Adult learning in Canada: Characteristics of learners - ARCHIVED

Research has shown that in a knowledge-based economy and society, economic opportunities and active participation in the broader society are increasingly linked to an individual's ability to command and control his or her own life. It is this context that makes the distribution of adult learning across the population of such importance.

Canada has had a long interest in better understanding the distribution of adult literacy and learning across population sub-groups. Canada participated in the first round of data collection in the International Adult Literacy Survey (ALL) in 1994. Canada was also a lead country in the international Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL) in 2003 ((the Canadian component is called the International Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS)).

The data collected by these surveys provide a wealth of information on the characteristics of adult learners and have generated a number of research studies. This article presents some of the key findings of a recent report that provides detailed information on the characteristics of adult learners in Canada, including the links between participation in adult education and training and literacy skill levels, education, family background and age.