face Sheets. The second section presents their ideas about the
meanings and place of literacy in youth pathways. The third and fourth sections present main
themes in barriers and facilitators. The fifth section presents evidences bases for PEI youth
literacy. The sixth section presents narrative summaries of a selection of young people to assist
27
in seeing their complex cultural nests and to avoid presenting only fractured thematic
information. A final section presents findings about the gaps and connections in service and
evidence-bases upon which programs are developed and evaluated. In each section the
perspectives of the youth and service providers are presented in turn. This allows the readers to
hear differences and similarities in experiences as relayed to the researchers.
The study participants
Service Providers.
The 22 service providers were given the opportunity to complete a Face Sheet prior to
their interview on which to record socio-demographic information. The service providers were
mostly female (n=17) and ranged in age from 20 to 60 years. Two were not born in Canada.
The service providers‟ places of work and positions in their jobs reflect the variation of the
sample. For instance, they represented 19 different programs across three sectors (education
(n=13), industry (n=3), and community (n=6)). They also held a range of front-line (n=15) and
administrative (n=7) positions, and ranged in their length of time in their current positions from
less than one year to 20 years. They all had high school diplomas, 13 had college diplomas,
and 6 had university degrees. It is worth noting that many of the service providers who were
classified as administrators had also been (or were at the time of interview) front line workers.
Young People.
Face Sheets were also completed by the young people to provide a range of information
relating to their socio-demographic background, educational, and work experiences. Of the 22
youth participants, 13 were male and 9 were female. Most lived in a rural community (n=13) with
9 living in either one of the two larger urban centres on PEI. Of the rural youth, 9 were from the
eastern and 4 from the western regions of PEI. Those who “grew up” in a rural PEI community
and attended school there were counted as rural even if they had recently moved in a larger
urban centre.
The young people ranged in age from 18 to 27 years with 9 in the 18-20 range and 12 in
the 21-27 range. One participant did not include an age but the mean age of the sample was
otherwise 21.6 years. All of the youth participants were Canadian born. Of those who provided
an ethnic origin, 14 stated they were “White”, 3 were “Aboriginal”, and 1 was “Black”. The
majority of these young people were living with someone other than their parents (n=12) while 8
lived at home and 2 lived alone. Three of the young people considered themselves to be
28
homeless but were currently in a shelter or with friends. Only 6 of these 22 young people were
employed at the time of the interview and 5 others were in a training program.
Eight of the young people had graduated from high school (2 of them had a GED) and 10
had not yet graduated from high school even though they had been through high school earlier
in their lives (they left high school prior to graduation). Their interviews presented a useful
retrospective perspective on high school experiences and their pathways since. Most (n=16) of
the youth participants had attended one of the 10 PEI English high schools. Table 2 shows the
highest grade attained by these young people and reports that 4 of the participants had never
entered senior high school. Seven of these young people had so far been involved in academic
upgrading and 6 reported having been identified with a special educational need in high school.
Almost all reported familial support and encouragement for education (n=20) while only 12
reported consistent teacher support and encouragement.
Table 2: Highest grade attained by youth participants
Highest grade
Frequency
Percent
8
2
9.1
9
2
9.1
10
6
27.3
11
6
27.3
12
6
27.3
Total
22
100.0
The young people were asked to provide their ratings of the importance of education to
them, to their friends, and to their family. The mean responses (on a 4 point scale with 4 being
“very important” and 1 being “not at all important”) were 3.57, 2.71, and 2.95 respectively. This
suggests that these young people perceive that both they and their parents value education
more than do their friends.
They also provide a mean score of 3.45 (on a 4 point scale) in
response to the “importance of education in achieving their goals”. However, when asked to
rate their perceived opportunities to gain more education on a 5 point scale (with 1 being “very
poor” and 5 being “very good”), the mean score was 3.73 which suggests that these young
people see only an average chance to improve their education at present.
29
The youth participants were also asked to self-rate a number of aspects of their reading
and writing abilities to date. The mean self-reported reading and writing ability for the group was
3.86 and 3.41 respectively (on a 5 point scale with 1 being “very poor” and 5 being “very good”).
It is worth noting the distribution in answers to these items and the high proportion who feel that
their abilities are currently “very poor” or “very good” (See Table 3 and Table 4). There is a
difference between their perceived abilities in reading and writing such that writing tends to be
rated with less confidence.
Table 3: Self-reported reading ability of youth participants
(1=”very poor”; 5 =”very good”
Rating
Frequency
Percent
2
5
22.7
3
3
13.6
4
4
18.2
5
10
45.5
Total
22
100.0
Table 4: Self-reported writing ability of youth participants
(1=”very poor”; 5=”very good”)
Rating
Frequency
Percent
1
1
4.5
2
3
13.6
3
9
40.9
4
4
18.2
5
5
22.7
Total
22
100.0
The young people were also asked to rate their level of reading and writing outside school
or work and their current attitudes towards reading and writing. Ten of them reported that they
read at home “regularly” or “a lot”, 5 read “sometimes” and 7 “rarely” or “never” read outside
these contexts. Similarly, 8 of the youth participants “never” or “rarely” write anything outside
school or work, and 10 reported that they write “regularly” or “a lot” in these contexts. Three of
30
the youth said that they write “sometimes”. Table 5 and Table 6 illustrate the range, percentages
and frequencies of responses. The mean rating for current attitude for reading was 3.95 which
shows an overall positive attitude (4 being “positive”). The mean rating for current attitude to
writing was 3.36 which suggests a similar, generally neutral to positive, attitude toward writing.
Table 5: Current attitude toward reading of youth participants
(1=”very negative”; 5=”very positive”)
Rating
Frequency
Percent
2
2
9.1
3
4
18.2
4
9
40.9
5
7
31.8
Total
22
100.0
Table 6: Current attitude toward writing of youth participants
(1=”very negative”; 5=”very positive”)
Rating
Frequency
Percent
1
2
9.1
2
1
4.5
3
9
40.9
4
7
31.8
5
3
13.6
Total
22
100.0
The meanings of literacy
―You can understand what is read and express yourself articulately in writing‖ (Tyler)
‖Spelling…Speaking, anything to do with speech and, I guess, words in general.‖ (Dawn)
The young participants were asked to reflect on the meanings of literacy and the part that it has
played in their lives. They provided responses which illustrate the variability of meanings of the term
31
and many found it “hard to define”. For instance, some young people were unable to easily define the
term at first but responded to a definition read by the interviewer. In each case, they suggested that
literacy was related to “getting through everyday things” and the “ability to read and write and use it‖.
Some added spelling and public speaking or communication to the list. Only a couple of young people
mentioned computer or technical literacy skills.
―That you can read and write and all of that…basically schooling‖ (Arnold)
―The ability to read and write and interpret the meaning behind the reading‖ (Mitchell)
Literacy was positioned as very important such that without it, young people have trouble applying
for jobs, filling in applications, holding down work, communicating with others, or continuing education.
Some of the youth knew of adults who were themselves not literate and they reflected on the troubles
this had created for them. They also mentioned young people who struggle as they are too shy to ask
or are unsure as to where to get help with reading and writing. Over half of these young people, even
those who felt themselves to be literate, mentioned that they had some level of difficulty completing job
applications. Those who had graduated from high school spoke about how their diploma did not
necessarily ensure that they felt literate and how after graduation education opportunities were
numerous but work opportunities minimal on PEI. These same young people wished that high school
(especially English class) had been more difficult and had higher standards. At the same time, many of
the young people who had left school prior to graduating also felt that they were literate in reading and
they read often for pleasure or to learn something. However, they also felt that their spoken and written
communication was lacking as were technical and computing skills. Problems with literacy were linked
with their pathways to education and employment.
―If a person has trouble with reading and writing you‘re going to have a hard time on the
job, big time; even the simplest job like McDonalds, you gotta read the screen to say, if it
says no onions on that Big Mac, you can‘t put onions on that Big Mac and if you can‘t
read, you don‘t know what that sign says, you know what I mean, things like that. I think
it‘s a big, big deal. As for relating to me, I‘ve applied for different jobs where I‘ve gone
and been given an application that‘s like 10 pages long and not understood a lot of the
words on there so I couldn‘t answer the questions, which maybe, if I knew, like if, if
somebody had said ‗you know this word means this‘ Oh! Well I know the answer to that,
that‘s easy!, you know what I mean?‖ (Inez)
―I usually get two [application] forms just in case . . .I‘ll fill one out and someone will
correct my mistakes . . . and then I‘ll write it again‖ (Dawn)
The service providers, when asked to speak about the meaning of literacy, also spoke about the
after graduation literacy challenges for young people and the relatively low levels of literacy on PEI.
They were concerned about high school graduates who are still functioning below standards and
32
“setting them up for failure” as they do not necessarily possess the basic skills needed for postsecondary school or the work place. An alternate worry was for those young people who have
demonstrated ability but have had negative experiences in school with literacy which carry over in life.
Those who have left school early have even greater barriers to face, specifically the cohort who is now
in their late 20s. It was suggested that the changing workforce and skills required were further
complicating an already difficult situation for these youth.
―I think the ability to cope with whatever is happening to people, primarily in the
workplace . . . I find that it is assumed that people can operate and perform at the tasks
that they‘re working with, the problems arise when something new comes along and they
either have to cope with that or they need to do some upgrading or they need to do
workshops and so on; that‘s when the weaknesses in their ability to perform come
through‖ (Donny)
―There are those who are able to fake it but are kind of stuck in those, I mean they‘re not
menial jobs but they‘re jobs where there‘s no advancement, that require very little, you
know, literacy skills or very little comprehension and they‘re able just, they‘ve been able
to adapt the skills over their lifetime of watching and learning and you know, just being
able to say ‗yeah, I understand‘ when they really don‘t and because they don‘t have the
skills they‘re going from one job to another to another to another to another, they‘re
losing jobs, they‘re losing confidence in themselves and their abilities and it‘s just kind of
a downward spiral to the fact where you know what they have no confidence in
themselves at all and their abilities to do anything‖ (Leslie)
In general, the definitions and meanings of literacy were consistent across the administrators and
front line workers. Most people spoke about “agility in the world‖ as relating to an ongoing continuum of
abilities in “what one needs to function in the world‖.
Their list included: reading, reading
comprehension, ability to use and reflect on what is read, writing, numeracy, financial literacy, having
symbols and tools to manage life, technological literacy, ability to fill out government and employment
forms, ability to express oneself, the ability to communicate and converse with others, the ability to
continually cope with whatever is happening, and information management. The range of skills and
abilities mentioned was similar but more numerous to those mentioned by the young people. A
similarity of note is that which reflects a more ecological, inclusive, and everyday definition of what it
means for youth to be literate, a trend noted in the literature as well.
―Literacy is, I guess, the vocabulary that one needs to function in our world or our society
and that can be literacy in a number of ways, it‘s not, I guess, a lot of people when I hear
them talk about literacy, they talk about literacy as it applies to reading but I see literacy
being much broader than that, everything from reading and writing to, to financial
literacy, and some of those other, I think what we would normally have called more life
skills, but the ability to have the tools to manage your life. Those are all a form of
literacy because if you don‘t have them it‘s very difficult to function in your world and to
have success‖ (Erin)
33
―Literacy for me is being able just to read everyday ordinary things to help you get by in
life, traffic signs, the information on a recipe, warning labels, you know all those little
things, and being able to actually comprehend the information that you are reading‖
(Leslie)
All service providers also spoke about the critical place of literacy in the lives of young people for
all aspects of the pathways to adulthood. Most of the participants spoke about needing to assist young
people to understand this great impact on their later pathways to education and employment, and the
best ways to do so. And, many reflected on the positive changes at the provincial and school levels with
greater attention to reading and writing skills and having young people stay in school to graduation.
―[Literacy] plays a huge role in terms of where they [young people] end up in life and how
they function through the educational system grades 1 through 12; how they feel about
themselves‖ (Martin)
―I think that they [PEI youth] have some of that basic foundation, and I think it‘s getting
better, I will clarify that, with some of the emphasis on literacy. But I think literacy as it
relates to reading and writing is primarily where this province has had its focus. I think
young people today haven‘t been able to apply that learning to real life situations enough
that it would mean it would be successful or that it would create much broader or more
opportunities for them in terms of what they could do with that literacy and that learning‖
(Erin)
Barriers and challenges
―On, my teenage years and growing up, I had the most roughest go…I can only hope it
gets better from here‖ (Ernie)
Every youth is different and has different needs…some youth don‘t need help and some
youth do and some need help in different areas and some don‘t know what they need
help with.‖ (Tyler)
Barriers to pathways to education, employment, and literacy identified by youth participants were
focused in four constellations of road blocks: self/friends, family, school, and work. Overriding these
were uncertain career goals and lack of money, regardless of whether they had completed high school.
Many of these young people just felt stuck and could not find a way out of the spiral that had become
their pathway to further education or employment. Some “aged out” in that the services they could find
were no longer fitting as they got older and many did not want to go back to high school as time
passed. Often they did not know where to turn, had no knowledge of programs to assist, and were
blocked by financial, familial responsibilities, or practical circumstances such as transportation.
―If it were simple and laid out so that I could see everything I had to do then it wouldn‘t
be that bad…but sorting things out and finding out that what I need to do is ..its like
34
untangling Christmas lights, I don‘t mind putting them up but I don‘t want to sit there and
untangle them.‖ (Mitchell)
―I heard [the program] was for youth and I‘m getting too old to be hanging around those
types of kids any more. [Interviewer] How old are you? [Participant] 20.‖ (Gordon)
―Everything‘s out there for the taking, it‘s just about when and how I want to do it. I do
want to kind of plan my steps out carefully . . . it‘s a little bit overwhelming because when
you go to start something, it always feels to me like I‘m rushing into something that I
don‘t know if I can handle right now so I‘m wasting time doing nothing with certain
things‖ (Mitchell)
When they could access help to their next step (GED, training program, etc.) they did not always
have the skills or support to succeed. Poverty related to the need to leave school to support family or in
feeling excluded in school by other students. The sense of exclusion or “being on the outside” in turn
affected school experiences and outcomes for some youth. However, the high school experiences of
these young people were variable and high school was both a facilitator and a barrier in many ways.
Without question, it was an important part of their pathway, but those who saw it as an impediment in
their pathway were explicit about teachers, guidance counselors, and school structures/cultures that
created real problems for their engagement in learning and literacy. Some even suggested that high
school ―is a horrible environment for a young person to be exposed to.‖
―if you‘re going and you‘re being mistreated its going to make you not want to
go…school is supposed to be one of the best times of your life, ‗cuz you‘re making
friends and you go to prom and you go to this and go to that…I never went to prom, I
never went to any of that.‖ (Arnold)
―I don‘t think they [school teachers/counselors] really knew what was going on . . . when
I did go to school I just did my work like I was supposed to and went along with things‖
(Inez)
―School always felt to me less about learning than about to see how much of this
information you can retain until you have to write the test – it just never worked for me
that way‖ (Mitchell)
Specifically, the youth participants spoke about not ever seeing or speaking with a guidance
counselor when they needed one. Others felt that they were socially excluded from school due to their
social class position and not being able to afford the kinds of material things that other students could
afford, leaving them on “the outside”. Others were struggling academically and when they decided to
leave, had no one at school to convince them otherwise. In fact, in a number of instances, they were
told that this was a good idea. Still others felt that they were not challenged in academic realms, even
though they enjoyed school and were doing well.
35
―I found a lot of the time I was pushed through school by my teachers, like; they didn‘t
want to give me bad marks or something. I always seemed to get through, and then, the
thing is, like a lot of times I was out of school and would go back and would just progress
to the next year. They moved me when they shouldn‘t have. I wouldn‘t have been in
school anyway; they just kept me in the right age area.‖ (Jack)
― I got by and I wish I didn‘t, honestly, I wish I‘d failed so I could go back and do better‖
(Sarah)
―Looking back, like I wish there would have been a teacher or, you know, just an official
at the school or whatnot to see, see that I was struggling and kind of, kind of catch that
before it spirals, so to speak. And just for there to be more, like, seminars in the
classroom and, you know, university graduates come in and speak about the importance
of finishing high school.‖ (Mary)
The youth participants who had graduated from high school but did not continue into post
secondary education did not have funds/time to pursue further education nor always have a clear and
specific career goal. They expressed an unwillingness to spend their time and money, or accumulate
debt, on education until they are clear on what they want to do. Another prevailing attitude was that
they were literate enough to get by in life, or as one participant put it, ―OK with being average or good‖.
―Right now, I‘d have to say financially, trying to get a job that I would be able to attend
like night school or Holland College, [I] want to make sure I‘m financially stable before I
do anything‖ (Dawn)
―I don‘t want to get in there, spend all of my money, then realize that‘s not what I want to
do for the rest of my life.‖ (Fred)
―If I went to take a test now and failed it, that would be a big mistake in my life, ‗cause I‘d
lose out on everything, pogey, everything. And I‘m back down the same road I went
down again.‖ (Nate)
Awareness of available and/or active programs for youth was limited. Even front line
service providers did not always know what was being done outside their particular
geographical region or area of interest. There is no “one stop shopping” place for youth who are
struggling either to upgrade their education/literacy skills or find meaningful employment.
―When I go looking for stuff like this, career development thing or something like that I
don‘t know who to speak to and I don‘t know who to ask who to speak to and I either get
frustrated and feel like I am wasting my time or I get sent to the wrong person and go
about it in a completely wrong direction, feel like I‘m too rushed into something I don‘t
know about and I usually just stop altogether and go collect myself. and end up going to
talk to the exact same people a couple of weeks later.‖ (Mitchell)
The barriers to employment identified by youth participants centered on availability of
employment, particularly in rural areas. And, where employment is available, access to jobs can be
dependent on “knowing someone”. Other barriers to employment included lack of high school diploma
36
or post secondary education, frequent job changes (a history of quitting), lack of job search skills and/or
awareness of employment programs, and, for one participant, a criminal record. In addition, most of
these young people suggested job applications and government forms as a road block that was most
difficult to negotiate. Between being unable to understand the forms and the inability to technically fill
them out correctly, young people felt blocked from many training or employment opportunities that were
otherwise open to them. The form was standing between them and employment as Luke suggested ―I
can manage but sometimes I struggle with it . . . fillin‘ out the applications or whatever‖
It is also of note that young people did not speak about many barriers at the level of the
community except the odd mention of the difficulty of living in a rural community. There was also some
mention that it was difficult to be accepted and find work on PEI if you did not know someone or were
not related to them such that “you get jobs through connections.‖
―it‘s [finding employment] that‘s definitely hard . . . living in West Prince especially a lot of
the jobs are seasonal jobs, there‘s not a whole lot to pick from really, especially if you‘re
not going to get, not going to go farther with your education‖ (Jean)
―I find it really hard, I do…it‘s pretty hard, especially on this Island. There‘s not a lot of
things to do and you need so many things to get places that, for people like me and my
buddies, it‘s really hard because there no jobs out there for us that we can actually do.‖
(Kevin)
Friends ain‘t too much of a help, they‘ll lead you back down the wrong path again. I went
back down that road lots of times.‖ (Nate)
Table 7 presents a summary of the range of barriers as presented from the youth participants in
the study. Those in red indicate barriers that are also reflected in the service provider interviews. The
intersections of the constellations of self, family, school, and work are noteworthy. As was outlined
above, a complex spiral is created for these young people regardless of their pathways through high
school to work. For some youth, addictions and/or mental health challenges figured prominently in their
pathways as barriers. Most of the young people were reflective about their place in their pathway and
were quick to individualize or personalize the problem as part of being “young”.
―Young people especially, younger than myself, have to really think about what they
need more than about what they want at one particular time. That basically applies to
everything. You can‘t just take a quick reward, you gotta think about things for the long
run because you got a lot more life than the next five minutes.‖ (Mitchell)
―I wasn‘t looking at my education as something I would need for the rest of my life…[I
am] making the effort to look after things that I chose to ignore in the past‖ (Mary)
37
―[I have] a bad attitude, I‘m too cocky for my size‖ (Kevin)
―I feel that I‘m the one holding myself back because I don‘t want to set myself up for
success and then fail‖ (Daisy)
Table 7: Barriers from youth interviews
Self and Friends
Not interested in school
More social than
academic focus (bad
choices about school)
Drug use
Uncertain about career
goals
Friends who skipped
school
Lack of confidence
or fear of going back to
school
Mental health or disability
challenges
Bad attitude (not willing to
wait for better outcomes)
Family
Lack of money
(poverty and
socioeconomic
status)
Lack of
encouragement &
support
Need to leave home
(dislodged on street
or at friend‟s homes)
Early adult status
(must support family
or children)
Parental struggles
with literacy and no
value of school
(allowed to leave
early for work)
School
Work
Unfair and negative school
culture and practices
Pull factor from school for
money
Fragmented system of
support for upgrading
education
Word of mouth only
No teacher support or help
at school
Few job opportunities on PEI
(no turnover, short term,
seasonal)
Low wages
Few programs of interest
Students change jobs often
Low expectations and not
pushed - Poor grades
allowed to pass for better
ones
No guidance counseling or
support (or presence)
Lack of connection
between school and world
of work (co-op education
or trades, etc.)
Lack of awareness of
programs
Fragmented system of
support for training
Difficult to find job info (no
one-stop)
Inability to fill out job
applications or program
forms
Relative social class and
poverty in relation to
others (was excluded,
bullied)
Poor grades never
remediated
For service providers, low socio-economic status and/or poverty was a very significant barrier and
they spoke about the numerous ways in which schools and communities were not able to mediate the
ongoing ill effects for young people. Mental health and addictions challenges figured prominently in the
list of challenges that youth are seen to face by service providers. Indeed, many spoke about a need to
re-engage parents, teachers, and others adults in the care and support of their children as they become
young adults.
38
―The most significant barrier of all is poverty. If a young person, if a child enters school
from a household where there is very little in the way of resources, . . . then that child is
immediately faced by other children who can do better, who know more. And I think it
doesn‘t take very long for such a child to begin to think that he or she is stupid. Once
that‘s happened I think it becomes extremely difficult to get away from it.‖ (Mae)
―Youth are living adult lives now.‖ (Jill)
―If they have a sense of belonging to something, they feel like they‘re involved in
something, then that kind of puts them on the right track.‖ (Adam)
―There are those who are able to fake it but are kind of stuck in those, I mean they‘re not
menial jobs but they‘re jobs where there‘s no advancement, that require very little, you
know, literacy skills or very little comprehension and they‘re able just, they‘ve been able
to adapt the skills over their lifetime of watching and learning and and you know, just
being able to say ‗yeah, I understand‘ when they really don‘t and because they don‘t
have the skills they‘re going from one job to another to another to another to another,
they‘re losing jobs, they‘re losing confidence in themselves and their abilities and it‘s just
kind of a downward spiral to the fact where you know that they have no confidence in
themselves at all and their abilities to do anything.‖ (Leslie)
Similar to the young people, service providers outlined a complex spiral of decline that can take
place across contexts. A part of this takes place at home, part at school, part in the workplace, and part
in the community.
―We [PEI] do not have a culture of learning—it is challenging and there is work that needs to
be done on this.‖ (Sheila)
―It‘s my experience that it‘s [the workplace] changing all the time, people are being asked to
take on more things, more jobs, more responsibility. I think particularly as they just get older
and they work their way through the system, it is sort of fairly normal for them to advance
through the system. But the trouble is that they get themselves into a position where they
realize that they can‘t cope, they can‘t handle the communication needs, they can‘t handle
the technology needs that is an integral part of the job that‘s there.‖ (Donny)
The gaps in public education were perceived to include a lack of career counseling in high school
making it difficult for students to develop career goals or create a plan beyond high school. Others saw
“school as a microcosm of society”; a place in which all of the pressures, issues, and impact of society
are pressing down on young people who may not feel able, or willing, to ask for help. Guidance
counselors and other school personnel spoke about the scope of their practice enlarging into mental
health and daily life skills or ―whatever a student identifies as a need‖. Other challenges in school were
perceived to be lack of timely and on-point remediation and support for literacy skills, inattention to
learning styles, lack of opportunity to apply learning in real world situations, student disengagement
(inability to see relevance of subject matter), lack of youth workers in the high schools, lack of
39
recognition (and resultant lack of promotion) of trades as a valuable career choice, and large class
sizes which allow too many students to ―slip through the cracks‖.
―Are we setting those students up to fail at post secondary level because they don‘t have
those basic things they need to be successful?‖ (Erin)
―I wish there was a stronger emphasis on reading and writing and less concern about
employability skills because if you can read and write, you can get a job. Every job
requires the ability to read and write. [Another] beef with the educational system is their
placing or moving children to a higher grade level with their peer group rather than with
their academic merit…this happens even in primary and the foundation there is
important as you must have the basics before you can learn more.‖ (Karl)
―Sometimes co-op jobs are in the service sector like pumping gas or scrubbing floors
and these are not acceptable venues for students to gain experience unless it is the
identified interest or part of the learning plan. [Work] has to be relevant but that has not
been given priority in the past.‖ (Sheila)
―I think that the education system needs a whole good overhaul.‖ (Jill)
Many of the service providers concluded that young people are leaving high school, either with or
without a diploma, and not being prepared for the next step on their pathway and/or not knowing what
they wish to do.
―Kids today don‘t know what they want to do.‖ (Cora)
―A lot of students right now don‘t even know what they want to do.‖ (Simon)
―Students don‘t know most of the time when they leave high school, what it is they want
to do. Not just what they want to do, what they want to continue learning. They, they
don‘t even have a good idea of who they are themselves.‖ (Erin)
Community and societal level barriers were also discussed. Among the more interesting ideas
was a critique of the way in which adults are in power positions over young people and do not give
them enough space to ―let us know what THEY know‖. The school system has failed too many young
people and the programmatic system is flawed for Aboriginal youth such that ―65% of Native people live
off reserve, and about 80% of resources allocated to Natives go to reserves”. Rural areas were seen to
be further challenged by transportation and a lack of access to services. A lack of learning or literacy
culture on PEI was mentioned as an influence on young people that may lead them to also strive for
less and/or settle for lower aspirations. The general lack of employment opportunities for young people
was noted by many. And, there are limited programs even for those who know about and access them.
―All three were single moms and none of them had a car, so, and we live in Summerside
– for somebody who lives in the country, that would be magnified by 10 or whatever,
make it more difficult. But even then, if you don‘t have a car and you want your son to be
40
into hockey, I mean, even if you do live in the city . . . don‘t feel confident enough to go
up to another parent and ask if they can give your son a ride to hockey.‖ (Martin)
"Its kind of a hit and miss. Sometimes they're getting lost in the [education] system and
the system doesn't want them around anymore. Sometimes the system wants to work
with them." (Leslie)
Many also mentioned barriers that occur at the individual level. For example, some young people
―don‘t want to ask for help‖ and there are stigmas and stereotypes that many marginalized young
people face in making it through school and finding work (e.g., trades not considered valuable,
stigmatized for seeking help, made fun of for being poor).
―I don‘t know that there are actual ways for [young] people to get the help they need . . .
if someone is outside of school – you know there are people who have their grade 12
and they don‘t necessarily have the skills that they need. Where do they go? What do
they do? Do they even understand why they don‘t have the skills they need? We work
with a lot of people who just think they‘re stupid so that puts up a big barrier right there
for them even just trying to access any support that might be out there. Sometimes the
supports that are out there are hard to access. I think it‘s tough for people to maneuver
all that, to understand what it is, to make the first step‖ (Sylvia)
"Some of them have kind of gotten lost along the way" (Leslie)
Administrators noted the daunting challenges of applying for funding for services and programs
that could enhance youth pathways. Service providers also spoke about the “yo-yo” programs that are
short-term, hit and miss, and retractable as an ongoing barrier. Others spoke about the inability of
programs to make lasting impressions after young people have entered a spiral of decline. This
perspective reiterates that found in the literature such that there are programs available, but access,
support, and success can be fleeting for some young people.
―Last August we had a Youth Outreach Worker for this area, funding was provided
through Services Canada, and it was a great resource for our youth. But the funding got
cut last year so now, it‘s like, where do they go and who do they reach out to.‖ (Yvette)
―The youth outreach isn‘t out there anymore and that‘s unfortunate, very. . . . because
we could send our students there, the youth ones, and they could be in our classroom
within a week and it was taking anywhere from 4-6 [using other services].‖ (Brenda)
―You can‘t change 10 years of learning in 10 weeks – if students begin to see school as
a positive force in their lives – that is success – [we need to] give each student the
confidence to know that they can do it.‖ (Steven)
One of the barriers outlined by most of the service providers was the need for general system
changes for collaboration and connection across sectors (schools, community, and employment) to fill
41
the gaps that they see arising. "if we're all working for the same reason for this kid, we all need to be,
have all the same information" (Cherise). Some of these gaps in programs were discussed in the
interviews with service providers and will be further detailed in the section on gaps and connections.
Table 13 presents the initial listing of the programs and services that ―they would like to see for youth
on PEI‖. They are presented as both in-school and out-of school initiatives and system upgrades that
would be considered to be valuable. They also discussed the necessity for process to be put in place
to build the trust and communication necessary to make such system changes. Table 8 summarizes
the range of barriers mentioned by service providers (both front-line and administrators). It is worth
noting the similarities (in red) with the youth responses.
Table 8: Barriers from service provider interviews
Self and Friends
Low levels of youth
literacy (even high school
graduates)
Family
Parents own
negative
experiences with
schools
Unable to see the future
School
Credit for work outside of
school
Limited place in bridge
programs for youth
No support for
differentiated learning
Haven‟t had or taken
opportunity to explore world
of work
Family dissolution
Youth have unrealistic
Expectations and are
looking for the “easy way”
Friends and negative
peer pressures
“Bad attitude” of youth –
want all to come easily to
them and do not know
where/how to look for the
help that is there for them
Lack of money
(poverty)
Lack of
encouragement
& support (either do
too little or too much
for kids)
Does not value
education
Lack of confidenceor fear
of going back to school
Parents struggle
with literacy
Mental health, addictions,
or disability challenges
Youth leaving home
to escape
Youth taking care of
sibling etc. (adult
status)
Work
Poor pedagogy- not
engaging or challenging
Lack of emphasis on
literacy and basic skills
(reading, writing) too much
technology in its place
Does not prepare youth for
higher education
Does not prepare youth for
work
Transition to high school
slippage point
Not flexible or open if
students need another
chance
Need support for students
“in the middle”
academically
School rules do not make
sense to students
Class sizes too large
42
Difficult for young people to
get experience – not enough
programs to provide
experience while in school
Workplace changing –more
emphasis on technology
Pre-employment screening
tests
Lack of access to many
programs in rural areas
(education and employment)
Inability to fill out job
applications or program
forms
Services scattered – hard to
find, especially if youth don‟t
know which service they
actually need
No one-stop for youth
Streaming and stigma of
streams not good for
students
Need youth workers in
schools
Public education not
keeping pace with social
change (not able to
mediate problems for
youth from poverty)
No guidance counseling or
support
Lack of application to
world (co-op programs
needed)
Poor grades never
remediated
Facilitators
―I‘m not giving up this time.‖ (Carmen)
―Now I guess it‘s just me, helping myself.‖ (Tyler)
Similar to the barriers that were encountered by young people, the facilitators discussed were
experienced across contexts. In addition to self/friends, family, school, and work contexts, these youth
encountered community level supports and programs. It is noteworthy that many of the barriers
experienced at these differing levels also operate as facilitators for other young people. For instance,
friends were seen by many of these young people as one of the most important sources of support
while for others they were the negative influence that lead them “astray”, or they could operate in both
ways in the lives of a single young person.
Similarly, some teachers for some young people (in high school or college) provided the needed
help and support while pushing to raise expectations. Teachers were described as “always taking time
to help”, or were ―the greatest teacher I could possibly have” or “spectacular teachers‖.
A list of
facilitators identified by youth participants is reported in Table 9. On the other hand, as reported in the
barriers section, teachers and guidance counselors were also perceived to be problematic, not noticing
when they were struggling, lowering their expectations, or pushing them out the door of school. In
43
other cases, some teachers were “nice” but did not “push hard enough‖ to be sure that the course
material was understood. It is worth noting that nearly all of these young people reported never having
seen or spoken with a guidance counselor at school and felt that they needed to be more visible and
available. They felt that they could form a very important support system during their high school years.
―The smartest thing I could have ever went and done was go down to Career
Development Services. She just opened my world to everything.‖ (Inez)
―There is programs out there, but if you don‘t know about them, or if you don‘t know
somebody that went to it or done it, for me I found it was kind of difficult ‗cause like for a
while I needed to do something, and I wanted to do something but I didn‘t know what
and I didn‘t know what was out there and I didn‘t know there was funding and I didn‘t
know I‘d qualify and things like that. But if people do want help there is lots of programs
to help you, you just gotta look for it and you gotta go out and you gotta talk to
somebody that even knows about it‖ (Inez)
The most frequently discussed supports were the programs and services that youth had
encountered. Table 9 outlines these services and illustrates the ecological range of facilitators that
these young people experienced on PEI.
Table 9: Facilitators from Youth interviews
Self and
Friends
Friends who
helped
“Sticking
with things”
tenacious
Family
Encouraging
parents
Siblings as
guides and
modelsopened doors
Extended
family
School
Work
GED program
through Holland
College
Community
Career Bridges program
Career Development
Services
College teachers
in GED program
Job shadowing (initiated
by community program)
High School and
Junior High School
Teachers
High school
guidance
counselors were
too few but those
who were there
helped with
personal issues
Resume help (initiated
by community program)
Showed them what they
DID NOT want to end up
doing - acted as push
factor back into school
Being Aboriginal
Employment counselors
on reserve
Alternative
education program
One-on-one
teacher time
Alberton Rural Community
Learning Programs:
Connecting Youth to the
Community; Parenting
Boys & Girls Club Survival
Centre
Youth workers in community
& corrections programs
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
Adventure Group- Life skills.
ROPES
Empowering Aboriginal
Youth
Career Development
Services – referral to
programs
LEAP -Learn, Explore,
Achieve, Prepare (John
44
Howard Society)
LIFE – Leadership in
Freedom Enhancement
Program (MCPEI)
Program leaders /
facilitators
Service providers suggested a further range of programs and strategies that either are or could be
facilitating youth transitions. The Face Sheets completed by each service provider included a list of up
to four programs offered by their organization. This information was expanded on during the interview.
Additionally, service providers discussed programs and strategies they were aware of that were offered
by other organizations. The information provided through the Face Sheets and interviews was
organized into visual maps of programs identified by service providers (See Appendix N). Provided
below are the service providers‟ anecdotal remarks on their perceptions as to whether or not these
programs were effective. A total of 51 programs were identified on the Face Sheets and most (n=43)
anecdotal comments illustrate a positive or effective assessment of the programs. The three main
positive themes were relevance, student centered approaches, and supportive environments (see
Table 10 and Table 11).
Table 10: Themes relating to positive aspects of literacy and education programs
Relevance
Students need opportunity to
connect learning to real life and
begin to understand how
decisions affect future pathways
Social skills and parenting
program component
Supports in place to help new
students make informed
decisions for future.
Gives life skills with professional
focus to move on to further
education.
Teaches basic literacy and
reading comprehension and
training
Student Centred
Supportive Environment
Planning is intentional because it
starts early. Students participate in
specific workshops & learning
activities in preparation of community
work placements.
Based on student interest & abilities
One on one tutoring and learning
environment
Focused on areas children most
need improvement on
Focuses on returning to school.
Deals with barriers and issues youth
dealt with before they quit school
Structure / quiet atmosphere
assists children in ability to
focus. Frees up time at
home in the evenings
Children learn how to utilize
library services, gain
confidence reading aloud,
learn what they like to read,
retain what they have read
through a quiet environment,
comprehend what they have
read
Much needed support to
students and teachers
Daily one-on-one support with
trained teacher
Small class size; youth
worker (full time) to support
teacher
It‟s peers helping peers.
Creates a safe, nurturing
45
Improves an individual‟s opportunity
to gain education in best method for
learning
environment conducive to
learning
There are a number of students who,
for whatever reason, are not
successful at high school and
succeed at university – this gives
them a chance.
We address the needs of learners
nd
who need 2 chance.
Explains topics for students to focus
on as they read
Really builds a sense of
mentorship between
students and staff.
Some parents are unable to
assist their children due to
their own challenges in
literacy, this allows the
children to complete their
work and have it reviewed
before going home
Students learn all the sounds and
are able to transfer these skills while
reading
Helps students with learning
disabilities and accessibility issues
Table 11: Themes relating to positive aspects of work place programs
Relevance
Student Centred
Supportive Environment
Some youth struggle with finding
employment. OJT is used a lot
to explore options and interests
Hours, programs, materials are
flexible and based on individual
needs
Young moms are mostly
stay-at-home and need
support to move forward.
This program exposes youth to
programs that are skill
enhancing.
Has allowed youth the opportunity to
find a career path and employment
Up front review – backed by
company
Gave individuals an opportunity to
explore this career.
“City” involvement
Supports in place to help new
students make informed decisions
for future.
Company backing
Provides youth / community
members with opportunities that
they wouldn‟t otherwise have
access to.
Gives life skills with professional
focus
Student engagement is usually
good; leads to part time jobs
throughout year / summer
employment; gain credits in
school; gives students
understanding of their strengths
as to work
Self esteem
As long as people access the
program, they see success
Culturally specific so youth can
internalize lessons
46
Cooperation between
businesses
One of the barriers discussed by most of the service providers was changes required to begin to
collaborate and connect across sectors (schools, community, and employment) and the need to build
the trust and communication necessary to make such system changes. In the absence of these
collaborations, service providers suggested real strength in their willingness and ability for each sector
to ―go above and beyond‖ the existing policies and programs. These extra efforts are facilitators that
connect youth to the community to feel a sense of belonging and confidence. Examples were given in
which adults were actively advocating or providing services for young people.
―I have one staff person, she coordinates all the youth programs that I do, and of course
she knows the youth around here. And, and she‘s done an awesome job with them
even whenever she‘s not employed, they‘re still contacting her and she‘s trying to help
them, send them in the right direction, and all this kind of stuff. Not getting paid one red
roaring cent for it but it‘s, she‘s got the passion there.‖ (Yvette)
―If I encourage a kid to get into hockey, I have to find funding for that . . . I‘ve had several
kids I‘ve gotten money from different programs to buy them [other equipment] . . . If I can
see something that they have a genuine interest in it, it‘s something that they‘re getting
caught up in, they like it, and their mom or their dad or parents can‘t afford [equipment]
for them, or whatever, I‘ve done that, I don‘t know how many times‖ (Martin)
―If there‘s something that they need, we‘ll try to find it for them.‖ (Cherise)
Other facilitators discussed by the service providers included the provision of effective,
connected, timely, and needed services and programs delivered by caring and committed staff. Many
service providers spoke about the need to address all of the life contexts of youth including corrections,
youth welfare, mental health and addictions, education, social, and family life. These services may
implicitly or explicitly break down some of the stereotypes, provide needed opportunities and skills that
are targeted, build youth confidence in their futures, and provide mentoring and role models.
―People who are working in the trades . . . they‘ve been working in the trade for a long
time or, you know, and are very good at what they do, they have the technical skills, but
then they may not have the reading skills to pass the certification exam, or even the test
taking skills. . . . we give them an opportunity to work, in class, with someone, to work
on their reading skills, to work on their math skills and to bring those skills up so that
they can take that barrier away.‖ (Sylvia)
―The key to the success of the programs we deliver is the staff. Because they have a
passion for the youth and they go the extra mile to make sure that youth get the supports
that they need and heads them in the right direction.‖ (Yvette)
Table 12 is a list of facilitators arising from the service providers interviews.The red text illustrates
similarities with the youth participants` facilitators.
47
Table 12: Facilitators from service provider interviews
Self and Friends
Having an adult
advocate in life
Youth confidence in
themselves (and
anything that will
help to build it)
Supportive friends
Family
Access to money,
social networks or
support from
parents
Parent buy-in for
programs and
supports
School
Climate of acceptance and
inclusion in schools
Visits to schools from those in
other sectors (post-secondary,
work, community, etc.)
Policies and programs around
supporting disengaged youth
through transition
Youth workers or MAST – Multi
Agency Support Teams in
schools
Having a reason to go to school
or return to school
Good assessment services and
skills in schools (secondary and
post-secondary)
Opportunity to participate in
extracurricular activities
Reading programs or games that
enhance literacy
Co-op education and any
chance to know about and
experience the world of work
Scholarships and bursaries for
post-secondary and attached to
program completion (from high
schools and from postsecondary system)
Good teachers
Programs that focus on specific
skills/individual needs and
alternate schools or trajectories
GED program through Holland
College
48
Work
Programs that provide
structure and build
confidence
Employers who
encourage continuing
education
Supportive employers
Harmony Training
Centre youth program
Offering evening shifts
for students who are in
school
Evidence Bases for PEI Youth Literacy
Relatively few service providers were using evidence-based programming. Some refer to the
secondary literature to find out ―what is working and how” in other places.
Others use in-house
research processes such as client surveys. Most of the youth programs discussed by service providers
in this study have been developed in-house to meet the specific needs of the area and/or program
participants.
―We pretty much develop them ourselves. You learn as you go right? In the beginning
we concentrated a lot on the life skills programs, or life skills, and thrown in employability
skills, and we always put in the ROPES program that‘s sponsored by the Adventure
Group in Charlottetown, so they always do that. Like, I guess we‘ve been involved with
the youth programs like a good . . . a good twenty years of experience there. So you
just, you know, you know what you want to put in it and the coordinators just go in an
follow it and make changes as need be, cause every group is different.‖ (Yvette)
―We don‘t select anything unless it‘s evidence based . . . we look for some research, and
some that‘s been debated as well. We look for some practice, in terms of whether it‘s
been done, what success and what failures have been achieved as a result . . . what has
worked? Is it something that can work in PEI?‖ (Erin)
―there‘s just a form that we have them [participants] fill out at the end of it [the program]‖
(Yvette)
―Personal evaluation – at the end of every five day workshop, there‘s always an
opportunity for participants to fill out an evaluation form. . . . Our project officer will come
in near the end of the program and she‘ll sit with the participants who‘ve completed the
program and they‘ll do an evaluation piece‖ (Leslie)
Formal evaluation is conducted for programs that are within government (e.g., the Department of
Education) but most evaluations are conducted by the service providers themselves. Some programs
use evaluation forms or surveys at the end of a program to determine future programming
directions/needs. Administrators indicated that they regularly meet with program delivery staff to
discuss what is working and what needs to be adjusted; however, there is no outside, formal evaluation
process in effect for most programs.
Service providers in not-for-profit community organizations
indicate a need to provide evaluations of their programs to their funders, but that is generally in the form
of statistical reporting of access and numbers of participants. Often funding decisions are based on the
number of people using a service rather than on the demonstrated efficacy of a program.
49
Youth Pathways and Narratives
The first interview question asked of the youth interview participants was “could you please tell
me what was going on in your life when you left high school?” Whether they had graduated or left high
school early, each young person began to unravel the influences of family, teachers, friends, and
community on their high school experiences as it related to literacy, further education, or employment.
One of the most striking and surprising findings of the study is that it was difficult to predict which young
person struggled with literacy and which excelled and at which point this could occur. There were
nuances in these narratives that were not captured in the literature or in thematic analysis of the
interviews.
It was noteworthy that those young people who had left high school were not always those who
uniformly disliked school or that felt themselves illiterate. For example, Mitchell (now age 20) left school
in grade 11 to become a rock star after having read a biography of Axel Rose. He loved to learn but did
not like schooling and finds himself today still reading for pleasure and loving to read, although he feels
he could enhance his speaking and writing skills. He expressed some concerns that young people are
now speaking and writing as though they are texting and this ―can create issues‖ for youth literacy. He
has been refused admission to a community college due to a lack of background preparation for the
carpentry program in which he is interested. He has a plan to meet his goals but is frustrated by his lack
of skills and abilities to navigate the system and make them happen.
Narrative analysis captures the context, experiences, and influences of Mitchell and the other
young participants as a brief story. While main themes of barriers, facilitators, and meanings of literacy
were presented above, this section presents data from 10 of the 22 young people in a different way.
Visual narratives are presented here in order not to fracture the contexts and experiences of these
young people and to better attend to the complex cultural nests through which they are making their
transitions. The visual narratives illustrate the influences of school/academics, family/friends,
community, and self on literacy and the future. The 10 visual narratives have been selected from
among the 22 youth participants to reflect differences, similarities, and nuances in life stories while
taking gender, community, and high school experiences as points of variation. Five of the visual
narratives presented are of young women and five are of young men. In each case 2 graduated from
high school and 3 did not. It is noteworthy that the stories of the young women who have left school
early are different from each other in many ways. They are both the same and different from the young
women who have completed school and from the young men who have not.
50
The first three narratives are from Mary, Carmen, and Dawn who are three young women who left
high school before graduation. Mary was a very good student with high grades. She is now 22 years
old and considers herself to be literate and wishes to be a journalist. She comes from a rural
community with a supportive family but has had challenges with addictions and mental health over the
course of her life. Carmen was also a straight A student at school and considers herself to be literate at
27 years of age. Family issues resulted in her entering the foster care system and her school‟s
response to her pregnancy forced her to leave in grade 8. She has plans and goals to become a
precision machinist and has been waiting for two years to get into the GED program. Dawn is now 21
years of age and struggled with most of the courses at high school although she did well in
mathematics. She is not confident at present in her literacy skills but is diligently working on her GED
to become a child and youth worker. She hopes to return to her Aboriginal community and make a
difference working with high risk youth.
The visual narratives of Mary, Carmen, and Dawn are
presented in Appendix O.
The next two narratives are of two young women who graduated from high school. These women
have both similar and different experiences in school as did Mary, Carmen, and Dawn. For example,
Inez is now 25 years old and remembers that she did well in school in her final years and was well
supported by teachers and family. However, she did struggle in school in earlier years. She does
consider herself literate but has trouble with comprehending some documents and forms. She has
recently had a child and is taking time to upgrade her skills and make some life changes toward her
goals which includes making a break from some of her more problematic friends. Mona is 20 years of
age and has earned her grade 12 diploma but feels the need to upgrade her skills as she is not able to
enter the programs of her choice at college or university. She feels literate enough but knows that new
skills will be needed for the next part of the journey into post-secondary school which is intimidating at
present. Both Inez‟s and Mona‟s narratives are depicted in Appendix O.
The following narratives portray the experiences of three young men who left school early;
Mitchell, Jack, and Nate. Mitchell‟s story was brought into focus in the introduction to this section. He
left school in grade 11 to become a rock star even though he loved to learn. He is now 20 years of age
and reads for pleasure although he feels he could do better with speaking and writing skills. He
expressed some concerns that people are now speaking and writing as though they are texting and this
―can create issues‖ for young people`s literacy.
He has been refused admission to a community
college due to a lack of background in the carpentry program he is interested in. He has a plan to meet
his goals but is frustrated by his lack of skills and abilities to navigate the system and make them
happen. Jack is 27 years of age and remembers back to leaving high school after grade 11 to take
51
care of an ailing parent, the other being absent. He is the eldest of four brothers and has been the
primary care taker in his home. He is applying for admission to a program to help upgrade his skills,
obtain a grade 12 diploma, and earn hours toward unemployment insurance benefits. He lives in an
urban area but feels that PEI is a closed community and he does not know the right people to get a
good job. Nate is 26 and also left school in grade 11. He did not like the large class sizes and struggled
in many courses. He began using drugs at age 14 and developed an addiction. He currently lives in a
city in a homeless shelter but came from a large and stressful family. He does not think that young
people are much interested in literacy, but rather just having fun times. He is currently enrolled in a
GED program to upgrade his math skills for heavy machinery operations work. He is very anxious that
he move ahead with life and not go down the same road as he has in the past.
The final two narratives are of Tyler (20 years of age) and Fred (19 years of age) who detail their
experiences since receiving their high school diplomas. Tyler attended college after high school but left
during his first year because he was not sure of his career goals; he is currently “checking out” a
program in the performing arts at college. He is articulate and feels himself literate but has no patience
for reading. He has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) but feels quite confident that
he will do well in his new home on PEI with the help of supportive friends with whom he lives and hangs
out. Fred also received his high school diploma and is hoping to join the Canadian Navy to further his
education. He enjoyed elementary school but did just enough to get by in high school and had no
career guidance. As a result he is unsure of all of his options but is involved in a learning centre
program to explore them. Although money is not a real issue for Fred, he still does not wish to take the
wrong program and spend that which has been saved for his education (See Appendix O).
In summary, these ten narratives begin to demonstrate the nuance and variability of the lives and
pathways of these young people as they move toward further education, employment, and levels of
literacy. Their stories suggest the complexity with which policies, programs, and supports need to be
constructed. Differing ages and stages of struggle are obvious as are the specific spheres of life in
which supports are required. Their lives suggest the need for ongoing and flexible supports as they
move toward their goals and for service providers and educators to understand the complexity of their
lives. Sharing of these kinds of narratives across services could assist in better program and planning.
However, such gaps currently exist in the programming for these young people as outlined in the
following section.
52
Connections and Gaps in Youth Pathways
―There is programs out there, but if you don‘t know about them, or if you don‘t know
somebody that went to it or done it, for me I found it was kind of difficult cause like for a
while I needed to do something, and I wanted to do something but I didn‘t know what
and I didn‘t know what was out there and I didn‘t know there was funding and I didn‘t
know I‘d qualify and things like that. But if people do want help there is lots of programs
to help you, you just gotta look for it and you gotta go out and you gotta talk to
somebody that even knows about it.‖ (Inez)
Internet searches for programs and initiatives on PEI specific to youth literacy were undertaken by
the research manager at the outset of the project but were largely unsuccessful at first (only 6 results
were easily found; 4 national and 2 provincial). The searches did lead to websites for provincial and
national organizations such as PEI Literacy Alliance, and National Adult Literacy Database. Searches
for youth employment programs yielded more results (45 programs), but many of the programs
identified were not specific to youth. When the 45 employment programs were further examined, only
18 targeted youth and 7 of these were for “students” only. Some searches yielded only names of
programs and others referred only to organizations. This suggests that much of what is available is not
easily discovered on-line by university researchers and could be more difficult still for young people to
access if they are not in a position to follow up with phone calls and networking.
Figure 1 illustrates the PEI youth literacy programs and initiatives that were identified in this initial
search (See Appendix N). Those delivered by educational institutions were from secondary and postsecondary institutions. Industry refers to initiatives that are carried out in the workplace or presented by
organizations in the for-profit arena (e.g., construction, manufacturing). Workplace employment
programs were not limited to youth but were listed as most include LES upgrading or GED preparation.
Community programs were those offered through private and non-governmental organizations. The
government initiatives identified are mostly umbrella programs which provide funding for community
and industry activities. These funding linkages are demonstrated on the map. Other linkages are
depicted as defined by collaboration.
For example, the PEI Department of Education works with
industry partners to deliver the Apprenticeship Program and the Community Access Program (CAP)
Youth Initiative is funded through the Youth Employment Strategy and overseen by HRSDC.
Figure 2 illustrates the response of the service provider participants in viewing the initial map.
They provided information on missing programs as well as programs that are no longer active. The
difference between the two maps is significant, further indicating that programs and organizations are
53
not always easy to find. Therefore, Figure 3 provides a comparison of the initial search results with the
programmatic knowledge provided by the service providers. The yellow text boxes are those that were
common in cases, the green text boxes are those mentioned by the service providers only, and the
dotted red lines are the original search results. Particularly noteworthy is the wealth of knowledge that
these service providers have about supports available in public education, community, and industry.
This suggests the usefulness of ongoing cross-sector conversations, collaborations, and information
sharing to support youth literacy. It is also clear from Figure 3 that PEI is engaged in numerous
initiatives relating to youth pathways to literacy, education, and employment. The question relating to
access, use, and efficacy of each program or initiative is one for ongoing research. (See Appendix N for
Figures 2 and 3).
Indeed, Figure 4 illustrates that the 22 young people interviewed in this study were aware of only
a handful of programs, most of which were community based (See Appendix N). This is not entirely
surprising given the small sample size and mean age (21.6 years) of young people in this exploratory
study. In Figure 4, the dark blue text boxes show the programs and initiatives that were identified by
youth only (n=11). The yellow text boxes show those identified by both youth and service providers
(n=17) and the dotted green lines illustrate those identified by service providers only (n=69). The
numbers beg the question as to how many other young people are aware of and/or can access the
range of programs and initiatives designed for them. It is important to reiterate that qualitative research
is dedicated to rich descriptions of social phenomenon and processes and not to statistical
generalizability. Different groups of young people or service providers could be privy to different sets of
programs. However these figures do illustrate a disconnection between what is available and what is
accessed by young people who have left high school and are seeking further literacy, education, or
employment. Many of the young people interviewed simply did not know what programs (other than the
GED which is widely advertised) are available to them. Indeed, many of them did not even know where
to begin looking.
Service providers also indicated that they have limited awareness of programs
outside their own scope or geographical area.
―Last August we had a Youth Outreach Worker for this area, funding was provided
through Services Canada, and it was a great resource for our youth. But the funding got
cut last year so now, its like, where do they go and who do they reach out to?‖ (Yvette)
―The youth outreach isn‘t out there any more and that‘s unfortunate, very. . . . Because
we could send our students there, the youth ones, and they could be in our classroom
within a week and it was taking anywhere from 4-6 [using other services].‖ (Brenda)
One program that was particularly widely acknowledged by both youth and service providers was
the GED. This program is offered through a number of service providers, making it accessible to a
54
larger portion of the population. The Holland College GED program was well known. However, even
though most youth participants had some knowledge of this program, there was still confusion as to
how it actually works, especially in terms of cost and time. Additionally, although they are two different
programs,
many participants
refer
to
Holland
College‟s
GED
and
“upgrading”
programs
interchangeably. Given the relative knowledge of the program, perhaps the GED provides a good
linkage point to corollary literacy and employment services for the young people who are no longer in
public education or work. It is also important to note that all of the community/government programs
discussed by both service providers and youth do not have a fee associated with them. Indeed,
participants are, in some cases, paid to attend the program which breaks down the persistent barrier of
economic hardship for many of these young people.
Many of the initiatives available to youth on their pathways to employment are passive. They
include career centres, internet job banks, and printed career information (The Employment Journey,
PEI Job Futures). All of these require the participant to initiate contact and find a way through the
procedures; something that can be done only if aware of the existence and able to access and make
use of such resources. For example, the Government of PEI has a job registry on its website, for
temporary employment. It is relatively easy to find as there is a link called “Job Opportunities” on the
home page. But it still involves first finding the government website and it is unclear from the literature
how the availability of resources such as this are made known, or how well used they are. Indeed, if
literacy is a barrier to entry and retention of employment for youth, the access point and programs are
required to work at their current levels of literacy. Some of the more active programs actually put
young people into the workforce if only for a limited time. These programs are often funded by various
federal government initiatives and delivered through industry or community organizations. Known
colloquially as “make work” projects, these short term opportunities are designed to provide job skills
and experience to youth.
However, none of the searches or interviews conducted indicated the
availability of any empirical information about what happens to participants at the end of the program.
Only one service provider discussed following up with participants after 3 and 6 months. As can be
seen in Figure 4, the programs accessed by youth are those that are well established rather than the
temporary, short-term initiatives.
Another challenge in mapping youth pathways is the yo-yo effect of programming.
programs are short term, or are dependent on funding from various government agencies.
Many
For
example, the Trade Essentials program was identified by some service providers as an active program,
while others thought it was no longer in operation. The program actually ended in March 2010 but not
all service providers were aware of this. Funding cuts can leave a service provider unable to continue
55
established programs; and youth with fewer options. In some cases, loss of a program resulted in
delays in processing youth applications into another program.
On the other hand, there was also evidence of collaboration across programs and many service
providers wanted to see this expanded upon. One example of this is the Rite of Passage Experience
(R.O.P.E.S.) course. The course is owned and operated by the Adventure Group but other service
providers incorporate it into their programs by paying a fee to the Adventure Group for the use of the
facility. Additionally, service providers spoke of working with others to offer a wider range of services
(for example, inviting speakers or facilitators from other agencies such as PEI Literacy Alliance, the
John Howard Society, Addictions Services, Workplace Learning, Holland College, and so forth). This
type of collaboration was more common within the not-for-profit community organizations. Many felt that
their ability to form these alliances is dependent on their time and financial resources.
Despite evidence of some inter-agency collaboration, some service providers still identify a lack
of programmatic cooperation as a barrier when working with youth in risk situations. This is particularly
an issue with government agencies which have stringent privacy and confidentiality guidelines.
Frustration was discussed by some service providers when they become aware that a young person
they are working with is also receiving services from another agency, but cannot obtain any information
about what those services are so as better to meet their needs. This can lead to both a duplication of
services, and gaps in services. Many feel that policies need to be altered to allow more information
sharing in order to positively and efficiently provide young people with the help they need.
Service providers also identified some gaps in their own services. Table 13 identifies program
“wish lists” which are services or initiatives that service providers would like to provide to young people.
Interestingly, many of these programs are already offered by other service providers in PEI. Obviously
not all service providers have this information or a knowledge sharing mechanism and many continue
to wish for what is already available. This echoes the already demonstrated need for a comprehensive
database of programs, willingness for inter-agency collaboration, and a knowledge sharing mechanism
for youth literacy on PEI. As service providers are mainly taken up with the offering and administration
of their own programs, the coordination of knowledge and services will be best offered centrally.
56
Table 13: Programs that service providers would like to offer
Community and Workplace













Book club for youth
Youth Resource Centre
Parent/ child conflict
Single parent (skills)
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition
ESL
Basic Literacy
Essential Skills
Computer literacy in workplace
Writing programs in workplace
Math programs in workplace
Communication programs in workplace
More culturally specific programs
Education












Expansion of Holland College Transition Program to university
Programs for alternative learning styles
More collaboration / partnership between post-secondary and public education
Literacy program for adults that is based on an “itinerant teaching” model
Experiential program for at-risk youth
Parenting programs
More staff involvement with students
More programs to implement mentoring with staff
English entrance test for all students coming to UPEI
Life Skills
Work experience - on the job and co-op
Literacy training (for teachers and students)

Discussion and Directions
If youth literacy is nothing less than the cultural tool kit needed to move successfully toward
adulthood, then we must continue to examine how many of PEI‟s young people are managing this,
what stands in their way, and how we can further assist them. These questions are especially crucial
for young people currently in risk situations and between formal education and employment. Moreover,
these questions will remain moving targets given the pace of change in modern youth pathways to
adulthood. The literature continues to demonstrate how the same young people continue to struggle.
They run up against the same socioeconomic, educational, familial, and community factors, regardless
57
of whether we are examining early school leaving, disengagement, or literacy. These processes are
connected in youth pathways to literacy. These young people continue to navigate their pathways as
best they can but some require a good deal of assistance. In addition, it is not just young people who
are currently in risk situations that must be attended to. We know that risk is a flexible and a moving
target.
Even high school graduation or post-secondary enrolment does not end youth‟s literacy
challenges as currently understood and defined. This exploratory study shows that PEI requires a well
coordinated and collaborative strategy to address youth literacy. The Complex Cultural Nesting
approach suggests a strength-based, ecological, broad, and nuanced approach that matches the
emerging definitions of youth literacy. This approach could be enacted to guide future research and
collaborative practice which engages young people, educators, parents, service providers, and
government.
For instance, the interview findings of this report show that the PEI participants provided more
barriers and facilitators than were otherwise available in the literature. Their responses animate the
literature in important ways and provide a window into the current PEI context. Comparing the barriers
enumerated by young people and service providers resulted in the conclusion that they exist across all
levels from individual to societal and therefore are best be addressed holistically and ecologically
(across the spheres that influence young lives). Indeed, a complex spiral can be discerned for some
young people who are barred access and/or success in either education or employment. Without
education, literacy falters and affects employment and has long term consequences. Even successful
high school education does not guarantee full literacy or meeting of life goals. The transitional
narratives of the young participants further animate the complex ways in which different young people
can be derailed from their successful pathways by different barriers. It can be difficult to predict how
these pathways will unfold. But, educators and service providers should be aware of the complexity and
intricacy of the negotiations that these young people are making and the struggles they are up against.
The barriers remain numerous despite the useful programs and initiatives that exist.
The program scan and mapping showed a disconnection between the web of programs on PEI
that are easily found via internet searches and those that are known to be available to young people.
The scan, mapping, and interviews together show the wealth of initiatives and programs in place but a
lack of coordinated or collaborative efforts to share this knowledge. The GED programs are well known
and established and could act as a good point of entry into further knowledge about the web of youth
literacy programs. The key element of these programs is that they be easily known about, accessed,
and offered at minimal cost. Cost-benefit analyses and evaluation of program efficacy will be an
58
important next step in moving toward a more integrated provincial response. In addition, the following
research directions are offered.

What are the educational practices on PEI that entrench poor literacy skills for PEI youth;
especially for those in marginal positions such as low socio-economic status? A scan and
selected program evaluation is required.

Which supports and programs are most effective at addressing school, family, and community
literacy to assist young people?

What are the longer term effects of struggles with youth literacy on PEI at the same moment in
which the need for more global knowledge in education and employment is pressing? How are
all of PEI youth managing these new trends in youth transition? Does it lead to disengagement
in later education and employment?
In conclusion, this exploratory study shows that the empirical study of youth literacy is relatively
new. This is due to the fact that energies are more often placed in early childhood and/or adult literacy
initiatives. While it is crucial to maintain a focus on early childhood and elementary school education,
we cannot overlook the fact that many young people have had less than optimal educational
experiences and therefore did not always benefit from what public education has to offer. The Council
of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training‟s Progress Report on Literacy (2010, p.5) also
addresses the need to target literacy initiatives at all stages of the life course with “increased
awareness of the socio-economic benefits of improving literacy and essential skills”. They suggest the
targeting of pre-service teacher training, curriculum development and assessment, tracking of literacy
for diverse groups of students, and engaging workplaces in further literacy program creation. However,
young people who have left school prior to graduation and/or may not be employed become invisible in
policy, practice, and research. A holistic youth literacy agenda per se is not yet appearing in provincial
policy frameworks. When it does appear, it is seen as an issue for “schools only” rather than through an
understanding of the complex cultural nests of young people and their intersecting, complex,
contemporary lives.
Malcolmson (2001) suggests that understanding youth pathways to literacy should begin in
practice, then to evidence, and then to policy. However, the findings of this study suggest the
inseparability of practice, evidence, and policy. Programs and practice need to be grounded in evidence
and policy needs to be set in response to this emerging field of youth literacy.
Indeed, a cross-sector
dialogue and knowledge sharing mobilization strategy is required on PEI. At issue is how to best
continue to research and practice youth literacy both conceptually and methodologically and how to
properly measure literacy for youth if it is related to complex skills sets in multiple contexts – are our
measures valid when they even exist? This study has identified conceptual, evidence-base, and
59
programmatic gaps in understanding and facilitating youth pathways to literacy and programs that exist
appear as a patchwork across levels and sectors. Similar to Lees (2006), the PEI Literacy Alliance
(2010), and Bell and O‟Reilly (2008) it calls for empirical evidence on the efficacy of the programs that
make up the current patchwork. This study demonstrates the dearth of evaluation or evidence-bases
being built up around these youth programs and suggests the following as points of departure in
ongoing evidence-based programming.

Youth literacy is emerging as an ecological concept. What are the implications for the ways in
which we measure, define, and build programs for youth literacy?

There is a need to continue to map the range of youth literacy programs across sectors to share
that information and attend to potentials for linkages and integrations. There is a need to
continue to attend to program scope, longevity funding, gaps, and duplications.

Programs and services must be rigorously assessed to provide ongoing evidence-bases for
practice. This knowledge need to be shared with all literacy stakeholders.

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65
Appendices to Final Report

66

Appendix A: List of Literature Reviewed
67
Listing of Literature Reviewed for Youth Pathways to Employment, Education, and
Literacy on Prince Edward Island
Published, academic (peer reviewed) articles
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adequacy and accountability. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
68
Bell, D., & O‟Reilly, E. (2008). Making bridges visible: An inventory of innovative, effective or
promising Canadian school-to-work transition practices, programs and policies. Ottawa:
The Work and Learning Knowledge Centre.
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youth labour market. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN). (2006). Canada‘s young drop-outs – What needs
to be done (Policy Brief). Ottawa: CPRN.
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http://camet-camef.ca/default.asp?mn=1.81.10.31
de Broucker, P. (2005). Without a paddle: What to do about Canada‘s young drop-outs. Ottawa:
Canadian Policy Research Networks.
Krahn, H., & Hudson, J. (2006). Pathways of Alberta youth through the post-secondary system
into the labour market, 1996-2003. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
McCrea Silva, M., & Phillips, S. M. (2007). Trading up – high school and beyond: Five
illustrative Canadian case studies. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
Myers, K., & de Broucker, P. (2006). Too many left behind: Canada‘s adult education and
training system. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
Orders, S., & Duquette, C. (2010). Enhancing access to post-secondary education in Canada:
An exploration of early intervention initiatives in selected countries. Ottawa: Canadian
Policy Research Networks.
Saunders, R. (2005). Left behind: Low-paid workers in Canada (Presentation to CPRN Board of
Directors). Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
Saunders, R. (2006). Risk and opportunity: Creating options for vulnerable workers. Ottawa:
Saunders, R. (2008). Pathways for youth to the labour market: A synthesis report. Ottawa:
Taylor, A. (2007). Pathways for youth to the labour market: An overview of high school
initiatives. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.
69
Reports (government, NGO, community agency, university/college)
Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC). (2003). Integrating essential
employability skills in community-based trade training programs at Holland College:
Case and practical. In Essential employability skills: 7case studies.
Bailey, B.A., & Ghiz, J.L. (2007). PEI health sector council grade 12 student exit strategy survey
2007. Charlottetown: PEI Health Sector Council.
Berringer, R., Penner, A., & Sutton, D. (2007). Admissions review: Year three (A joint project of
Adult and Community Education and Holland College Admissions). Charlottetown, PE:
Holland College.
Campbell, A. (2002). Case study – Diversified Metal Engineering Ltd. Ottawa: The Conference
Board of Canada.
Campbell, C., & Ungar, M. (2008). The decade after high school: Professional's guide. Toronto:
Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling.
Campbell, C., Ungar, M., & Dutton, P. (2008). The decade after high school – A parent‘s guide.
Toronto: Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counseling.
Canadian Council on Learning (CCL). (2010). Youth literacy skills. 2010 composite learning
index: Indicator fact sheets.
Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation. Pathways to opportunity: 2002 annual report.
Canadian Rural Partnership (CRP). (2007). Youth speaks ... P.E.I. listens! Rural dialogue
summary report. Government of Canada.
Chaulk, P., McQuaid, S. & Smith, N. (2002). An evaluation of the employment pathways
program (Final report prepared for Southern Kings and Eastern Kings Health Regions by
Atlantic Evaluation Group). Charlottetown, PE: Author.
Chaulk, P., McQuaid, S. & Smith, N. (2005). An evaluation of the employment pathways
program August 2005 (Prepared for Kings Health Regions by Atlantic Evaluation Group).
Cheung, S. (2007). Education decisions of Canadian youth. Toronto: Higher Education Quality
Council of Ontario
70
Child Welfare League of Canada (CWLC). (2007). The welfare of Canadian children: It‘s our
business: A collection of resource papers for a healthy future for Canadian children and
families. Ottawa: CWLC.
Clark, W. (2007). Delayed transitions of young adults. Statistics Canada: Canadian Social
Trends, 84.
Cobb, M. & Jeffrey, J. (n.d.). ―Creating a diverse workforce‖ Employer survey report.
Charlottetown: PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada.
Coe, C. (2008). Senior high school model discussion paper. Charlottetown: PEI Department of
Education.
Cosgrove, J. (Ed.). (2010). Pathways to success: How knowledge and skills at age 15 shape
future lives in Canada. Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development
(OECD).
DeMone, M. (2008). PEI health sector council grade 12 exit strategy survey 2008 (Summary
report). Charlottetown: PEI Health Sector Council.
Dubois, J. (2007). Outcomes for alternate pathways. Ottawa: Human Resources and Skills
Development Canada.
Dunleavy, J. (2007). Public education in Canada: Facts, trends and attitudes. Toronto:
Canadian Education Association.
Finnie, R., & Mueller, R. E. (2007). High school student characteristics and access to postsecondary education in Canada: Evidence from the YITS (Working Paper).
Finnie, R., & Mueller, R.E. (2007). The backgrounds of Canadian youth and access to postsecondary education: New evidence from the Youth in Transition Survey.
Flanagan, K. (2009). Poverty reduction policies and programs in Prince Edward Island. Kanata,
ON: Canadian Council on Social Development.
Ford-Doyle, K. (2008). Studying better for the future: Providing an in-depth focus on study skills
as they relate to learning styles. Charlottetown: Holland College.
Gagnon, N. (2005). Case study - Cavendish Farms learning centre: Rising to the challenge of
meeting employees‘ unique needs. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada.
Government of Prince Edward Island (PEI). (2010a). Proceedings of the Minister‘s Summit on
Learning.
71
Government of Prince Edward Island (PEI). (2010b). Report on the 2010 Rural Youth
Conference.
Hango, D., & de Broucker, P. (2007). Education-to-labour market pathways of Canadian youth:
Findings from the Youth in Transition Survey. Ottawa: Industry Canada.
Hayes, E. (1999). Youth in adult literacy education programs. In Review of adult learning and
literacy, Volume 1. Boston, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and
Literacy (NCSALL).
Jenish, D. (n.d.). The Cavendish way: How one company‘s learning program is helping change
the way it does business. Downloaded May 20, 2010 from
http://abclifeliteracy.ca/en/cavendish-way
Kitagawa, K. (2005). Case study - Building essential skills in the workplace; empowering
employee–learners with essential skills at Durabelt Inc. Ottawa: The Conference Board
of Canada
Knighton, T., Brochu, P., & Gluszynski, T. (2010). Measuring Up: Canadian results of the OECD
PISA study: The performance of Canada‘s youth in reading, mathematics and science –
2009 first results for Canadians aged 15. Ottawa: Industry Canada.
Knighton, T., & Bussière, P. (2006). Educational outcomes at age 19 associated with reading
ability at age 15. Ottawa: Minister of Industry.
Kurial, R. (2005). Excellence in education: A challenge for Prince Edward Island (Final report of
the task force on student achievement.).
Larter, A. (2006). Putting a price tag on learning: The financial and social costs to adult learners
in PEI. Charlottetown: Literacy Research Network.
Lees, J. B. (2006). Literacy research in PEI: A Reflection - Looking back before moving ahead.
Charlottetown: Literacy Research Network.
Mayne, M. (2008). Island prosperity: A focus for change. Charlottetown: Office of the Premier of
Prince Edward Island.
McKenna, G.S. (2010). Can learning disabilities explain low literacy performance? (SP-959-0710E). Gatineau, QC: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
McKenna, G., & Penner, A. (2009). Island prosperity report: Literacy levels in adult
developmental education. Charlottetown: Holland College.
72
McKenna, G., Penner, A., & McMillan, P. (2007). A comparative study of small group classroom
literacy instruction and computer based literacy instruction on the success of adult
learners in GED preparation: A province wide intervention. Charlottetown: Holland
College.
McKenna, G., & Turner, L. (n.d.). Final report for project titled: The influence of a computerdelivered reading program on low literacy adults‘ reading skill. Charlottetown: Holland
College.
Murphy, S. (2001). Backgrounder: Youth and work. Charlottetown: Institute of Island Studies.
Retrieved Jun 19, 2010 from http://www.upei.ca/iis/art_skm_1
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2005). From education to
work: A difficult transition for young adults with low levels of education. OECD
Publishing.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2010). PISA 2009 at a
glance. OECD Publishing.
PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women. (2010). Considering the two-tier wage.
PEI Literacy Alliance. (2010). Environmental scan. Charlottetown, PE: Author.
Penner, A.J. (2011). Comparison of college performance of general education development
(GED) and high school diploma students in Nova Scotia and PEI (SP-978-01-11E).
Gatineau, QC: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
Reid, C., & Dudding, P. (2006). Building a future together: Issues and outcomes for transitionaged youth. Montreal: Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare
Resilience Research Centre. The stories of transition project.
http://www.resilienceresearch.org/resilience _9701.html
Rural Development PEI. (n.d.). Rural action plan: A rural economic development strategy for
Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown: Government of Prince Edward Island.
Shaienks, D., Eisl-Culkin, J., & Bussière, P. (2006). Follow-up on education and labour market
pathways of young Canadians aged 18 to 20 – Results from YITS cycle 3. Ottawa:
Industry Canada
Shaienks, D., & Gluszynski, T. (2007). Participation in postsecondary education: Graduates,
continuers and drop outs, Results from YITS cycle 4. Ottawa: Industry Canada.
73
Shaienks, D., Gluszynski, T., & Bayard, J. (2008). Postsecondary education – Participation and
dropping out: Differences across university, college and other types of postsecondary
institutions. Ottawa: Minister of Industry.
Shaienks, D., & Gluszynski, T. (2009). Education and labour market transitions in young
adulthood. Ottawa: Industry Canada.
Smith, N., & Fuller, S. (2009). RECLAIM project research report (A report prepared for
Community & Correctional Services PEI). Charlottetown, PE: Atlantic Evaluation Group
Inc.
Smith, N., & Fuller, S. (2009). RECLAIM environmental scan report (A report prepared for
Community & Correctional Services PEI). Charlottetown, PE: Atlantic Evaluation Group
Inc.
Statistics Canada. (2010). Interrupting high school and returning to education (Catalogue no.
81-599-X), Toronto: Canadian Education Statistics Council.
Timmons, V. (2005). An extensive look at early school leavers on Prince Edward Island.
Charlottetown: University of Prince Edward Island.
Timmons, V., Roach O‟Keefe, A., & Wagner, M. (2007). Families learning together: A family
literacy initiative at Cardigan consolidated school: A final report. Charlottetown:
University of Prince Edward Island.
Watt, D. (2002). Case study - Royal Star Foods Limited. Ottawa: The Conference Board of
Canada.
.
Willis, B.J., & Miles, D. (2010). Souris education centre: Meeting the needs of education, health
and community in Eastern Kings (Report to the Souris program and curriculum
committee).
Wong, I. (2009). Attracting immigrants to rural communities. Kingston, ON: The Monieson
Centre.
Workplace Education PEI. (2002). Get your career in gear! (Final report on career expo for
youth).
Wylie, J. (2008). Rural youth retention: Creating community connections. Kingston, ON: The
Monieson Centre.
Other grey literature (papers, presentations, news articles)
Brink, S. (2006). Literacy in PEI: Implications of findings from IALSS 2003. PPT Presentation
74
Carroll, W. (2009). Preliminary PEI labour force view. PPT Presentation. Charlottetown, PE:
UPEI.
Day, J. (2010). Book smarts: The value – and cost – of upgrading education has been
measured in a precedent-setting study on P.E.I. The Guardian 20/03/10. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Living/Education/2010-03-20/article-1284117/Booksmarts/1
Holland College. (2006). New awareness campaign encourages Islanders to get their GEDs.
Holland College Press Release Sep 26, 2006.
Holland College. (2009). First Nations youth get first-hand experience during summer program.
Holland College Press Release Aug 11, 2009.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. (2010). Government of Canada helps
promote skilled trades to Prince Edward Island youth. Press Release Mar 22, 2010.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. (2010). Government of Canada helps
Prince Edward Island youth prepare for jobs. Press Release Mar 5, 2010
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. (2005). Government of Canada funds eight
projects to help youth in Charlottetown. Press Release Jan 21, 2005.
McCarthy, E. (2010). Youth Employment programs bolstered by federal funding. The Journal
Pioneer.
Nicholson, A. (2010). GED student numbers jump 24 per cent. Transcontinental Media.
PEI Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning. (2010). Students awarded medals for
skills competition. Press Release March 12, 2010.
Penner, A. (2010). Evidence for adult developmental learning trajectories: ―Island Prosperity;
Back to Basics‖. PPT Presentation for NISOD Conference May 31, 2010.
Roy, P. (2010). Workplace learning catches on big at manufacturing company. The Employment
Journey.
The Guardian. (2010). P.E.I. workforce lagging behind demands of economy, Literacy Alliance
finds.
Wright, T. (2010). Island Party selects logo depicting elements it will take to voters. The
Guardian.
75

Appendix B: Annotated Bibliography of PEI Literature
76
Appendix B: Selected Annotated References
Academic, peer reviewed, research (1)
Academic, non peer reviewed, research and presentation (10)
Reports (government, NGO, community, university/college) (16)
Other grey literature (papers, presentations, news articles) (12)
Reference
Type/Methodology
Implications
Bailey, Betty A., & Ghiz, Jennifer L.
(2007). PEI health sector council grade 12
student exit strategy survey 2007
Report
Survey given to Grade
12 students in PEI high
schools
Berringer, Reg, Penner, Audrey and
Sutton, Donna. 2007. Admissions Review:
Year Three A Joint Project of Adult and
Community Education and Holland
College Admissions. Holland College.
Academic Presentation
3 year study
Data collected by survey
each year
Faculty and former ACE
students
on findings from IALSS
2003
Focus on plans after high school and in
particular, on interest in health careers. The
survey also looked at the influence of career
promotions on choices of students.
Conclusions: students are aware of career
promotions and discuss plans with family
and friends but more research is needed to
determine how students choose a career and
plan their education
Outcome: overall Adult and Community
Education (ACE) provided students with the
skills they needed to enter post secondary
education.
Lack of self esteem was identified as an issue
for adult students.
statistics presented are based on HRSD
definition of working age, which is 16-65, so
it is hard to know what proportion of the
numbers presented represent youth.
From 1994 to 2005 there was no significant
change in the percentage of Canadians with
low literacy levels, however the number of
people increased. It is predicted that if
Canada does not change its approach to
developing higher literacy skills, the number
of people with low literacy will increase at
the rate of about 100,000 per year.
PEI follows this national trend.
Among those aged 16-25 in PEI, about 46%
have literacy scores below level 3.
Roughly 60% of workers in PEI who are at
levels 1 and 2 are employed in five key
areas: manufacturing; trade, finance,
insurance, real estate and leasing; forestry,
fishing, mining, oil and gas; agriculture;
construction.
About 45% of workers participated in adult
training in PEI (lower than national level).
Policy sensitive targets should be directed
toward those with less than high school and
those with a mother tongue other than
English or French.
Program at Diversified Metal Engineering in
partnership with Workplace Education PEI
Employees volunteered one hour, were paid
for one
Year 1 with shop employees, focus on
Brink, Satya. 2006. Literacy in PEI:
Implications of Findings From IALSS
2003. PPT Presentation
Campbell, Alison. 2002. Case Study –
Diversified Metal Engineering Ltd.
Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada.
Report
Descriptive
Case study on a single
workplace education
program
77
Canadian Rural Partnership (CRP). 2007.
Youth Speaks ... P.E.I. Listens! Rural
Dialogue Summary Report. Government
of Canada.
Report
Report from two day
forum with youth and the
Canadian Rural
Partnership
Carroll, Wendy. 2009. Preliminary PEI
Labour Force View. PPT Presentation.
Chaulk, Paul, McQuaid, Steve, and Smith,
Nishka. 2002. An Evaluation of the
Employment Pathways Program: Final
Report Prepared for Southern Kings and
Eastern Kings Health Regions by Atlantic
Evaluation Group.
Report
Program Evaluation
Chaulk, Paul, McQuaid, Steve, and Smith,
Nishka. 2005. An Evaluation of the
Report
Follow up program
78
upgrading math and communication skills
Year 2, RED SEAL for shop employees,
office communications and problem solving
for administrative staff
Results: increased production, improved
communications and efficiency
Barriers to education identified by youth:
Lack of broad spectrum of available courses,
“Islander Bursary” does not include all
available educational institutions (such as
Academy of Learning).
Recommendations for education: partnership
with other institutions to broaden spectrum
of courses, civic education added to the
curriculum at all levels.
Barriers to employment identified by youth:
low wages, lack of employment relevant to
education, lack of incentive for graduates to
work in PEI (e.g. student loan assistance),
gap between what is available and what is
accessible (many jobs not advertised).
Youth want to be involved in communities
and government, particularly in policy and
decision making involving youth.
Key points:
increasing premium on education as the
Knowledge Economy creates demand for
better educated workers, PEI prosperity plan
focused on four sectors – bioscience, IT,
aerospace, energy – a switch from
construction, tourism, and service work;
almost half of the working population (1665) in PEI had an average prose and
numeracy literacy proficiency below level 3;
more UPEI graduates leave the province for
work than the other Maritime provinces;
graduates leave because they believe there
are not enough jobs, especially the type they
want;
43% of graduates who left would come back
for the right job.
Employment Pathways Program to help
people on social assistance get into the
workforce:
Not youth specific
Low literacy skills an issue for 20% of those
with hs diplomas
62% of participants identified lack of access
to transportation
Many participants also enrolled in literacy
upgrading , GED and Holland College
programs
Benefit to program – increased confidence
and self-esteem
Evaluation of the long term outcomes and
effectiveness of the Employment Pathways
Employment Pathways Program August
2005. Prepared for Kings Health Region by
Atlantic Evaluation Group.
evaluation
Coe, Clayton. 2008. Senior High School
Model Discussion Paper. PEI Department
of Education
Report
Discussion paper
Day, Jim. 2010. Book smarts: The value –
and cost – of upgrading education has been
measured in a precedent-setting study on
P.E.I. The Guardian 20/03/10.
News Article
DeMone, Mark (2008). PEI health sector
council grade 12 exit strategy survey 2008
(Summary report).
Report
Flanagan, Kathleen. 2009. Poverty
Reduction Policies and Programs in
Prince Edward Island. Canadian Council
on Social Development.
Academic Research,
not peer reviewed
Ford-Doyle, Karen. 2008. Studying Better
For the Future: Providing an in-depth
focus on study skills as they relate to
learning styles. Holland College.
Report
Report on workshops
with 10 adult education
students from Holland
College
79
Program
Employment barriers: low education levels,
health problems, transportation difficulties
Benefits: job experience, job skills, dealing
with stress/anxiety, increased self confidence
/ self esteem
High school model committee struck to
address recommendations from Kurial 2005
regarding student engagement
Recommendations:
explicit integration of LA (literacy) and
Mathematics (numeracy) into the curriculum;
expansion of community-based learning
opportunities as well as the use of flexible
time scheduling for such learning
opportunities; development of Career
Academies within schools; development and
establishment of a compulsory ½ credit
course in Career Education/ Development at
the Grade 10 level; flexible scheduling
within and around the four-block, two
semester system
A report on the Penner study due to be
released in April 2010. Provides some
highlights from the report and some
comments from Audrey Penner, Barbara
Macnutt (Manager Literacy Initiatives
Secretariat) and a worker who has recently
made the decision to upgrade his education
in order to take a program at Holland
College. Also mentions Trout River 101
Focus on plans after high school and in
particular, on interest in health careers. The
survey also looked at the influence of career
promotions on choices of students.
Conclusions: students are aware of career
promotions and discuss plans with family
and friends but more research is needed to
determine how students choose a career and
plan their education
Focus on poverty – not specific to youth
Heavy out-migration ages 15-29
Financial barriers to employment: high cost
of transportation and child care. Seasonal
and part-time employment challenges
PEI 2nd lowest minimum wage in Canada
Lack of consultation with local citizens in
development of Comprehensive
Development Plan
when students understand their own learning
styles and are given tools to apply to their
particular style, they have more academic
success.
students exhibited increased self esteem /
self confidence at the end of the project.
Gagnon, Natalie. 2005. Case Study Cavendish Farms Learning Centre: Rising
to the Challenge of Meeting Employees’
Unique Needs. Ottawa: The Conference
Board of Canada.
Report
Case Study on
workplace education
program
Goddard, Tim. 2010. The role of education
in rural communities. Learning
Landscapes, 3(2), 49-55.
Academic (peer
reviewed)
Analysis of a public
meeting
Holland College. 2006. New Awareness
Campaign Encourages Islanders to Get
Their GEDs. Holland College Press
Release Sep 26, 2006.
Press Release
Holland College. 2009. First Nations youth
get first-hand experience during summer
program. Holland College Press Release
Aug 11, 2009.
Press Release
Human Resources and Skills Development
Canada (HRSDC). 2010a. Government of
Canada Helps Promote Skilled Trades to
Prince Edward Island Youth. Press Release
Mar 22, 2010.
Press Release
Canada (HRSDC). 2010b. Government of
Canada helps Prince Edward Island youth
Press Release
80
Cavendish Farms partners with Workplace
Education PEI, PEI Dept of Education and
local literacy groups
Offers: individualized instruction in basic
literacy, GED, secondary school level
English and math, post secondary refreshers,
tutoring, computer literacy, professional and
creative writing, communications, and
assistance with Red Seal
Family members of employees also welcome
to attend. Company provides classroom and
full-time licensed teacher and learning
materials. Employees reimbursed for 50% of
their time in class
Benefits: positive employee attitudes and
behaviours
Opportunities for advancement
Greater employee self confidence
Greater employee commitment to the
company and increased employee retention
An exploration of the role of education in
Canada through one rural community. Five
areas of concern were discussed at a
community meeting: Kindergarten, school
graduates, current workers, returning
workers, and retired workers. Conclusion:
the education system needs to be proactive
and under local control; designed and
delivered to meet local/regional needs.
Report on a partnership between PEI Dept of
Education, Holland College, Tim Horton’s
and Wendy’s to promote the GED program
and improve literacy levels among young
adults. In addition to the advertising at Tim
Horton’s and Wendy’s restaurants across PEI
(using tent cards, tray liners, and message
boards) Tim Horton’s and Wendy’s is
working with Workplace Education PEI to
help employees get their GEDs at work.
an initiative of the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of
PEI with support from Abegweit First
Nation, the Pathways program is a summer
camp for aboriginal youth which takes place
at Holland College locations across PEI. The
purpose is to expose high school students to
a variety of program/ career options. This is
a pilot program.
Announcement of funds provided to the East
Prince Youth Development Centre to
organize and host the 2010 Summerside Job
and Trade Fair. The purpose of the fair is to
promote employment and careers in skilled
trades.
Introduction of two job preparation/ training
programs (one in Summerside, one in
Charlottetown) for PEI youth to assist them
prepare for jobs. Press Release Mar 5,
2010
Canada (HRSDC). 2005. Government of
Canada funds eight projects to help youth
in Charlottetown. Press Release Jan 21,
2005.
Press Release
Jenish, D’Arcy. Undated. The Cavendish
way: How one company’s learning
program is helping change the way it does
business. Downloaded May 20, 2010 from
http://abclifeliteracy.ca/en/cavendish-way
News Article
Kitagawa, Kurtis. 2005. Case Study Building Essential Skills in the Workplace
Empowering Employee–Learners with
Essential Skills at Durabelt Inc. Ottawa:
The Conference Board of Canada
Report
Case study on workplace
employment program
Lees, Jessie B. 2006. Literacy Research in
PEI: A Reflection - Looking back before
moving ahead. Literacy Research Network.
Academic Research,
not peer reviewed
Literature review
81
in the transition to work or return to school.
The Youth Trades Program is Skills Link
funded and designed for youth who face
employment barriers.
Funding for 8 short term projects through the
Youth Employment Strategy and Youth
Awareness initiative. Partners receiving the
funding are: PEI Council of the Disabled,
Construction Association of PEI,
Charlottetown Boys & Girls Club, John
Howard Society, Tourism Industry
Association of PEI, The Adventure Group,
and Skills Canada PEI Inc. All 8 projects
focus on helping youth attain life and
employability skills.
Article on a literacy website, detailing
Cavendish Farms’ learning centre at one site.
When presented with the 2006 Canada Post
Literacy Award, the program was lauded not
just for offering courses in a way that was
accessible(flexible hours to accommodate
shiftwork, individually tailored course of
study) to employees, but also for the way the
learning centre positively impacts employee
self confidence. Approximately 31% of
company’s employees have taken courses.
Company paid employees ½ hourly rate for
every hour of class time and paid for all
course materials. Family members of
employees also welcome to attend classes.
Course selection tailored to employee
needs/wants.
Durabelt in Montague
Established to meet the needs of the
employer for a workforce who could read
and understand work orders and perform
calculations necessary to manufacture a
customized product
Partnership with Workplace Education PEI
Focus on essential skills training
Open to families and friends of employees
Advantages of on-site school:
Accessible
Removes stigma of going back to school
Can relate skills directly to job
Benefits for employees:
Increased self confidence
Better chance for promotion
Employer benefits:
Increased plant efficiency and productivity
Program ended when all employees achieved
their goals but company is open to starting it
again if necessary
Definition of literacy
Three categories: statistical research,
program evaluation, descriptive studies
McCarthy, Eric. 2010. Youth Employment
programs bolstered by federal funding. The
Journal Pioneer.
News Article
McKenna, Greg S. (2010). Can learning
disabilities explain low literacy
performance? (SP-959-07-10E). Gatineau,
QC: Human Resources and Skills
Development Canada.
Academic Research,
not peer reviewed
Data: Canadian portion
of the public data set
from the 2003
International Adult
Literacy and Life Skills
Survey (IALSS)
McKenna, Greg and Penner, Audrey. 2009.
Island Prosperity Report: Literacy Levels
in Adult Developmental Education.
Holland College.
Academic Research,
not peer reviewed
450 participants from
adult education
programs, majority 1825
Murphy, Sarah. 2001. Backgrounder:
Youth and Work. Institute of Island
Studies. Retrieved Jun 19, 2010 from
http://www.upei.ca/iis/art_skm_1
Report
Statistics gathered for
Youth Forum
82
Low literacy assessments for 16-25 in PEI
% of workers in adult training lower in PEI
than national average
Correlation b/t type of employment &
literacy
Literacy & education not highly valued in
PEI
Difficulty in obtaining PEI specific research
reports
Recommendations: development of a
comprehensive, searchable database of
research; merge research with practice.
Announcement of funding to three youth
employment projects: Rural Community
Learning Inc. (19 week program for single
parents), PEI Council of People with
Disabilities, and Harmony Training Centre.
These programs are already in progress, with
a total to 26 youth attending.
An exploration of the relationship between
Self-Reported Learning Disabilities (SRLD)
and low literacy performance. McKenna
concluded that learning disability and low
literacy are so closely related that society
would be best served by focusing on
individual need rather than a diagnosis of
LD.
PEI Prosperity Plan focused on knowledge
based industries
Almost 50% of working population of PEI
does not have a high school diploma and
over 40% of this group scored below level 3
on literacy and numeracy scales – not
adequate for the new knowledge economy
Barriers to education: cost, family
responsibility, lack of time, not knowing
what to take, lack of confidence
Reasons for early school leaving: not doing
well, work, personal problems
Facilitators to staying in school: more
teacher help, counseling support, flexible
schedule.
Reasons to return to school: better self, get a
better job.
Facilitators to success in Adult
Developmental Education: small class size,
more teacher support, presence of counselor,
flexible scheduling
many highly educated youth leave the Island
to find work
many Island youth are “seasonal immigrants”
unemployment rate for those aged 15-24 is
higher than that of adults aged 25 and over
part-time employment is on the rise and fulltime in decline
Nicholson, Amber. 2010. GED student
numbers jump 24 per cent.
Transcontinental Media.
News Article
PEI Advisory Council on the Status of
Women. 2010. Considering the Two-Tier
Wage
Report
Opinion paper
PEI Department of Innovation and
Advanced Learning. 2010. Students
Awarded Medals for Skills Competition.
Press Release March 12, 2010.
Press Release
PEI Literacy Alliance. 2010.
Environmental Scan.
Report
Report on round-table
discussion on literacy
83
PEI student employment is highest in Canada
seasonal workers count for 83% of
unemployed youth
the potential for employment increases with
higher education levels.
“the challenges of the New Economy” - one
in which people have multiple careers
through their lifetime, with a focus on parttime and contract work
the work of young people is often
undervalued, particularly in the area of
wages. Students in PEI have a better chance
of finding summer employment than nonstudents.
A look at PEI’s high percentage of adult
learners taking and passing the GED test.
Attributes this increase in numbers (almost
24% higher in 2009/10 than 2008/09) to a
number of factors: workers learning value of
education after working with professional
trades people in Western Canada, homeschool students looking for certification, an
advertising/awareness campaign in which the
PEI government partnered with Holland
College, Tim Horton’s and Wendy’s.
Argument against two-tier wage in PEI
Youth among population most likely to be
negatively affected
significant number of young people with
university degrees work in positions for
which they are overqualified already
as young people are most likely to be
deemed “inexperienced”, they are especially
vulnerable to this system
patterns of transitions into adulthood have
changed in Canada over the past few decades
with the result that young people are entering
the workforce later than in the past and often
with the burden of high student debt.
A report on the Skills Canada-PEI
competition which is an initiative designed to
introduce trades and technology career paths
to students in high school and post-secondary
programs.
The meeting included representatives from
various government, public, and private
organizations who were considered experts
on LES. Discussion topics included:
understanding LES in PEI; LES challenges
in PEI; gaps in the field; PEI’s assets;
government priorities; linkages between
programs and agencies; tools, programs and
supports in PEI; and finally, a list of
recommendations. The report concludes that
PEI is moving from a resource-based
economy into the knowledge-based economy
Penner, Audrey. 2010. Evidence for adult
developmental learning trajectories:
“Island Prosperity; Back to Basics”. PPT
Presentation for NISOD Conference May
31, 2010.
Examined nine sites, two
urban and seven rural
with a total of 481
students.
Roy, Patricia. 2010. Workplace learning
catches on big at manufacturing company.
The Employment Journey.
News Article
Smith, Nishka & Fuller, Shauna. 2009a.
RECLAIM Project Research Report
Report
84
and everyone involved must upgrade and/or
provide upgrading opportunities to increase
LES.
The Institute for Adult and Community
Education (ACE) at Holland college is the
primary provider for adult learning and
upgrading on PEI and is the only provincially
standardized adult education system in
Canada.
Demand for workers in PEI is projected to be
focused in bioscience, IT, and aerospace
sectors.
The majority of adult learners were involved
in work to some degree.
67% of the students persisted in their
program of study, the others left.
The 16-25 age cohort was 16.7% less likely
to complete than other age cohorts.
The majority of learners see education as a
way to manage life better and agree that
learning gives you more self confidence.
Rural learners are more likely to complete
their program.
Following training, employment shifted from
low wage sectors (Sales and Service) to other
industries.
Conclusion – adult learners are worth the
investment.
An overview of the training programs
offered at Trout River Industries (TRI) in
Coleman, PEI. Partnered with Workplace
Learning PEI to provide GED preparation
classes as well as other courses requested by
employees. TRI opened the program to
employees in other local businesses and
families of employees. TRI also instigated
its own in-house training program, called
Trout River 101. Trout River 101 has led to
increased production and employee self
confidence and engagement in the
manufacturing process. In 2009, the
company closed production for one week to
allow all employees to participate in a series
of workshops with outside facilitators.
Workshops focused on everything from
attitude and respect to waste and flow. The
results were so positive, management plans
to make it an annual event. TRI has been
invited to share their learning approach with
companies in PEI and off Island.
Literature review, best practice review, gaps
analysis and environmental scan on the topic
of treatment theories, approaches and
programs designed to meet the needs of
young offenders at risk of reoffending.
The best practice review does not include
Smith, Nishka & Fuller, Shauna. 2009b.
RECLAIM Environmental Scan Report
Report
The Guardian. 2010. P.E.I. workforce
lagging behind demands of economy,
Literacy Alliance finds.
Timmons, Vianne. 2005. An Extensive
Look at Early School Leavers on Prince
Edward Island. UPEI.
News Article
Timmons, Vianne, Roach O’Keefe, Alaina,
and Wagner, Maryam. 2007. Families
Learning Together: A Family Literacy
Initiative at Cardigan Consolidated
School: A Final Report. Charlottetown:
UPEI.
Academic Research,
not peer reviewed
Uses statistical reports
such as IALS
Watt, Douglas. 2002. Case Study - Royal
Star Foods Limited. Ottawa: The
Conference Board of Canada.
Report
Case study on workplace
education program
Academic Research,
not peer reviewed
Descriptive
Written surveys (1716
mailed, 53 returned –
4.0%; 2nd mail-out of
752, with 33 returns –
5.6%) & in-depth
personal interviews (13
in person, 1 telephone)
85
any programs from PEI.
The gaps analysis included interviews with a
small sample of young offenders and parents.
The environmental scan was detailed in a
separate report.
Programs and services available to youth and
families at-risk on PEI. Primary source of
information was the Youth Services
Directory produced by Catholic Family
Counseling Services Bureau. Also searched
websites and contacted key organizations by
telephone or email. Programs are divided by
area in which they are offered.
A brief report on the environmental scan
released by PEI Literacy Alliance.
Survey respondents:
felt positive about learning,
identified barriers to furthering education as
cost, not able to get into the program,
parenting responsibilities, and uncertain
career goals
not confident that they will achieve their
educational goals
Interviewees:
Regret not completing high school
Identified need for in-school programs:
work-related and vocational courses with
job-experience component, support for
teenage mothers, career planning courses
Barriers to further education: lack of money,
not knowing the career pathway they should
take
Number of people with low literacy levels in
Canada (and in PEI) is increasing, even
though there is no significant change in
percentage.
Correlation between parental literacy levels
and those of children
Link between resource-based, seasonal
employment and low literacy
Royal Star Foods in Tignish
Partnership with Workplace Education PEI
Included fishers and family members of plant
employees
Programs: computer training, GED,
management training, first aid, and many
areas relating to creating an efficient
workforce.
Provided financial assistance to employees
taking programs off-site (UPEI, Holland
College, NS).
Outside funding provincial and national
organizations
Partnered with a local junior high school to
use their computer facilities after school.
Most programs were offered during the offseason to minimize disruption to work
Time, money, and employee motivation were
some of the barriers Royal Star faced.
Benefits to the employees: increased
confidence, opportunities to pursue further
education and career advancement.
The company benefited with a loyal and
respectful workforce, increased efficiencies
and production.
86

Appendix C: Informed Consent – Administrators / Service
Providers
87
Consent Form (Administrators / Service Providers)
August 2010
Title of Research Project
Youth Pathways to School, Work and Literacy on Prince Edward Island
Investigator(s)
Principal Investigator:
Researcher:
Dr. Kate Tilleczek (902) 620-5127
[email protected]
Valerie Campbell
[email protected]
We invite you to participate in an exploratory research project about youth pathways towards
academic success, literacy, and work on Prince Edward Island. We are examining the barriers
and facilitators that young people meet in their pathways and plan to talk with 18 to 36 people.
If you choose to participate in this research project it will take 30-60 minutes of your time, and
no harm will come to you. You will be asked to participate in an interview to talk about your
thoughts on the main barriers and facilitators to successful youth pathways to school, work and
literacy. At the beginning of the interview, you will be asked to fill out a socio-demographic
survey which will take about 15 minutes. The interview will be audio-taped. Whether or not you
take part is completely up to you. If you do decide to be interviewed, you may stop participating
in the project at any time and without any consequences.
We will keep all information that we collect during this project confidential and anonymous. We
will ensure that you will not be identified from any of your responses. We will destroy the audiorecording of your responses five years after the end of the study. All study material will be
secured in a locked cabinet at UPEI. We will identify you only by a number or a code name in
the final transcript.
You may not benefit directly from this study, but a summary of the results will be available for
participants. If you are interested in receiving the summary, please provide your contact
information on the attached Consent Form. We will also ask you about the best ways to
translate the study results to you. We are committed to sharing our research findings with our
participants and those who are in a position to make positive changes for young people.
If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, please contact the Project
Manager, Valerie Campbell at 620-5151 or [email protected]
The funder of this research is the Workforce Strategies Research Group from the University of
88
Consent:
By signing this form, I agree that:
1) The study has been explained to me. All my questions were answered.
2) The possible harms and discomforts of this study have been explained to me.
3) I will be audio recorded during this study. These recordings will be used by the study
researchers to explore and understand the barriers and facilitators to youth pathways to
school and work.
4) I understand that I have the right to refuse to take part in this study. I also have the right to
withdraw from this part of the study at any time. e.g., before or even after the recordings are
made.
5) I can ask any questions about the study at anytime now and in the future.
6) I have been told that all research information will be kept confidential, except where required
by law (e.g. suspected child abuse).
7) I understand that no information that would identify me will be released or printed.
8) I understand that no information about me (including recordings) will be given to anyone or
be published without first asking my permission.
9) I understand that I can keep a copy of the signed and dated Consent Form.
89

Appendix D: Informed Consent – Youth
90
Consent Form - Youth
August 2010
Investigator(s)
Researcher:
[email protected]
Valerie Campbell
[email protected]
and facilitators that young people meet in their pathways and plan to talk with 18 to 36 people.
literacy. At the beginning of the interview, you will be asked to fill out a socio-demographic
survey which will take about 15 minutes. The interview will be audio-taped. Whether or not you
take part is completely up to you. If you do decide to be interviewed, you may stop participating
in the project at any time and without any consequences.
You will be given $20 to thank you for taking the time to participate in this study.
Manager, Valerie Campbell at 620-5151 or [email protected].
91
Consent:
By signing this form, I agree that:
1) The study has been explained to me. All my questions were answered.
2) The possible harms and discomforts of this study have been explained to me.
3) I will be audio recorded during this study. These recordings will be used by the study
researchers to explore and understand the barriers and helpers to school and work.
4) I understand that I have the right to refuse to take part in this study. I also have the right to
withdraw from this part of the study at any time. e.g., before or even after the recordings are
made.
5) I can ask any questions about the study at anytime now and in the future.
6) I have been told that all research information will be kept confidential, except where required
by law (e.g. suspected child abuse).
7) I understand that no information that would identify me will be released or printed.
8) I understand that no information about me (including recordings) will be given to anyone or
be published without first asking my permission.
9) I understand that I can keep a copy of the signed and dated Consent Form.
92

Appendix E: Face Sheet – Youth
93
Revised: Aug 6, 2010
Youth Face Sheet
Please note that some questions deal with sensitive subjects such as your
ethnicity or family income. If any of these questions make you uncomfortable,
you are free not to answer them.
Part 1 – ABOUT YOU ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺
What is the name of the city or town where you live? ____________________
Do you live: alone? ____ With parent(s)/guardian(s) ____ With someone else? ____
What is your date of birth (date/month/year)? ________________________________
Are you male or female?
___ male ___ female
Were you born in Canada?
___ yes
___ no
If no, in which country were you born? ___________________________
What language(s) do you speak at home: _________________________________
People in Canada come from many racial or cultural groups. You may belong to one
or more groups on the following list.
Are you …..
___ Aboriginal (e.g. North American Indian, Métis, Inuit)
___ Arab
___ Black
___ Chinese
___ Japanese
___ Filipino
___ South Asian (e.g. East Indian, Sri Lankan, etc.)
___ White
___ Southeast Asian (e.g. Vietnamese, Cambodian, etc.)
___ Korean
___ West Asian (e.g. Iranian, Afghan, etc.)
___ Latin American
___ or another group; Please specify: ________________
___ Declined
94
Part 2 – ABOUT YOUR EDUCATION AND WORK
What is the name of the last school you attended? __________________________
What is the highest Grade you completed? _________________
Do you have a: high school diploma? Yes ___ No ___
Have you ever taken academic upgrading?
GED? Yes ___ No ___
____ Yes ____ No
Do you know if you have been identified as a special education student (e.g., learning
disability, gifted, blind/low vision, deaf/hard of hearing, physical disability,
developmental disability, speech/language impairment, behaviour or mild intellectual
disability, or autism)?
____ Yes ____ No
If „yes‟, what is the nature of your exceptionality? _________________________
Did your parent(s)/guardian(s) encourage you to do well in school? ___Yes ___No
Did your teachers encourage you to do well in school? ___Yes __ Sometimes ___No
How important is a high school education to:
Not at All
important
You
___
Your parent(s)/guardian(s)
___
Your friends
___
Not very
important
___
___
___
Somewhat
important
___
___
___
Very
important
___
___
___
Why did you leave school? (List your top 3 reasons):
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
How would you rate your opportunity to get more education if you want it?
very poor
____
poor
____
average
____
good
____
very good
____
How important is education to you in achieving your goal(s)?
Not at All
important
____
Not very
important
____
Somewhat
important
____
95
Very
important
____
____
Are you employed? Yes ___ No ___
Are you in a training program? Yes ___ No ___
If employed:
What type of work do you do? _______________________
Are you happy with your job? ________________________
If you could do any other job, what would it be? _________________________
If in a training program:
What is the name of the program? ______________________
Are you happy with the program? _______________________
What do you plan to do after the program ends? _________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
How would you rate your reading ability?
very poor
poor
average
____
____
____
good
____
What is your current attitude toward reading?
very
neither negative
negative
negative
nor positive
____
____
____
very good
____
positive
____
Do you read at home?
never
rarely
____
____
some
____
regularly
____
a lot
____
Do you read for work?
never
rarely
____
____
some
____
regularly
____
a lot
____
very
positive
____
Do you think you could do better at your job if you were able to read better?
definitely
probably
probably
definitely
not
not
maybe
yes
yes
____
____
____
____
____
Do you think you could get a better job if you were able to read better?
definitely
probably
probably
definitely
not
not
maybe
yes
yes
____
____
____
____
____
96
How would you rate your writing ability?
very poor
poor
average
____
____
____
good
____
What is your current attitude toward writing?
very
neither negative
negative
negative
nor positive
____
____
____
very good
____
positive
____
Do you write anything not related to work or school?
never
rarely
some
regularly
____
____
____
____
a lot
____
Do you write for work?
never
rarely
____
____
a lot
____
some
____
regularly
____
very
positive
____
Do you think you could do better at the job you have now if you were able to write
better?
definitely
probably
probably
definitely
not
not
maybe
yes
yes
____
____
____
____
____
Do you think you could get a better job if you were able to write better?
definitely
probably
probably
definitely
not
not
maybe
yes
yes
____
____
____
____
____
☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺
THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM
97

Appendix F: Face Sheet Administrators / Service Providers
98
Administrator Face Sheet
Participant instructions: Please do not leave any questions blank; if a question is not
applicable to you, please indicate by checking “not applicable”, or indicating “n/a” by that
question.
Part 1 – YOUR WORK
Name of Organization: ____________________________________
Is this:
Government? ____
Non-Government Organization? ______
Job Title: __________________ How long have you been in this position? ________
If less than one year in current position:
Previous Position: _______________
How long in that position? __________
What are your current educational qualifications (check as many as apply):
___ Undergraduate degree
___ Graduate degree (please specify degree/major: ___________________________)
Professional Designation: _______________________________
In the table below, please provide information about four programs offered by your
organization to facilitate youth pathways to school/work/literacy.
Program Name
Is it
effective?
Yes or No
Why is this particular
program offered?
99
Why is it/is it not effective?
What other programs would you like to see offered?
1. _____________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________
Part 2 – ABOUT YOU
Some of the following questions deal with sensitive subjects. If any make you
uncomfortable, you are free not to answer them.
What is the name of the city or town where you live? ____________________
What is your age? ___ 20-30 ___ 31-40 ___ 41-50 ___ 51-60 ___ 61+
Are you male or female?
Were you born in Canada?
___ male ___ female
___ yes ___ no
If no, in which country were you born? ___________________________
THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM
100

Appendix G: Information Letter – Administrators / Service
Providers
101
Information Letter (Administrators and Service Providers)
Investigator(s)
Researcher:
[email protected]
Valerie Campbell
[email protected]
and facilitators that young people meet in their pathways.
literacy. This discussion will be audio-taped. Whether or not you take part is completely up to
you. If you do decide to be interviewed, you may stop participating in the project at any time
and without any consequences.
information on the attached Consent Form. You will be able to keep a signed and dated copy of
the consent form once it is completed. We will also ask you about the best ways to translate the
study results to you. We are committed to sharing our research findings with our participants
and those who are in a position to make positive changes for young people.
The Research Ethics Board of UPEI has approved this research project. If you have any
difficulties with, or wish to voice concern about, any aspect of your participation in this
study, or the ethical conduct of this study, you may contact the UPEI Research Ethics
Board, for assistance at (902) 620-5104, ([email protected]) and/or Dr. Kate Tilleczek
(the principle investigator) who is the Canada Research Chair in Child/Youth Cultures
and Transitions at the University of Prince Edward Island ([email protected]).
102

Appendix H: Information Letter – Youth Intermediaries
103
Information Letter (Youth Intermediaries)
Investigator(s)
Researcher:
[email protected]
Valerie Campbell
[email protected]
We are conducting an exploratory research project about youth pathways towards academic
success, literacy, and work. We are examining the barriers and facilitators in youth pathways to
school, work and literacy on Prince Edward Island. In order to ensure all voices are heard, we
wish to include youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who did not complete high school. We are
asking your assistance in identifying potential youth participants.
If you choose to participate in this research project, please give the attached Information Letter
and Consent to be Contacted form to one or two people you are aware of who meet the criteria
above. If the young person(s) you identify signs the Consent to be Contacted Form, please
contact the Project Manager, Valerie Campbell, who will pick up the form and contact the
participant directly. Whether or not you take part is completely up to you.
will ensure that you will not be identified in any way. All study material will be secured in a
locked cabinet at UPEI.
information on the attached Results Dissemination Form. You will be able to keep a signed and
dated copy of the consent form once it is completed. We will also ask you about the best ways
to translate the study results to you. We are committed to sharing our research findings with our
Board, for assistance at (902) 620-5104, ([email protected]) and/or Dr. Kate Tilleczek
(the principle investigator) who is the Canada Research Chair in Child/Youth Cultures
and Transitions at the University of Prince Edward Island ([email protected]).
104
Results Dissemination
I understand that a short summary of the research results will likely be available to participants
at some point in the future.
I would like to receive this summary: ___ Yes ___ No
Please indicate how you would like to receive the summary:
Mail to home ____
Email to you ____
Mail to work ____
Other _______________________________________________________________
Please provide a mailing or email address:
Name: _________________________________________________
Organization (if applicable): _________________________________
Street Address: ___________________________________________
City: __________________________ Province: ___________ Postal Code: ___________
Email: _________________________________________________
105

Appendix I: Information Letter and Consent to Contact Youth
106
Information Letter and Consent to Contact (Youth)
Investigator(s)
Researcher:
[email protected]
Valerie Campbell
[email protected]
and facilitators that young people meet in their pathways.
literacy. This discussion will be audio-taped. Whether or not you take part is completely up to
you. If you do decide to be interviewed, you may stop participating in the project at any time
and without any consequences.
You will be given $20 to thank you for taking the time to participate in this study.
Manager, Valerie Campbell at 620-5151 or [email protected].
If you are interested in participating in this study, please complete the attached contact
information sheet and return it to the person who gave you this letter. You may be contacted by
a member of the research team based on the information you provide.
107
Board, for assistance at (902) 620-5104, [email protected] and/or Dr. Kate Tilleczek (the
Principle Investigator) who is the Canada Research Chair in Child/Youth Cultures and
Transitions at the University of Prince Edward Island ([email protected]).
Consent to Contact:
I am interested in participating in the research project outlined above. Please contact me:
by telephone at _______________________;
or email ________________________.
or other (Specify) ___________________________________________________.
108

Appendix J: Interview Protocol
109
Youth Pathways to Literacy, Education, and Employment on Prince Edward Island
DRAFT INTERVIEW PROTOCOL
Interviews will include a cover sheet with general demographic information (Youth: Place of residence,
age, gender, education, work place, training program, reading/writing habits. Administrators and
Service Providers: Place of residence, age, gender, education, work place, length of time in job).
Interview questions/prompts will be used as guides. They are related directly to the research questions.
Youth:
1. Tell me what was going on in your life when you left school.
2. What were your plans when you left school? How did you expect to make them happen? What are
your plans now? How do you expect to make them happen?
3. Have you accessed any (government or other type) programs to help you achieve your goals? If yes,
describe the programs and how they have/have not helped.
4. What/who has helped you the most in achieving your school/work goals?
5. What is holding you back from achieving your school/work goals?
6. What does literacy mean to you? What part has literacy played in your life? Do you think you would
have a better chance of going back to school or getting a good job if you could read/write better?
Administrators:
1. Does the diagram we have shown you accurately reflect services available to youth on Prince
Edward Island? Where are the discrepancies?
2. Describe the process in selecting/implementing a program for youth.
3. What does literacy mean to you? What role does literacy play in youth pathways?
4. What are some of the barriers to youth pathways to school/work/literacy?
5. What are some of the facilitators to youth pathways to school/work/literacy?
Service Providers:
1. Does the diagram we have shown you accurately reflect services available to youth on Prince
Edward Island? Where are the discrepancies?
2. What is working? How do you know its working?
3. What does literacy mean to you? What role does literacy play in youth pathways?
4. What are some of the facilitators to youth pathways to school/work/literacy?
5. What do you see as the barriers to youth pathways to school/work/literacy?
6. What are the barriers you face in doing your job? What changes would make the system better?
110

Appendix K: Recruitment Poster
111
Recruitment Poster – Youth
NO HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA?
HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING A JOB?
ARE YOU BETWEEN 18 AND 29 YEARS OLD?
DO YOU WANT TO TELL YOUR STORY?
CALL OR SEND AN EMAIL TO:
Valerie Campbell (902) 620-5151
[email protected]
[email protected]
You will be given $20 to thank you for taking the time to participate in our research project. We
are gathering stories from young people on PEI who are making their journeys between school
and work.
The Research Ethics Board of UPEI has approved this research project. You may contact the
UPEI Research Ethics Board, for assistance at (902)620-5104, [email protected].
(tear off strips – will be aligned vertically)
Valerie @ 620-5151
([email protected])
Valerie @ 620-5151
([email protected])
112
Valerie @ 620-5151
([email protected])

Appendix L: Sample Summary and Thank You Note to Youth
Participants
113
Summary
July 2011
When you participated in our Pathways Study we promised you a summary of what we found out when we
spoke to young people across PEI. But, before we tell you some of the things we learned, we want to
thank you very much for your help and participation. Your honesty helps us learn how to make
pathways to literacy, education, and employment better for you and your friends.
                         
How Does the Pathways Study Work?
Members of the UPEI community have concerns about youth in PEI and their ability to find work or
continue their education. We also wanted to know if literacy is an issue for young people in PEI. We
decided to explore this area in a couple of different ways. First, we used the internet to search for
programs and services available to PEI youth. Then we contacted some of the people who work with
youth to ask them questions about what they do. At the same time, we looked for young people to
speak with. Our goal was to find out what is out there, what works and what doesn‟t, and what is
missing for young people.
With Whom Did We Speak?
We travelled across the Island, from Souris to Alberton. We spoke with 22 young people and 22 people
who administer and/or deliver programs for youth. The young people we spoke with came from many
1
Kate Tilleczek is the Canada Research Chair in Child/Youth Cultures and Transitions at the University of Prince
Edward Island. Valerie Campbell is the Project Manager and Analyst for this project and the Manager of Child/Youth
Cultures and Transitions Research at UPEI. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected]
respectively.
114
different parts of the Island, city and country, some had high school diplomas, others did not, and there
was a mixture young women and men.
What Did We Learn?
Our conversations with PEI youth showed positive and negative things that occur in their families,
schools, and communities. The good things that young people find are the programs, services, and
people that help them to build bridges to where they want to go -- to further school, work and literacy
skills. Young people access and appreciate many programs on PEI (such as GED, employability skills,
etc.) But, many need further assistance. It can be hard to get into the programs if you do not know
where to look, have no help, have no transportation, or enough money. Many programs are not yet well
designed for easy access and success. Some young people therefore have troubles getting to where they
want to be and to meet their goals in life. Literacy was seen as a very important part in meeting these
goals and many felt that school had let them down in achieving literacy.
“literacy encompasses every aspect of teaching, not just language arts, reading and writing,
but numeracy as well. [it is the] most important piece of the puzzle for students. It affects
every aspect of your life.” (Steven)
                         
Summary
We now know that although there are many ways young people can get assistance, these are not always
easy to find or access. This causes frustration for many young people as they attempt to move forward
in life. A single, well advertised, place – a “one-stop shop” - would make it much easier for you to
discover what you need and how to get it. Also, although many of you feel that you are literate, you still
have problems with specific areas of literacy, such as filling out complicated forms. The next step is to
keep speaking with many young people, teachers, and other support people to see if we can make a
better system.
Once again, we would like to say THANK YOU! for sharing your thoughts on youth pathways in Prince
Edward Island.
Your participation will help us make pathways better for you and your friends.
                         
If you have any questions you can contact either of us. We are happy to hear from you.
Valerie Campbell (902) 620-5151 or Toll free at: 1-855-861-5127 [email protected]
Dr. Kate Tilleczek (902) 620-5127 [email protected]
115

Appendix M: Sample Summary and Thank You Note to
Service Providers
116
Summary
July 2011
When you participated in our Pathways Study we promised you a summary of what we found out when we
spoke to service providers and young people across PEI. But, before we tell you some of the things we
learned, we want to thank you very much for your help and participation. Your honesty helps us learn
how to improve youth pathways to literacy, education, and employment.
                         
How Did the Youth Pathways Study Work?
Members of the UPEI community have concerns about youth in PEI and their ability to find work or
continue their education. We are also interested in determining the role literacy plays in the lives of PEI
youth. We decided to explore this area in a couple of different ways. We began with a comprehensive
literature search to determine what is known about youth pathways in PEI and what still needs to be
known. Then we conducted face-to-face interviews with program administrators and service providers as
well as young people to determine how they experience and perceive the issues of youth pathways to
employment, education, and literacy on PEI. These interviews examined:
1
Kate Tilleczek is the Canada Research Chair in Child/Youth Cultures and Transitions at the University of Prince
Edward Island. Valerie Campbell is the Project Manager and Analyst for this project and the Manager of Child/Youth
Cultures and Transitions Research at UPEI. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected]
respectively.
117





The meanings of literacy for youth pathways to adulthood;
The system of youth programs in education, industry, and community on PEI;
The barriers and facilitators in youth pathways to literacy on PEI;
The gaps and connections in providing PEI programs;
Sources of “evidence” being used to guide current youth literacy programs on PEI.
Finally, we reviewed all the interview data to find common themes and determine what, if any, gaps exist
in youth services.
With Whom Did We Speak?
We travelled across the Island, from Souris to Alberton, and conducted interviews with 22 young people
(aged 18 to 27) and 22 service providers (administrative and front line). The youth participants were
from both rural and urban areas, some had high school diplomas, others did not, and there was a
mixture of male and females. Service provider interviews also covered the Island and included a mixture
of male and female participants. Service providers had varying degrees of education, from high school
diplomas to graduate degrees. The worked for a variety of organizations: educational, government,
NGO, community based, and industry.
What Did We Learn?
“literacy encompasses every aspect of teaching, not just language arts, reading
and writing, but numeracy as well. [it is the] most important piece of the puzzle
for students. It affects every aspect of your life.” (Steven)
The interview data provide the perspectives of young people and service providers who are presently living
and working within the PEI context. These conversations yielded many facilitators and barriers occurring in
families, schools, and communities, a list that exceeded that reported in the literature to date. Facilitators
included a range of programs, services, and people that actively help to build bridges for youth to further
education and employment while addressing literacy skills. Young people access and appreciate many
programs on PEI but need further assistance. The system suffers from gaps in collaboration, access, lack of
evaluation, passive outreach, and clear entry points. Supports are often fragmented, “yo-yo” and short-term,
not well integrated, difficult to access, and not collaboratively managed.
The program scan and mapping showed a disconnection between the web of programs on PEI that are easily
found via internet searches and those that are known to be available to young people. The scan, mapping,
and interviews together show the wealth of initiatives and programs in place but a lack of coordinated or
collaborative efforts to share this knowledge. The GED programs are well known and established and could act
as a good point of entry into further knowledge about the web of youth literacy programs. The key element of
these programs is that they be easily known about, accessed, and offered at minimal cost.
118
119
Barriers congealed around a complex spiral for young people who are excluded from both access and success
in education and/or employment and are not continually gaining literacy skills necessary for adulthood. Familial
socio-economic factors, academic struggles, and public education‟s failure to collaboratively mitigate them are
constant obstructions. Nonetheless, important nuances of youth experiences appear in the narrative analyses.
These young people spoke about enjoying school, feeling relatively literate, and trying to negotiate their way
toward full literacy with the assistance of solid programs. They possess a good deal of “local knowledge”,
insight, and reflection. They also demonstrate how literacy falters and affects further education and
employment and that even successful completion of high school has not guaranteed them full literacy. Indeed,
a complex spiral can be discerned for some young people who are barred access and/or success in either
education or employment. Without education, literacy falters and affects employment and has long term
consequences. The transitional narratives of the young participants further animate the complex ways in which
different young people can be derailed from their successful pathways by different barriers. It can be difficult
to predict how these pathways will unfold. But, educators and service providers should be aware of the
complexity and intricacy of the negotiations that these young people are making and the struggles they are up
against. The barriers remain numerous despite the useful programs and initiatives that exist.
“If it were simple and laid out so that I could see everything I had to do then it wouldn‟t be
that bad…but sorting things out and finding out what I need to do is ..its like untangling
Christmas lights, I don‟t mind putting them up but I don‟t want to sit there and untangle them.”
(Mitchell)
                         
Summary
This study is helping us to understand the barriers youth in PEI face as they travel their pathways as well
as the programs and services that are in place to help. We now know that although there are many
ways young people can get assistance, these are not always easy to find or access. This causes
frustration for youth as they attempt to move forward in their lives. It also impacts on the ability of a
service provider to offer assistance to young people. A single, well advertised, place – a “one-stop shop”
- would make it much easier for youth to discover what they need and how to get it. Also, although
many of the youth we spoke to feel that they are quite literate, they still have problems with specific
areas of literacy, such as filling out complicated forms. The next step is to keep speaking with many
young people, teachers, and other support people to see if we can make a better system.
Once again, we would like to say THANK YOU! for sharing your thoughts on youth pathways in Prince
Edward Island. Your participation will help us make pathways better for young people.
                         
If you have any questions you can contact any of us. We are happy to hear from you.
complete report will be available upon request.
Valerie Campbell (902) 620-5151 or Toll free at: 1-855-861-5127 [email protected]
Dr. Kate Tilleczek (902) 620-5127 [email protected]
120
The

Appendix N: Programs
121
Figure 1: PEI youth programs and initiatives identified from internet searches
122
Figure 2: PEI youth programs and initiatives identified by service providers
123
Figure 3: Internet searches compared to service providers
124
Figure 4: Youth compared to service providers
125

Appendix O: Visual Narratives
126
Mary
127
Carmen
128
Dawn
129
Inez
130
Mona
131
Mitchell
132
Jack
133
Nate
134
Tyler
135
Fred
136

Youth pathways to literacy, education, and employment on Prince

Transcription

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