Family Literacy in Nunavut

Literacy levels in Nunavut are among the lowest in Canada. Approximately 50% of those surveyed as part of the 2004 International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey scored at the lowest level in the survey for document, prose and numeracy. Many adults in Nunavut do not have a high school diploma and many have less than a Grade 9 education.

The Nunavut Literacy Council (NLC) acknowledges the role that family literacy can play in helping to break the cycle of low literacy. Many children in Nunavut live in families with low literacy skills. By improving the literacy levels of both parents and children, family literacy programs can reduce stress on the family. Family literacy programs, according to a NLC Fact Sheet, “are especially effective at engaging adults who would normally be reluctant to participate in literacy programs for themselves.”

The Nunavut Literacy Council uses a community development approach to family literacy. They help people in communities develop the skills they need to deliver their own programs.

How is Family Literacy funded in Nunavut?

From a social and economic perspective, the Government of Nunavut has recognized the need for the people of Nunavut to have the skills and access to training that will allow them to benefit from economic opportunities. In its recently released “Adult Learning Strategy” the government (and others) acknowledge that the “challenge will be to provide the training, education and skills that individuals will need to engage in their communities, obtain employment in positions that have typically been filled by non- residents, and become active participants in the self-determination goals outlined in the NLCA [Nunavut Land Claims Agreement]”.

To achieve the goals of the strategy, the government is committed to providing stable long-term funding for literacy (as well as for adult education, training and employment programs). The strategy also makes a commitment to ensuring that programs are in place for family literacy by:

• developing programs and services that inform, educate, and support parents in their efforts to assist their children’s learning and literacy development
• developing and delivering intergenerational programs that promote literacy and language acquisition in children from 0 to 6
• providing school and community-based preventative literacy programs and services for school-aged children
• developing learning materials that are practical and relevant to a learner’s real life issues. Priority should be given to the development of materials in Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun
• supporting the development and delivery of non-formal, context-based programs (family literacy programs, culturally based programs). ^{Footnote 13}

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