Young Quebecers in a situation of precarity and their digital literacy practices

In its latest report based on PIAAC data, the Institut de la statistique du Québec (2015) notes that the young people aged 16 to 24 whose education got interrupted did not generally reach or exceed the level 3 in Problem solving in Technology-Rich Environments. Yet, young people in Western countries are often portrayed homogenously as digital native. This may be explained by the fact that studies have mainly focused on ‘Anglo-American or middle-class contexts’ (Prinsloo and Rowsell, 2012: 271). Using a New Literacy Studies perspective, this paper challenges narratives about young people’s digital literacy practices. It draws on data collected in 2012 in two community-based organisations for young people in Quebec (Canada). In total, 122 hours of participant observation were undertaken and 21 research interviews were conducted (14 young people and 7 youth workers). A content analysis (Gibbs, 2008) was performed. The results indicate that the young people used a wide range of new technologies, and this, regardless of their education level. They used digital technologies to learn new things, access cultural products, solve problems, express themselves, organise their social lives, and communicate with friends and family. Another important finding was that the young people’s digital literacy practices cannot be ‘divorced’ from their offline lives (Thomas, 2007); their situation of precarity shaped their online practices. Considering the young people’s financial difficulties, the fact that computers were available on the premises of the two organisations was an appealing element. The organisations were not just offering access to computers and the Internet, but were also supporting young people in learning how to use them. This indicates that even though they were not in education at the time of the study, the young people were still learning about digital literacies. What they learned was directly related to their everyday lives, and in some occasions, countered their situation of precarity

Accessing a 'very, very secret garden' : exploring children's and young people's literacy practices using participatory research methods

Despite the wealth of publications on children’s and young people’s participation in research, the connections between participatory research methods (PRM) and literacy studies remain unclear. The aim of this paper is to understand why it is particularly pertinent to use PRM in literacy studies (particularly New Literacy Studies). In order to capture the complexity and plurality of these methods, we discuss two studies, one conducted with children in Chile and the other with young people in Québec (Canada). We argue that by using PRM, researchers can support participants in the appropriation of an alternative and potentially empowering view of literacy

Book review - Lifelong learning participation in a changing policy context: an interdisciplinary theory

Lifelong Learning Participation in a Changing Policy Context is Ellen Boeren’s first monograph and the culmination of more than 10 years of experience in researching participation issues in adult education. The book’s narrative is deeply rooted in the author’s academic journey, which gives it a personal and easy-to-relate-to quality. It is a short but information-rich book with the ambitious aim of proposing a new interdisciplinary approach to ‘adult lifelong learning participation’, drawing on a wide range of disciplines which include economics, educational research, political sciences, psychology and sociology. The monograph is divided into three parts and nine chapters

Literacy mediation and literacy learning in community-based organisations for young people in a situation of precarity in Québec

This thesis investigates the relations between the literacy practices used in two community-based organisations and those of the young people in a situation of precarity (aged 16 to 30) who attended their activities in Québec (Canada). These organisations supported them to find work, housing, return to education, improve their social relationships, and integrate in society, which I refer to as social and professional insertion. Drawing on the New Literacy Studies (NLS), in this study literacies are considered as social practices rather than technical skills. The thesis brings together NLS and francophone studies on literacy, and uses terms originating in French and which have no precise equivalents in English. Examples are ‘rapport à l’écrit’ and ‘situation of precarity’. The methodological approach is ethnographic, critical, and participatory. The study had two phases of data collection. In the first phase, the chosen techniques were participant observation and semi-structured interviews, and the second phase involved participatory workshops. The findings indicate that the young people had extremely rich and complex literacy practices. The literacy practices used as part of the organisations’ activities and workshops for young people were hybrid; combining school-related, digital and vernacular literacies with practices associated with counselling, work, social relationships, and relations with the state. Some young people whose education got interrupted reconciled themselves with education and school-related literacy through their participation at Le Bercail and L’Envol. With the support of the youth workers, the young people were encouraged to learn by doing, a form of learning that can be identified as apprenticeship. The literacy practices used in the organisations were not exclusively controlled by the research participants. Some sponsors of literacy (e.g. the state and institutions) were imposing various literacy demands they had to respond to. The youth workers acted as literacy mediators with regards to some of these. Literacy mediation at Le Bercail and L’Envol can be qualified as a form of ‘powerful literacies’ since it can offer an alternative to counter dominant literacies and it can support learning. A new term―literacy intermediates―is suggested to describe the kind of literacy mediation that the youth workers were doing

Writing retreats as a milestone in the development of PhD students sense of self as academic writers

Writing retreats are structured events during which a group of people write in the same room over several days. In this paper, we report on findings from a study exploring the impact of writing retreats on PhD students’ writing and their sense of self as academic writers. A second aim of the study was to contribute to the search for appropriate structures and pedagogies to support writing at the PhD level. The data consist of interviews with 19 PhD students who had taken part in writing retreats as well as evaluations and pre- and post-retreat reflections by these students. In the interviews, we discussed the role of writing retreats in the context of the students’ wider biographies as writers, looking into their autobiographical selves and how it relates to their experiences of writing. Our findings suggest that writing retreats can be important events for PhD students positively affecting their relationship with literacy (Besse, 1995). Taking part in a retreat generates pleasure, emphasising the role of emotions in academic writing. Our findings suggest that writing retreats and the opportunities they offer students to write and to reflect on their experiences as writers are a valuable part of PhD training

"If you write poems, it's like a crime there" : a case study of literacy learning, identity curation and migration

The Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) (2015) notes that refugees and immigrant women tend to achieve low levels of literacy skills in PIAAC. This paper aims at offering an alternative point of view on these results by presenting the case of Darya, a young Afghan woman who moved to Canada as a refugee. Following the New Literacy Studies (see Papen, 2005), this paper starts from the premise that literacy cannot be defined as the simple aptitude to read and write and needs to be understood in its socially and historically situated contexts and as social practice. The concept of rapport à l’écrit (Besse, 1995) is also used and refers to people’s relationship with literacy that evolves over time. The paper draws on data collected in 2012 and 2013 in two community-based organisations for young people in Quebec. Darya attended social and professional workshops in one of them. The data related to Darya―an interview transcript, observation notes, and audio recordings―were analysed thematically. The findings indicate that Darya had rich literacy practices and liked to read and write. She regularly wrote poems and songs, used online translation tools, and posted content on Facebook. The results suggest that these practices, and others, were associated with ‘identity curation’ (Davies, 2014) and helped Darya to negotiate her ‘transnational’ identity (McGinnis, Goodstein-Stolzenberg, and Saliani, 2007). Her rapport à l’écrit was rooted in her transnational identity, migration experience and family history. The paper also presents how the community-based organisation addressed these aspects during its activities

Critical ethnographic research of literacy practices used in youth community-based organisations in Québec:what ethical concerns?

General ethical principles such as informed consent, confidentiality, participants’ physical or psychological well-being and the absence of preventable harm should be respected in any research project. However, those guidelines cannot help researchers in specific situations, when they face a difficult situation in the fieldsite: this is what is called an ‘ethical dilemma’ (Goodwin, et al., 2003) or ‘everyday ethics’ (Guillemin & Heggen, 2009). However, what are the ethical implications of doing qualitative research with vulnerable groups of people considering that they are “potentially vulnerable on a variety of levels, because of their marginalized social, political and economic position.” (Laverick, 2010, p.76)? Moreover, the voices of vulnerable or marginalized groups are generally not heard in society and often they have little power in the research process (Pyett, 2002). In this presentation, I will discuss my own experience as a young researcher doing a critical ethnographic study in two organisations working with young people with low levels of formal education in Québec (Canada). At each site, I conducted regular observations over a period of two months, focusing on group activities. During that period, I experienced various ethical dilemmas that challenged my role and position towards the participants. In my talk, I will expose some of the ethical dilemmas encountered in the two fieldsites. I will explain how I dealt with them and what their implications for my study are

Accountability, bureaucratic literacies and conflictual cooperation in community-based organisations for young people in Québec

Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Canadian and Québec Governments have increased their involvement with community-based organisations partly because of their potential economic benefits for society. These organisations received more recognition but were also increasingly seen as the State’s service providers (Savard & Proulx, 2012). As in other countries, this led to the rise of an accountability regime that focuses on standardisation and monitoring systems (Ade-Ojo & Duckworth, 2015). These changes have been affected by the OECD’s surveys including IALS, ALL and PIAAC that put countries in competition with one another (Hamilton, 2014; Tett, 2014). The aim of this paper is to understand how a group of youth workers in Québec managed to resist this accountability regime and its bureaucratic literacies (reports, forms, statistics, etc.). The paper adopts a New Literacy Studies perspective; literacies are considered as social practices rather than technical skills (Barton & Hamilton, 1998). It draws on an ethnographic and participatory study conducted in two community-based organisations for young people aged 16 to 30 who were experiencing precarity (Thériault, 2015). For the purpose of this paper, a content analysis was performed on the following data: transcripts of 7 interviews and three focus groups with 8 youth workers, and observation notes.The findings confirm what Duval and her colleagues (2005: 23) describe as the paradoxical position of ‘conflictual cooperation’; the two organisations were receiving funding from the State, but also adopted a critical stance towards it in order to defend and advocate for the young people attending their activities. Also, the youth workers adapted certain bureaucratic literacies and reused them in creative and meaningful ways. For instance, the young people were involved during the organisations’ Annual General Meetings; putting words and faces on the data presented in the accountability reports required by the State

Literacy mediation as a form of powerful literacies in community-based organisations working with young people in a situation of precarity

This paper aims at understanding the complex relations between bureaucratic literacies, the lives of young people in a situation of precarity and the work of employees of two community-based organisations in Québec (Canada). Drawing on the perspective of the New Literacy Studies, the focus of this article is around the role of literacy mediators that can play youth workers. It also endeavours to clarify the meaning of the term precarity (précarité) by suggesting a multidimensional perspective on it. This paper reveals that literacy mediation can be a form of powerful literacies that offer opportunities to counteract dominant literacies and support new ways of learning. Finally, it suggests a reflection on the importance of the work of community-based organisations in countering the situation of precarity experienced by some young people. It underlines the fact that these organisations are also experiencing financial uncertainty and insecurity that affect their services

Rôles et effets potentiels de sponsors de l'écrit dans des organismes communautaires jeunesse

Au début des années 2000, Bélisle (2004) indiquait que l’écrit était omniprésent dans des organismes communautaires fréquentés par de jeunes adultes en situation de précarité au Québec. La présente communication vise à expliquer d’où proviennent les textes présents dans les organismes communautaires ainsi que leurs effets potentiels sur les participants, plus particulièrement sur leurs interactions, leurs relations et leurs apprentissages au sein de ceux-ci. Cette communication s’inscrit dans le courant des New Literacy Studies (Barton & Hamilton, 1998), qui considère l’écrit comme une pratique sociale et non comme un simple ensemble de compétences individuelles pour lire et écrire. Elle utilise aussi le concept de sponsors de l’écrit (sponsors of literacy) (Brandt & Clinton, 2002), où un « sponsor » se définit comme toute personne, organisation ou établissement responsable d’une demande d’écrit (literacy demand), c’est-à-dire un texte nécessitant d’être interprété et traité (p. ex. remplir un formulaire). Les données utilisées sont tirées d’une étude menée de 2012 à 2015 dans deux organismes communautaires québécois, dont les pseudonymes sont « Le Bercail » et « L’Envol », fréquentés par de jeunes adultes (de 16 à 30 ans) en situation de précarité. Cette étude avait pour but de comprendre les relations entre les pratiques de l’écrit présentes dans ces organismes communautaires et les pratiques de l’écrit des jeunes adultes les fréquentant. L’approche méthodologique sectionnée est ethnographique et participative. Au total, 21 entrevues de recherche ont été menées auprès de jeunes adultes (n=14) et d’intervenantes et d’intervenants jeunesse (n=7) en plus de 122 heures d’observation participante. Des ateliers participatifs ont été organisés avec les deux mêmes organismes afin de mobiliser les participants pour l’analyse des données. Une analyse de contenu (Gibbs, 2008) a été réalisée à l’aide du logiciel QSR NVivo sur les données collectées. Les résultats indiquent que le personnel intervenant et les jeunes adultes fréquentant Le Bercail et L’Envol devaient faire face à d’abondantes demandes d’écrit (dépliants, affiches, formulaires, lettres officielles, courriels, feuilles d’activités, etc.) faites par de nombreux sponsors de l’écrit. Cinq grandes catégories de sponsors ont émergé des analyses : 1) institutions gouvernementales et parapubliques, 2) autres organismes communautaires, 3) Le Bercail et L’Envol, 4) réseaux sociaux (famille, amis, pairs) et 5) employeurs. Tous ces sponsors communiquaient de manières différentes, utilisant des textes aux registres de langue, genres et formats variés. Le personnel intervenant jouait donc fréquemment le rôle de médiateur de l’écrit, c’est-à-dire de personne qui en aide une ou des autres à se débrouiller avec des textes (Papen & Thériault, 2016). Par ailleurs, les textes présents au Bercail et à L’Envol offraient un portrait plutôt négatif des jeunes adultes, les dépeignant comme étant « à risque » d'éprouver certains problèmes (p. ex. pratiques sexuelles non sécuritaires, intimidation et décrochage scolaire). Les données suggèrent que le personnel intervenant au Bercail et à l’Envol jouait un rôle clé dans l’éducation des jeunes adultes en situation de précarité en ce qui a trait aux textes bureaucratiques et dans le développement de leur esprit critique. RéférencesBélisle, R. (2004). Éducation non formelle et contribution à l'alphabétisme. Ethnologies, 26(1), 165-184. http://www.erudit.org/revue/ethno/2004/v26/n1/013345ar.pdfBrandt, D. and Clinton, K. (2002). Limits of the Local: Expanding Perspectives on Literacy as a Social Practice. Journal of literacy research, 34(3), 337-356. doi: 10.1207/s15548430jlr3403_4Gibbs, G. R. (2008). Analysing qualitative data. London: Sage.Papen, U., & Thériault, V. (2016). Youth workers as literacy mediators: supporting young people's learning about institutional literacy practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. doi: 10.1002/jaal.54