22 Literacy

An accessibility framework that is often overlooked is literacy.  Literacy – in its many forms, including phonological awareness, numeracy, and digital literacy – are necessary to access even modest participation in, and full benefits from, civilization (including civic participation, economic prosperity, and social mobility).  As the title of a recent Canada West study points out, The Case for Literacy in Alberta: Life is Hard When You Can’t Read, noting that “at a time when workers face harder problems and require higher literacy levels, the proportion of adults with adequate skills, including those aged 16-25, has fallen over time.^[1]  The problem is perpetuated in the “train the best, leave the rest” individual excellence obsession that infects education education frameworks in the Anglo-American world.^[2]

Literacy is among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs); Goal 4 aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”, with Target 4.6 aiming, by 2030, to “ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.”^[3]  However, Canada has struggled with creating widespread adult functional illiteracy,^[4] – i.e. the level of literacy required to navigate daily life, most workplaces, and basic democratic participation.  Canada places a tepid 23rd globally on literacy progress (as measured by fourth grade reading achievement).^[5]

Approximately 50% of Canadian adults with disabilities experience literacy barriers.^[6]  These barriers can include in either printed or spoken form, and include unnecessary words; small or congested fonts; overly baroque, academic or professional jargon, acronyms; and information or services available in online access only.^[7]  Most mainstream literacy programs lack the experience, skills, tools or financial capacity to accommodate people with disabilities.^[8]  In the section exploring accessibility and Wayfinding, later in this report, a range of issues and innovations are covered, including Braille and sign language, that help address literacy through an accessibility lens, but there is much than can be done using the frameworks of inclusive and user-centered program design, as well as accommodation.