Background

In developing and providing professional development (PD) activities for adult literacy (AL) coordinators and volunteer tutors in Western Canada, we have become interested in how writing is viewed and used. Of special interest to us are practices and views about writing as a means to greater self-awareness. Our interest and our own convictions on the subject arise from experience in the Camrose Write to Learn AL project (Morgan, 1998), where personal growth is an outcome we have repeatedly seen from writing in a supportive environment (Morgan, 1997). We have come to regard introspective and reflective writing as critical to the long-term personal success of literacy program participants, and this outlook is reflected in the PD we hope to develop and share with other AL workers.

To test some of our assumptions about the writing attitudes and practices of others, and to guide our PD planning, we recently conducted a survey of selected literacy programs on the following issues:

1. Writing attitudes and activities, especially regarding practices such as shared writing as a means of personal growth among all participants, including instructors and administrators. (Shared writing involves all participants regularly writing together, reading and hearing each other's work read aloud in a group setting, and occasionally collecting material for publication. Shared writing is a core element of the Write to Learn PD model, and is similar in purpose to "process writing" [Reuys, 1992] and "lifewriting" [Butler and Bentley, 1992].)

2. PD needs, as perceived by potential participants. To help our PD planning, we wanted an indication of the needs perceived by potential participants, and of other attitudes and practices which might be recognized by practitioners themselves as narrow, restrictive or obsolescent (Malicky and Norton, 1998, p. 119).

The study

Focus, sample and methods

The survey was intended to sample the writing practices and views in AL programs in Western Canada. The focus of the study was what literacy practitioners actually did with writing, their levels of satisfaction and confidence with their practices, and their stated PD needs.