Foundations of Literacy Policy in Canada

Helen Holmes is Director of the Communications Studies Programme at the
University of Calgary.

A result of the 1988 conference Exploring the Breadth and Depth of
Literacy, this volume brings together 15 essays that explore
philosophical, historical, and social perspectives on literacy. The
seven essays in Part I, “Philosophical Perspectives,” examine what
literacy and cultural, scientific, mathematical, and technological
literacy mean; discuss the appropriateness of their measures; and
consider their relationship to reasoning, cognition, and everyday
functioning. Part II, “Historical Perspectives,” explores how
conceptions of literacy have changed, and how these changes have
influenced school curriculums in reading, writing, science, and
mathematics. Part III, “Social Perspectives,” challenges some
established beliefs about the social aspects of literacy.

These essays provide a timely and provocative look at a subject that
greatly concerns educators, employers, politicians, and the public. All
challenge the definition of literacy as simply the ability to read and
write; most question the traditional measures of literacy; and some
express serious concerns about the mythologizing of literacy—the
belief that literacy can cure the world’s social, spiritual, and
economic ills.

This book is stimulating reading for anyone concerned wth literacy
programs. However, the title is misleading: very little of the material
relates specifically to Canada, and the questions raised here suggest
that the foundations of literacy policy are very shaky foundations
indeed.