Approaching Canadian adult literacy research as a community of practice: Implications and possibilities

Authors

  • Ralf St. Clair University of Glasgow

Abstract

In recent years there has been significant interest in increasing educational research capacity in many countries and many fields, including Canadian adult literacy and numeracy education. This article asks what we can learn by taking a community of practice approach to research capacity, using as an illustration the work of the National Literacy Secretariat 1998-2003. Analysis brings forward a number of key recommendations useful to consider in discussions of educational research capacity. Implications are that communicative infrastructure is vital, social networks are key, current research needs to be better integrated with past research, and that increasing research capacity goes hand in hand with strengthening community.

Résumé

Depuis quelques années, un intérêt substantiel s’est développé dans différentes branches de recherche et dans de nombreux pays portant sur l’accroissement de la capacité pour la recherche éducationnelle. Cette tendance s’est également produite dans les domaines de l’alphabétisation et de la numératie des adultes au Canada. Cet article présente les leçons à tirer d’une approche basée sur les communautés de pratique, en prenant comme exemple le travail du Secrétariat national à l'alphabétisation. L’analyse présentée permet d’identifier des recommandations clés à considérer dans les discussions sur le développement de la capacité de recherche. Cette étude démontre que l’infrastructure de communication entre les membres de la communauté est primordiale, que les réseaux sociaux sont d’une importance clé, que les recherches actuelles auraient besoin d’être mieux intégrées aux précédentes, et que l’augmentation de la capacité de recherche va de pair avec le renforcement de la communauté elle-même.

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Published

2007-11-01

How to Cite

St. Clair, R. (2007). Approaching Canadian adult literacy research as a community of practice: Implications and possibilities. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 20(1), 50–67. Retrieved from https://cjsae.library.dal.ca/cjsae/article/view/1117

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 1 (2007): Adult education in our country

Section

Articles

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