| Issue V: Information
dissemination |
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The availability of information, its form and eventual
dissemination about all aspects of adults basic education is inadequate, often
not understandable or usable by the undereducated woman. Free access to
information is not a right in Canada. |
Background
There are a number of sub-issues within this area of general
concern. We considered each separately, but each contributes to the overall
problem.
| 1. |
Comprehensive, up-to-date information about adult basic
education programs is not |
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readily available from any single source within
a community or province. This situation will improve in the coming years. The
Movement for Canadian Literacy has recently been re-organized and their files
and information sources are scattered at this time. Provincial groups are being
formed to keep local and provincial groups informed about developments in the
field. However, even they do not consider themselves to be responsible for
collecting and disseminating information about local programs, financial
assistance, and so on. Within local communities, community information centers
attempt to serve this purpose, but they must also pay attention to areas other
than education. There have recently been several studies which have addressed
the issue of information, counseling and referral services for educational
purposes.(1) In general, these studies all recommend
that such services be established at the community level, separate from
information services provided by specific educational institutions. In the U.S.
such services are generally called educational brokering services and appear to
have achieved some success in connecting potential learners with the
educational services best suited to their needs. (2)
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(1). See for example: G. Stewart and C. Starrs,
"The community information network proposal", The Canadian Consumer,
January-February 1972, pp. 17 - 21
D. Ironside and D.
Jacobs, Trends in counselling and information services for the adult
learner (Toronto: OISE, 1977)
D. Ironside
and others, The power to communicate, A report on information handling
in community centers in Canada prepared for the Comsumers' Association of
Canada, Ottawa, 1972.
L. E. Davie and others,
"Educational needs and learning conditions of adult learners". A report to the
Commission on Declining School Enrolments in Ontario (Toronto: Ministry of
Education, 1979)
(2). J. M. Heffernan and others, Education
brokering: A new service to adult learners. (Syracuse, N. Y.: National
Center for Educational Brokering, 1976) |