Interest in professionalism and certification for Ontario’s literacy practitioners has waxed and waned over the years. At present, there is a renewed enthusiasm for examining issues related to professionalism in the literacy field and the Spotlight on Learning conference hosted a number of workshops and offered keynote addresses on the topic.

Dr. Allan Quigley, a professor of Adult Education at St. Francis Xavier University and a significant contributor to Beyond the Book: Learning From Our History – the Ontario Literacy Coalition’s newest publication about the history of literacy – kicked off the conference with a keynote address on building professionalism in adult literacy. In his address entitled The Head, the Hand, and the Heart: Creating a Blueprint for Literacy Professionalism, Quigley reminded participants that literacy practitioners bring more than knowledge and skills to their work: they also bring strong values that need to be recognized, appreciated and reflected in any future discussions on professionalism.

Quigley also presented a workshop at the conference that shared the theme of his keynote address called The Head, the Hand, and the Heart: Creating a Blueprint for Literacy Professionalism. In the workshop, he reinforced the concepts explored in his keynote address and urged participants to brainstorm ideas about the knowledge, skills, and values practitioners need to do their jobs well. Professionalization of the Literacy Field was also the title and focus of a panel presentation moderated by Dr. Quigley. The panelists were Lesley Brown, Executive Director of the Ontario Literacy Coalition; Nancy Jackson, OISE professor and co-founder of the Festival of Literacies; Sharon Rajabi, an author, presenter, and teacher of English as a Second Language; and Anne Ramsay, Executive Director of Project READ and Coordinator of the Teacher of Adults: Literacy Educator Certificate Program.

Lesley Brown began the panel presentation by identifying some of the primary questions facing the Ontario literacy field: Is professionalization viable? Is the institutional diversity in literacy program delivery an obstacle that can be overcome? Is there an appetite for professionalization in Ontario? Lesley also suggested that professionalization goes beyond professional development and includes certification, assessment, and evaluation, as well as professional conduct.

During the panel presentation, participants heard about other professionalization and certification success stories. Ontario literacy practitioners may choose to examine the model presented by English as a Second Language practitioners as they became an accredited field. TESL Ontario (Teachers of English as a Second Language of Ontario) began its professionalization and certification journey in 1994. Sharon Rajabi summarized this process in Are We Professionals Yet? A Brief Overview of TESL Ontario Certification Process. Anne Ramsay, Coordinator of the Teacher of Adults: Literacy Educator Certificate Program, provided a quick overview of the program and spoke of the growth in the breadth and depth of skills, knowledge and attitudes/values now required to be a literacy practitioner. Ramsay suggested that the field needs professionalization to gain the respect and visibility that adult literacy practitioners deserve. The panel discussion concluded with a call for further action by literacy practitioners to contribute further to work on professionalization.

Also contributing to professionalization in the field of English as a Second Language is the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB). Jennifer McKay delivered a workshop called Language is the Key in which she provided participants with an overview of the benchmarking process that created a consistent, national way of determining language proficiency. McKay also introduced the CCLB’s Literacy Placement Tool.

When it comes to documenting what Ontario’s literacy practitioners need to know, we already have a good place to begin. Anne Ramsay and Lindsay Kennedy, in a separate workshop, provided an overview of the Teacher of Adults: Literacy Educator Certificate Program, identifying how the program first evolved in 1994 and how it has been modified to reflect changes in the literacy field, with its most recent updates being completed in 2008.

Have Your Say. . .

Professionalism can be defined in a variety of ways. Of particular interest is a new branch called social professionals. This area of study examines the role of professionals in keeping citizens independent, supporting them in their development and autonomy and increasing the capacity of communities to care for each other. According to this description, literacy practitioners could well be seen as social professionals. Do you think literacy practitioners can or should be considered social professionals? Should we be working on accreditation for literacy practitioners? Is there a need for a professional organization?

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