CONCEVTS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ARE FRAMED BY COIVTEMPORARY CULTURAL i and historic conditions that mean different things to different people ax different times.Today, definitions of socialjusticevay widelywith mandates rangingfrom the erad- ication of poverty and the provision of inclusive schooling to the ordination of

I women. Whatever the mandate, equity and fairness are common tenets of social justice movements that are manifested in broad goals such as equality for all, a 'air distribution of resources, achievement of the greatest good for the greatest 4 lumber, and enhancement of the life conditions of marginalized citizens.

6-, I In Canada, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms recognizes every

ndividual as equal before and under the law, and provides for affirmative action )rograms to ameliorate the 'conditions of disadvantaged individuals'. While the ?quality rights section of the Charter does offer a mechanism to redress nequity, inequality persists, particularly for those from low socio-economic ~ackgrounds. This inequity is readily apparent in our public education system, a ieries of provincially governed institutions entrusted with the mandate to pre- )are Canadian children for their future roles as citizens and workers. However, me in five of those children lives in conditions of poverty. The degree of child Ioverty in Canada is well documented, as are its negative educational conse- 1uences.l In comparison with advantaged peers, children living in poverty are nore likely to enter school with deficits in language and school readiness skills2 ind are more likely to present with cognitive and behavioural diffic~lties,~ or prith other limitations that impede school learning? Inequity between advan- :aged and disadvantaged children is apparent at school entry, remains

nanged throughout the school career, and is maximally evident as each 3rt exits the school s y ~ t e m . ~ Thus, although schooling is publicly funded

ina universally available, educational results continue to diverge along socio- xonomic lines. The issue, then, is not having equal access to education, but leriving equal results from the educational experience.

C A N A D I A N E D U C A T I O N A S S O C I A T I O N I E D U C A T I O N CANADA

d@ ~llmi!! M :mmE w m @ m learning is insufficient, if difficulties arise during the pri- mary grades, and if these difficulties are not addressed, the

. m m g m literacy trajectories of disadvantaged children will diverge further from that of same-age peers and become increas-

~ i ~ ~ ~ r CUU) @M fi&&!#@ @I@&@~;W iff , ingly resistant to change. Given the demands on children during their transition

to formal schooling and the challenges they face early in 1 their academic careers, schools must intervene early if they

In a literate and democratic society, literacy achieve- are to influence the academic outcomes and, ultimately, . ment is one result of education that has a compelling the life trajectories of children who enter schools with impact on both academic and life-course outcomes. Strong deficits in language and school readiness skills. Timing is literacy skills are requisite to curricular access and academ- crucial since learning trajectories are established early in j ic achievement during the school years, to post-secondary the school career, early achievement deficits are cumula- education and training in young adulthood, and to partici- tive, and early rankings per~is t .~ However, there is now con- pation in the cultural, economic, and civic life of the com- verging research evidence that children who encounter dif- munity during the adult years. The attainment of strong ficulty in learningto read can be identified in kindergarten, literacy skills is fundamental to educational equity and is and that most reading difficulties can be prevented.I0 an essential first tier in the defence against social class segregation. Although weak literacy skills occur across all PREVENTION OF READING DIFFICULTIES economic strata, children from minority groups and those Prevention is the most effective strategy because when living in conditions of poverty are disproportionately repre- children at risk receive the support necessary to develop lit- sented in the 40 percent of Grade 4 students who struggle eracy skills early in their school career, they close the ~ i l p with reading6 While there are no magic bullets in educa- with more advantaged peers. They then engage in success- tion, it is our opinion that schools can most effectively Ful encounters with print from an early age and experiencxj ensure that students achieve more equitable results by increased literacy and language growth, all of which front-loading resources to teach children to read early and enables them to keep on track in the development of sub- well. This opinion is based on both our practical experience sequent literacy skills. I<eeping on track in early literacy as educators, and on research evidence showing that most learning is vital. Children must learn to read duringthe first reading difficulties can be prevented when they are identi- few years of school because by Grade 3 they are expected fied early and when identification is followed by timely and to read in order to learn. Their proficiency in reading will appropriate intervention.

tive approach to amelioration of inequity. We also offer the opinion that the prevention of reading difficulties is not only a worthwhile goal, but a social obligation, and that improving literacy skills is not just about raising re scores, it is a matter of social justice.

INSTEAD OF BEING EXPECTED TO DO MORE WITH LES

BE EXPECTED TO DO LESS, BUT DO IT BETTER ... SCHOOLS CAN BEST --NEFIT SOCIETY

AND BEST REDRESS SOCIAL INEQUITY BY DOING WHAT IS MOST IMPOHIANT AND WHAT

THEY ARE UNIQUELY EQUIPPED TO DO: TEACHING CHILDREN TO READ ~ H R L Y AND WELL.

ROOTS OF EDUCATIONAL DISPARITY Most children make the transition to formal schooling1 already oriented toward success or failure. Children with- out a secure language background are more likely to have ,

poor school readiness skills and are less likely to meet with success in the early school years. Children of advantaged families are more likely to enter school with greater cogni- tive maturity, higher readiness skills, and a far greater level : of parental support.7 The longer they stay in school, the

'

school year, their summer drop-off in learning is sharp because resources and supports are not available to foster

24 EDUCATION C A N

EN BREF La pr6vention des difficult6s dans I'apprentissage de la lecture est une question de justice sociale. L'incapacit6 de lire avec facilit6 est tout

b v well t h q access curriculum a c m xhe con- autant (c un vestige d'une iniquit6 passbe que le presage d'une iniquit6 future )).

haw well they do academically, and tp mme S'il est vrai que I'on observe dans toutes les couches socio6conomiques des

ally, dduringthesehaolyeors; and ultimatelyr haw enfants qui ont de la difficult6 a lire, un nombre disproportionn6 d'entre eux

of them will da Pn life. sont issus de groupes minoritaires ou de foyers 6conomiquement d6fa- voris6s. Or, c'est en se basant sur des recherches qui indiquent clairement

sthabbqnw I&theleamingW@&i~MIQm,%1 que I'intervention preventive rapide est $ la fois une demarche efficace et

ent they enter sthd. Ibmlly, thme b w m sensee sur le plan p6dagogique que les 6coles peuvent le mieux redresser

@n priorta kindieremn with & Q O ~ ~ & ~ & les iniquit6s sociales et cela, en faisant un travail qui leur sled bien, c'est-

ips and high qualify mrly childbed l &-dire enseigner aux enfants lire avec comp6tence, dhs le debut de leur

wrk'lng within the K-12 rnqndaa B'F scolarisation.

ve strate$es such as mrly gade retm&m m lidatad and em&- approaches rju& a

gt.39ern 'on track', and stwns

~MMren as m n as they enter &od, tpfh~ty pzlpejiviedan emt~~!s that EETI &lMm are ptwkkd fdgh qml@ Hterag fmmwion by wll mined and d I nrpparrted teachers who sMlhI1y integrate kbmcy kndmentals with active, engagin& a d rneadng-rnak'ln8 advities.

Ils, levelling the learning bar requires *m f@r &Etdm, Ta P;&*

m d e a l b m q inr(nm in mi& w a@pt @IS iimmd d &h&B 3%&mi @dkMy @d rplorrt &th ~~, dW6k h ~ l d k?

S:B~TF& and redre~s sa&i inequity by a m o a lmpommand y N thqr~w &&@@y

In framing early literacy instruction within a social justice mxkdimms model, we acl<nowledge that schools cannot, and should ati.ue life-came not, be expected to cure all social ills. School outcomes are mitted from one generation to the next, t influenced by factors in the home and community, as well &ng B e cycle. of low literacy, low achi as by what happens at school, and efforts to improve the socio-economic status. educational achievement of children must focus on the

there are many alterable factors that are within the control a d hdusw fy equdizing g&@a'~"1al q of the school system. Literacy is an alterable factor. Schools dmMm@ &Mlnn a m-mt@ age.

shows that preventive early intervention is cost-effective

and educat ional ly sound. All Canadians pay in the long run if we do not heed the research evidence. We pay in the fail- ure of our s t u d e n t s , the l imi ta t ions o f t h e i r future prospects, their reduced participation in our economic, cul- tural and civic life, their higher rates of incarceration, and t h e increased likelihood of propagating a new at-risk gen- erat ion. Poor literacy skills are as much a cause of poverty as they a r e a consequence of poverty. Poor literacy skills are reflective of past inequity, and are predictive of future inequity. Poor literacy skills curtai l participation in every facet of our democratic society. Hence, improving literacy outcomes is not just about raising reading scores; i t truly is

a matter of social justice. I

NWu BSWICK is a career educator and a research fellow at the Canadfan Research Institute for Social Policy, University

of New Brunswick. Her research interests include the valid- ity of early assessment measures , readiness to learn at &wIi preventive early intervention for literacy lea rn ing

diffirxlltls, and l e a r n i n g / r e d i n g disabiliriea

E L I ~ ~ E I H S W is am Associate P r o ~ s u r with the Faculty sf Education at fhe University of N w hllrwnswick (UNB), a Research Aswdm with UNB's Canadian kseaxh lnstiarte for Social Policy, and the Insn'Mc's Associate Director. Her current work encompasses the development of a monim- ing and assessment system operating in schools amss New &punswick aimed at t racking literacy growth trajectories h r n Kindergarten to Grade 2.

Nates

1 B. Maynes, 'Educational Programmingfor Children Living in Poverty: Possibilities and Challenges,"

in J. Portelli & R. Solomon (eds.). The Emsion o jDem omq in Education (Calgary: Detselig Enter-

prises Ltd.. 2001 ); D. Ron, J. Scott, and P Smith. The Canadian Fact Book on Pwerty - 2000 (Ottawa:

Canadian Council on Social Development, 2000).

2 K. LaParo and R. Pianta. "Predicting Children's Competence in the Early School Years: A Meta-

analpic Review." Review ojEducationa1 Research 70, no.4 (2000): 443-484.

3 J. D. Willms, 'The Prevalence of Vulnerable Children." in J. D. Willms (ed.), Vulnerable Children

(Edmonton: Universityof Alberta Press, 2002).

4 G. Fujiura and K. Yamaki. 'Trends in Demography of Childhood Poverty and Disabil~ty," ExcepEMMl

Chitdren 66, no. 2 (2000): 187-199.

5 K. Alexander and D. Entwisde. 'Early Schooling and Social Stratification." in R. Pianta and M Cox

(eds.), The Tmnsition to Kindergarten (Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing, 1999).

6 D. Jamieson and R. Tremblay, "Wlse Words from Rotterdam," Bulletin ojthe Centre of Excellence jm

&@ C W o d ~ l o p m e n t 4, no.1 (2005).

7 M. M a i n , and F. Mustard, Rmm'ng the Real Brain Drain: Early Years Study (Toronto: Children's

Secretariat, 1999); Willms.

8 Alexander and Entwistle.

9 Ibid.

10 C. E. Snow, M. S. Burns and P. Griffin. W m t i n g Reading DifFulties in Ymrng Childmr (Washing-

ton DC: National Academy Press. 1998).

11 R. Fransoo, M. Brownell, N. Roos, T. Ward and E. Wilson. "The WholeTruth: Socioeconomic Status

and Educational Outcomes," Education Canada 45, no. 3 (2005); McCain and Mustard.

12 Snow et ai.

13 LaParo and Pianta.

14 C. Ungerleider, 'Changing Expectations, Changing Schools: f i e Evolving Concept of the Good

School," Education Canada 44. n0.3 (2004).

I

Italian Campaign Victory in Europe I D-Day Liberation of Holland

Over the next twelve months, Canadians will commemorate the 60th anniversaries of a series of events which defined who we are as a nation and what we can accomplish together.

These also represent one of the last opportunities for large numbers of Wll veterans to participate in the commemoration of the proud history they helped create.

Help celebrate these defining moments in the Story of Canada and honour our W l l veterans by hosting a Memory Project speaker to talk with your students about the anniversary, and share his or her own personal story of service and sacrifice during World War Two.

Participating schools and community groups can win great prizes - books, computers, even a trip to a European battlesite!

Call the Memory Project at 1-866-701-1867 or email memoryOdominion.ca to host a veteran visitor in the weeks surrounding these important dates in our historical calendar.

THE MEMORY PROJECT ."I- A - CO**YUTI 01 mm~s -I r*omum

The Memory Project is an initiative of the Dominion Institute - a nationally registered charity dedicated to the promotion of Canadian history, Ce programme est tigalement offert en frangais.