Paper presented to the Third International Metropolis Conference
Israel, November 29 - December 3, 1998

 A Research-based Focus on Literacy and Citizenship Education Issues

Yvonne M. Hébert, Ph.D.
University of Calgary, Canada

Not very long ago, I was sitting at a lunch counter in a small café, tucked into a downtown shopping complex, when another diner sat next to me for his soup’n sandwich, too. When we both finished reading our newspapers, I opened up the conversation by talking about the weather, which is a fine Canadian custom. Noticing his slight accent, I asked him about his first language and after a bit of chit-chat, I revealed that I was a researcher interested in immigration. The Serbo-Croation responded with a comment about how lucky Canadians are, to be able to live ordinary lives in a peaceful country. When I asked him why he chose Canada as his destination, he responded that only three countries in the world actively seek immigration and these are New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Since Canada is the only one that provides language training and support for the first year, he and his wife chose this country. When asked if it was hard at first to settle in a new country, he shrugged, saying "Not really!" and focussed on the present. A lawyer by profession, he is now working in that capacity and his wife is also working at hers. His parting words were "Now, seven years later, we are doing very well. Thank you very much!"

In the light of many stories of successful individual integration, today I wish to focus on the research dealing with the provision of citizenship education and literacy programmes for adult immigrants in the initial years after arrival. My purpose is to review practices in citizenship education and literacy in terms of social and civic participation, citizenship engagement as well as to make links to unemployment and poverty, all as indicators of integration. Let us look at some of the issues, barriers, metaphors and policies.

Some Background on Canadian Citizenship

Let us begin by looking at what it takes to become a Canadian citizen and what it means to participate in Canadian society. To become a Canadian, a person must qualify and meet all the conditions. A person must have lived in Canada for three years, know at least one of the official languages, either English or French, learn about Canada, fill out the right form and provide the required documents, pass the Citizenship test and take the oath of Citizenship. All Canadians have certain rights and responsibilities that are based on Canadian laws, traditions and shared values. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Constitution and includes democratic, legal, equality, mobility rights, as well as basic freedoms such as freedom of religion, thought, speech, peaceful assembly and association. Collective rights include Aboriginal peoples’ rights, official language minority rights in education and rights regarding the preservation and enhancement of multicultural heritage of Canadians.

Considered to be essential to the maintenance of the democratic character of social and political institutions, citizenship involvement represents the patterning of how we share a common space, common resources, and common opportunities as well as how we manage interdependence in that ‘company of strangers’ which constitutes the public. Citizenship involvement is multidimensional, operates on a number of levels, and involves knowledge, awareness, skills and participation in voluntary community, civic, charitable and ethnic organizations as well as the political system. Factors that push individuals to participate in voluntary organizations include their perception of problems in their environment, their social relations and networks, and their perceived sense of control and empowerment. Most research on citizen participation in community organizations of all types and forms shows a positive impact on the community, organizations and individuals as people gain deeper knowledge about specific aspects of society, deeper convictions about the values at work in our society, and learn that it is possible to have an impact on the direction of change. Thus, in Canada, we have developed an understanding of citizenship norms that involve some combination of ethnic and civic factors.

Issues in citizenship education and literacy for new Canadians

In order to discuss issues in citizenship education and literacy for new Canadians, I’d like to make a distinction between active and passive citizenship and citizenship education, drawing upon some research by Alan Sears et al who examined the underlying conceptions, distinguishing between elitist and activist conceptions in the literature and in curricular documents and policies. Within an elitist conception of citizenship, sovereignty resides in the Parliament of Canada and the government which is made up of elected individuals with appropriate backgrounds and training. In such a conception, citizens are loyal to the national state and its institutions. They have a common body of knowledge about the history and political structures of the country; they participate in a common national culture and set of traditions. They also obey the law, inform themselves about the policies of the various political parties and vote. Within an activist conception of citizenship, sovereignty rests with the people and the government is made up of free and equal citizens who exercise power in more direct ways than voting. They are equal before the law, in opportunity and ability to participate, and in relative access to material ressources.

Citizenship education programmes may also be distinguished according to passive and active conceptions. Within an elitist or passive conception of citizenship education, students are taught a common body of knowledge about the history and political structures of the nation. Political and military history is emphasized and presented as a narrative of continous progress. Political institutions are presented as operating in a lock step fashion (e.g., how a bill is passed; how parliamentary debate works). Teaching styles and techniques may vary but are focussed on students arriving at common answers on matters of fact and/or value. In terms of values, students are taught a particular set of national values and norms, i.e., that current political structures are the best ones possible. Students are taught that informed voting is the general level of participation by the average citizen and students therefore need information gathering skills to allow them to vote in an informed manner. Within an activist conception of citizenship education, students are taught how to uncover ways in which institutions and structures support certain, potentially oppressive, forms of social organization (e.g., capitalism and patriarchy). Students learn to find ways in which social and political structures have discriminated against certain groups and have changed to be more democratic and inclusive. In terms of values, students are taught to develop a commitment to the equal participation of all individuals and groups in society as well as a commitment to particpate on this basis and to challenge any manifestations of privilege and inequality. Students develop critical reflective problem-solving skills and cross-cultural skills so that they can participate with a wide variety of people in making the world more just and human activity more environmentally sustainable.

With this as criteria, let us look at some research results dealing with the last ten year period. In a study conducted in 1987 of the parameters of adult citizenship preparation by Tracey Derwing and Murray Munro for the Secretary of State, it was found that most of the citizenship preparation programmes were located in larger cities, had an average classroom size of 10-12 adults, with variable funding from province to province, most of it considered inadequate by the more than 200 respondents in ESL and citizenship programmes across the country. The hours of instruction varied from 2 to 90, with an average of 24.5 hours. The majority of the staff were untrained volunteers and experienced a high turnover rate. The material was considered to be too difficult for the students to understand and a high demand was placed on visual material. What was considered to be the main objective of the citizenship education programmes varied, ranging from preparation for the court hearing, knowledge about Canada, preparation for participation in Canadian society and improvement of English language skills. Conducted mostly in a lecture format, course content consisted of Canadian geography, history, levels of government, voting, rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizens. One of the striking results of this study was that there was a singular lack of focus on Canadian issues in ESL beyond survival level information. A high number of students from these programmes pass the citizenship test (an interview with a citizenship court judge at the time) but then, so do a high number of immigrants who have not taken a preparatory course. Hence, passing the course and citizenship test cannot be taken as a measure of quality of education.

After the study, a national Working Group on Citizenship Education came together. To move beyond the rote question and answer approach taken by so many programmes, a list of issues to evoke the essence of what it is to be a Canadian citizen was prepared. These deal with relations between self and country, the uniqueness of Canada, symbols associated with Canadian identity, life narratives, the political and economic environment, availability of facilities and services, the individual’s relationship with the state, the development of rights, what citizenship would enable someone to do and what obstacles are to be faced.

In the ensuing years, however, the Canadian government significantly changed the citizenship process, by modifying the application procedure, eliminating many citizenship judge positions, introducing a multiple choice test and restructuring the citizenship ceremony itself. New textbooks and materials were produced, a detailed survey of existing citizenship instruction programs and an accompanying directory were prepared, three citizenship conference were held and newsletters were established. Thus, a researchable question is raised: what impact have these changes had on preparatory practices of citizenship education and adult immigrant literacy?

Ten years later, a follow-up study by the same researchers identified far fewer programs available to adult immigrants than in the past. Moreover, it was found that the scope of content in citizenship education programs remained essentially unchanged in some instances and was reduced in some others. It also became clear that it should not be assumed that ESL courses help prepare immigrants to understand citizenship concepts and to become an active citizen. Programs that focus specifically on citizenship concepts were driven largely by the test. Hence, this evidence indicated that the quality and quantity of adult citizenship education has declined over the past ten years, possibly due to cuts in funding or in court requirements. Yet there are many more immigrants moving to Canada from all over the world and cultural differences are greater now than ever before when most immigrants came from Europe. In order for culturally diverse groups to work and live together, all must know and understand what it means to be a Canadian citizen and to participate in the social process.

Barriers

Among the many barriers identified in these studies are the lack of coherent federal policies; the increasing focus upon meeting linguistic and legal requirements of naturalization; the low literacy level needed to pass multiple-choice type tests as a competency requirement, the disillusionment and disarray from adult literacy courses viewed as vocational preparation; lack of knowledge of the legal system and of procedures; variable difficulty in entering the labour market, lack of information on job postings. The adult level barriers are more specifically known and these include the length of programs; legal information and service barriers (ex., language communication skills), lack of knowledge of legal systems and procedures of the legal system and procedures, all of which are linked to the major issues under discussion here, i.e., the nature of civic and social participation which are crucial to how democracy works.

Recommendations include more training of staff with respect to "cultural sensitivity", pamphlets; reinstatement of oral forms of the citizenship test such as the interview, policy changes to reflect the realities of social expectations of active citizenship. The question should not be "How can we make the naturalization process more cost effective?" but "What should be our expectations of Canadian citizenship and how can we best assist immigrants to meet those expectations?"

The metaphor of ‘literacy as saving grace’ permeates current adult literacy programs. These programs have a manpower orientation, based as they are on the assumption that a greater degree of literacy will lead to better employment and increased citizenship engagement.

A recent study by Grace Malicky and Charles Norman explored the relationship between participation in literacy programs and employment status. Interviews with 94 adults enrolled in literacy programs revealed that the majority entered the program for job related reasons, thinking that they could obtain a better job upon completion of the course. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case for most of the participants as many of them changed their original goals because their grades were not high enough, or because it would take too long to reach their goal or because the cost of education was too high to continue. Many participants were below the poverty line upon entry into the program, most had a full or part time job, and the mean reading ability of all participants was grade 5 level.

What is most important to notice here is the type of job obtained before and after the literacy program. Most adults returned to the same type of job upon completion of the literacy program. Very few participants received a better job regardless of aspirations. Few immigrants in the program were able to attain their vocational goals possibly because they had more to learn than English language skills in order to improve their employment opportunities. Since there is very little evidence of the power of these literacy programs to enable better employment, the assumptions between literacy, economic development and citizenship engagement which underlie these programs were not supported. Consideration needs to be given to the goals of the programs as well as what would count as realistic objectives for making a link between literacy and greater economic and citizenship participation may well necessitate a longer period of time and differential experiences. If adult literacy programs were viewed as a form of personal development rather than assume a manpower orientation, changes would be needed in the course content, materials, pedagogy, government policies and teacher training. As it is now, unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment and frustration; therefore, there can be no greater degree of social and civic participation, and possibly less so, as these adults learn that they have a low degree of control over their worklives and environment.

According to another very recent study by Lori Wilkinson, government views on immigration and citizenship are also problematic as one is rarely discussed in light of the other, although it is assumed that citizenship for immigrants is highly desirable, uniform and unproblematic. Additionally, there is little research that looks at how different groups of immigrants view Canadian citizenship; nor is there any attention given to conflicts and contradictions between the beliefs of newcomers and how these coincide with the Canadian views of citizenship and federal policies in this area. The government view can be summarized as involving two competing interests. On one hand, the federal government welcomes immigrants and refugees, and hopes that, while they contribute to Canada’s society and economy in positive ways, these newcomers can maintain their cultural diversity in order for Canada to remain a multicultural society. On the other hand, when citizenship issues are discussed at the public level, government policies are portrayed as economically accountable to and in the best interests of the Canadian public, as if the interests of the newcomers did not count.

In terms of a theoretical stance and despite its internal identity crisis, the federal government’s position can be describe as liberal individualist, one that includes a singular national Canadian identity, appropriate for all Canadians. This is a unitary, universal but passive role, one which stresses a single Canadian national identity for all citizens. The academic literature, in contrast, focusses on various interpretations of citizenship, within three frameworks: liberal individualism, cultural pluralism and an undefined position between these two extremes. Within this policy confusion, there are numerous issues relating to the redefinition of citizenship, such as linguistic rights, representational rights, public participation and the representation of ethnic and visible minorities, the tension between individual and collective rights, gender/race/polity, issues of collective rights, the relationship between work, leisure and citizenship as well as multiple identifications. The public sphere is seen as contested, containing many different variations based on a multiplicity of differences which characterizes its citizens, having moved over time from unitary to multiple views of citizenship.

This confusion reveals that Canada, like many other countries, is living a transformation from modernity to postmodernity, one in which notions like identity, citizenship, frontiers, community, diversity, democracy are all in question and in deconstruction. Intertwined by post-industrialism, post-colonialism and post-structuralism, postmodernity questions the relationship between subject and object, rejects objectivity to admit subjectivity as fundamental to the recognition of the social constructon of knowledge, of reality and of the centrality of society. However, citizenship as we know it, is part of both antiquity and modernity but postmodernism questions all traditional legitimizations and creates utter confusion about that which was considered to be self-evident. The central part of the process called postmodernism seems slowly to become the problem of identity which, with citizenship, are dual parts of the current societal crisis in the Americas and in Europe. The battle is now being played out upon the very skin of individuals: Who am I? What standard of values do I handle? Where is my mirror, my frame of reference, my standard measure? Where do I belong? Where is my identification model? What do I find important and valuable? The major dilemma facing the postmodern human being is the desire to remove and deny borders while at the same time educating people which means giving or transferring values and standards, because we cannot teach and survive without them.

Conclusion

Being a Canadian citizen is to do more than vote and pay taxes; it also means participating fully in the social, economic and political life of the country. Just when citizenship conceptions and practices as well as the construction of self in a new context have taken on greater significance and are even more challenging than ever before, we have seen that adult newcomers to Canada receive an inadequate preparation for active citizenship in a democratic society, be it in citizenship education programs or in literacy programs, preparing them for integration and social, economic, civic, and political participation. Without ensuring that new Canadians are adequately prepared to participate actively in a democratic society, we are failing to assure that this society reflects the cultural diversity which characterizes it and failing to assure that all citizens, new and old, can make a difference to how our country works.

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