[AAACE-NLA] Literacy: use it or lose it?

[David Rosen]

AAACE-NLA Colleagues,

A Canadian study suggests that after the age of 25 some people lose  
some of the literacy skills they have acquired through formal  
education, especially those who read infrequently and/or are  
unemployed.  I wonder if any adult literacy practitioners have  
anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon from their students' accounts.

"Many Canadians experience a significant loss of literacy skills  
during adulthood, and this loss appears to be concentrated in adults  
from lower socio-economic backgrounds, according to a new study.

The study, based on findings from the 1994 International Adult  
Literacy Survey (IALS) and the 2003 Adult Literacy and Life Skills  
Survey, examined how Canada's stock of literacy skills evolved during  
the nine-year period between the two surveys.

It showed that literacy is not a static commodity acquired in youth  
and maintained throughout life.

The results provided compelling evidence that, on average, some  
groups of people lose literacy skills after the period of formal  
schooling, but the amount of skill loss differs considerably from  
group to group.

The loss of literacy skills in Canada appears to be a gradual process  
that begins at the age of about 25, peaks at around 40, and tapers  
off during late middle age (55)."

Sources:

http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/070706/d070706b.htm

http://tinyurl.com/yejk5d

David Rosen
DJRosen at theworld.com