Youth pathways to literacy, education, and employment on Prince
Transcription
Youth pathways to literacy, education, and employment on Prince
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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 3 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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: 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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: 4 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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) 9 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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: 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Published, academic (peer reviewed) papers from various disciplines (n=6) Large scale reviews of literature (n=2) Policy documents (n=15) Reports (government, NGO, community, university/college) (n=64) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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. 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) “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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) ―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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) ―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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) ―[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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) ―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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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. Works Cited Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC). (2003). Essential employability skills: 7 case studies. Ottawa: ACCC Secretariat. Beaujot, R., & Kerr, D. (2007). Emerging youth transition patterns in Canada: Opportunities and risks (Discussion paper). Ottawa: Policy Research Initiative, Government of Canada. Bell, D., & Bezanson, L. (2006). Career development services for Canadian youth: Access, adequacy and accountability. 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Furlong, A., & Cartmel, F. (2007). Young people and social change: New perspectives. Buckingham: Open University Press. Gagnon, N. (2005). Case study - Cavendish Farms learning centre: Rising to the challenge of meeting employees‘ unique needs. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada. Gilmore, J. (2010). Trends in dropout rates and the labour market outcomes of young dropouts (Statistics Canada Report No. 81-004-X). Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Glass, G.V. (1976), Primary, secondary and meta-analysis of research. Educational Researcher, 5 (10), 3-8. Graham, S., & Carroll, W. R. (2010). Exploring the impact of literacy on business education and jobreadiness. An examination of the reading comprehension skills of first year university students. Presented at the Atlantic School of Business Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia Goddard, T. (2010). The role of education in rural communities. Learning Landscapes, 3 (2), 49-55. Government of Prince Edward Island (PEI). (2010a). Proceedings of the Minister‘s summit on learning. Charlottetown, PE: Author. 62 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Government of Prince Edward Island (PEI). (2010b). Report on the 2010 rural youth conference. Charlottetown, PE: Author. Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (1995). Ethnography: principles in practice. London: New York, Routledge. Holland College. (September, 2006). New awareness campaign encourages Islanders to get their GEDs. Holland College Press Release Sep 26, 2006. Human Resources & Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). (January, 2005). Government of Canada funds eight projects to help youth in Charlottetown. Press Release Jan 21, 2005. 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 Keating, D. P., & Hertzman, C. (Eds.). (1999). Developmental health and the wealth of nations. New York and London: The Guildford Press. 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. Kurial, R. (2005). Excellence in education: A challenge for Prince Edward Island (Final Report of the Task Force on Student Achievement). Charlottetown, PE: UPEI. Lees, J. B. (2006). Literacy research in PEI: A reflection - Looking back before moving ahead. Charlottetown, PE: PEI Literacy Alliance. Lerner, R. M. (Ed.). (2002). Concepts and theories of human development. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Lerner, R. (2006). Developmental science, developmental systems, and contemporary theories of human development. In R. Lerner & W. Damon (Eds). Handbook of child psychology: Volume 1, Theoretical models of human development (pp. 1-17). New York: John Wiley and Sons. Lord, S.E., Eccles, J., & McCarthy, K.A. (1994). Surviving the junior high school transition: Family processes and self-perceptions as protective and risk factors”. Journal of Early Adolescence, 14, 162-199. Malcolmson, J. D. (2001). What works in youth literacy and why? Vancouver, BC: Youth Literacy Canada. 63 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) McKenna, G., & Penner, A. (2009). Island prosperity report: Literacy levels in adult developmental education. Charlottetown, PE: Holland College. Morse, J. (2000) Determining sample size. Qualitative Health Research, 10, 3-5. Murphy, S. (2001). Backgrounder: Youth and work. Institute of Island Studies, UPEI. Retrieved Jun 19, 2010 from http://www.upei.ca/iis/art_skm_1 Nicholson, A. (2010). GED student numbers jump 24 per cent. Journal Pioneer, May 11, 2010. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2010). PISA 2009 at a glance. OECD Publishing. Paine, S.L., & Schleicher, A. (2011). What the U.S. can learn from the world‘s most successful education reform efforts (Policy paper). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Research Foundation. Pais, J. (2003). The multiple faces of the future in the labyrinth of life. Journal of Youth Studies, 6 (2), 115-126. PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women. (2010). Considering the two‐ tier wage (Submission to the standing committee on community and intergovernmental affairs consultation on different minimum wage rates). Charlottetown, PE: Author. PEI Literacy Alliance. (2010). Environmental scan. Charlottetown, PE: Author. PEI Statistics Bureau. (2010). Province of Prince Edward Island thirty-sixth annual statistical review 2009. Charlottetown, PE: PEI Department of Finance and Municipal Affairs. Richards, J. (2011). School dropouts: Who are they and what can be done? Toronto: C.D. Howe Institute. Roy, P. (2010). Workplace learning catches on big at manufacturing company. The Employment Journey, 12(5), 11. Rural Development PEI. (2009). Rural action plan: A rural economic strategy for Prince Edward Island. Montague, PE: Department of Fisheries, Aquiculture, and Rural Development. Schonert-Reichl, K. A. (2000). Children and youth at risk: Some conceptual considerations. Paper presented at the Pan-Canadian Education Research Agenda (PCERA) Symposium, Ottawa. April, 2000. Available: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-589-x/81-589-x2001001-eng.pdf Silverman, D. (1993). Interpreting text and data: Methods for analysing talk, text and interaction. London, Sage. 64 Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Smith, D. (2002) Institutional ethnography. In T. May (Ed.). Qualitative research in action. London: Sage. Smyth, J., & Hattam, R. (2001). „Voiced‟ research as a sociology for understanding „dropping out‟ of school. British Journal of Sociology of Education 22(3), 401-415. Tilleczek, K. (Ed.). (2008). Why do students drop out of high school? Narrative studies and social critiques. New York: Edwin Mellen Press. Tilleczek, K. (2010) Growing up in Canadian divides. Educational and political dimensions of childhood marginalization. Paper presented at the International Child/Youth research Network Conference on Growing up in Divided Societies. Belfast, Queens‟s University, June 10th 2010. Tilleczek, K. (2011). Approaching youth studies: Being, becoming and belonging. Toronto: Oxford University Press. Tilleczek K., Laflamme, S., Ferguson, B., Roth Edney, D., Girard, M., Cudney, D., & Cardoso, S. (March, 2010). Fresh starts and false starts: Young people in transitions from elementary to secondary school. Toronto: Hospital for Sick Children (Report to the Ontario Ministry of Education). Timmons, V. (2005). An extensive look at early school leavers on Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown, PE: UPEI. 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. Unger, M. (2004). Nurturing hidden resilience in troubled youth. Toronto: U of T Press. Watt, D. (2002). Case study - Royal Star Foods Limited. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada. Wilkinson, R., & Pickett, K. (2009). The spirit level: Why equality is better for everyone. New York, NY: Penguin. Willms, J. D. (1999). Quality and inequality in children‟s literacy: The effects of families, schools, and communities. In D.P. Keating & C. Hertzman. (Eds.). Developmental health and the wealth of nations. New York and London: The Guildford Press. Willms, J. D. (2009). Successful transitions: Findings from the national longitudinal survey of children and youth. Context paper presented at the Successful Transitions Conference. Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Ottawa, April 28-29. 65 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendices to Final Report 66 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix A: List of Literature Reviewed 67 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Listing of Literature Reviewed for Youth Pathways to Employment, Education, and Literacy on Prince Edward Island Published, academic (peer reviewed) articles Critchley, K.A., Timmons, V., Campbell, B., McAuley, A., Taylor, J. & Walton, F. (2006). Engaging the community: A case study in one rural community and the knowledge translation process. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 2(1), 75-85. Edgerton, J.D., Peter, T. & Roberts, L.W. (2008). Back to the basics: Socio-economic, gender, and regional disparities in Canada‟s educational system. Canadian Journal of Education, 31 (4), 861-888. Frenette, M. (2006). Too far to go on? Distance to school and university participation. Education Economics, 14 (1), 31-58. Goddard, T. (2010). The role of education in rural communities. Learning Landscapes, 3(2), 4955. Timmons, V. (2003). Prince Edward Island. Exceptionality Education Canada, 13, 2-3. Timmons, V., Critchley, K., Campbell, B.R., McAuley, A., Taylor, J.P., & Walton, F. (2007). Knowledge translation case study: A rural community collaborates with researchers to investigate health issues. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 27 (3), 183-187. Large scale and international reviews of literature Malcolmson, J. D. (2001). What works in youth literacy and why? Human Resources and Development Canada (HRDC). Salomon, M. (2009). Workplace literacy & essential skills: What works? And why? Literature review. Montreal: The Centre for Literacy of Quebec. Policy documents Bell, D., & Bezanson, L. (2006). Career development services for Canadian youth: Access, adequacy and accountability. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks. 68 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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. Brisbois, R., & Saunders, R. (2005). Skills upgrading: Initiatives in Canada: Regional case studies preliminary report. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks. Brisbois, R., Orton, L., & Saunders, R. (2008). Connecting supply and demand in Canada‘s 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. Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training. (2009). Literacy: Key to learning and path to prosperity – An action plan for Atlantic Canada 2009-2014. Retrieved from 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: Canadian Policy Research Networks. Saunders, R. (2008). Pathways for youth to the labour market: A synthesis report. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks. Taylor, A. (2007). Pathways for youth to the labour market: An overview of high school initiatives. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks. 69 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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). Charlottetown, PE: Author. Cheung, S. (2007). Education decisions of Canadian youth. Toronto: Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario 70 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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. Charlottetown, PE: Author. 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix B: Annotated Bibliography of PEI Literature 76 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Academic Presentation 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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. Academic 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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. Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Human Resources and Skills Development 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) prepare for jobs. Press Release Mar 5, 2010 Human Resources and Skills Development 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Penner, Audrey. 2010. Evidence for adult developmental learning trajectories: “Island Prosperity; Back to Basics”. PPT Presentation for NISOD Conference May 31, 2010. Academic Presentation 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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. Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix C: Informed Consent – Administrators / Service Providers 87 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Prince Edward Island. 88 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix D: Informed Consent – Youth 90 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Consent Form - Youth 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. You will be given $20 to thank you for taking the time to participate in this study. 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 Prince Edward Island. 91 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix E: Face Sheet – Youth 93 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Revised: Aug 6, 2010 Youth Pathways to School, Work and Literacy on Prince Edward Island 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 ____ ____ Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix F: Face Sheet Administrators / Service Providers 98 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Youth Pathways to School, Work and Literacy on Prince Edward Island 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? Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix G: Information Letter – Administrators / Service Providers 101 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Information Letter (Administrators and Service Providers) 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 Prince Edward Island. 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix H: Information Letter – Youth Intermediaries 103 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Information Letter (Youth Intermediaries) 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 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. We will keep all information that we collect during this project confidential and anonymous. We will ensure that you will not be identified in any way. All study material will be secured in a locked cabinet at UPEI. 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 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 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 Prince Edward Island. 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]). 104 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Youth Pathways to School, Work and Literacy on Prince Edward Island 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix I: Information Letter and Consent to Contact Youth 106 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Information Letter and Consent to Contact (Youth) 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. 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. 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. 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. You will be given $20 to thank you for taking the time to participate in this study. If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, please contact the Project 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. The funder of this research is the Workforce Strategies Research Group from the University of Prince Edward Island. 107 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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]). 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix J: Interview Protocol 109 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix K: Recruitment Poster 111 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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] Dr. Kate Tilleczek (902) 620-5127 [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]) Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix L: Sample Summary and Thank You Note to Youth Participants 113 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Youth Pathways to Literacy, Education, & Employment in Prince Edward Island Summary Dr. Kate Tilleczek1 & Valerie Campbell 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix M: Sample Summary and Thank You Note to Service Providers 116 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Youth Pathways to Literacy, Education, & Employment in Prince Edward Island Summary Dr. Kate Tilleczek1 & Valerie Campbell 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 119 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) 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 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix N: Programs 121 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Figure 1: PEI youth programs and initiatives identified from internet searches 122 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Figure 2: PEI youth programs and initiatives identified by service providers 123 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Figure 3: Internet searches compared to service providers 124 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Figure 4: Youth compared to service providers 125 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Appendix O: Visual Narratives 126 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Mary 127 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Carmen 128 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Dawn 129 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Inez 130 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Mona 131 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Mitchell 132 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Jack 133 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Nate 134 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Tyler 135 Appendices to Final Report Tilleczek & Campbell (2011) Fred 136