Theory and Practice: Resources for Developing and Operating Literacy Programs for Youth at Risk
The New School model was not developed from whole cloth. It was built on a broad set of understandings gleaned from research conducted by others as well as the practical hands-on experience of the research and implementation team. The following includes the literature review conducted by John Malcolmson during the early planning stages of the project and the research report which describes both the history and findings of the project.
Links to other documents and websites offer additional resources for exploring key aspects of program design and implementation for both youth at risk and those who face significant literacy challenges. (Note that links often change over time. We will try to keep our links current, but if you have difficulty connecting to a link, please let us know.)
This list is far from all encompassing. We have sought to limit the links to a manageable number and to those most relevant to the New School model. A number of the websites listed offer many more links. Please contact us if you know of other websites and documents available online that you find particularly relevant and valuable to creating and operating educational programs for youth at risk with low literacy skills.
New School Reports
Literature Review: What Works in Youth Literacy and Why?
This literature review was conducted by John Malcolmson in 2001 during the planning stages of the New School study. It provides a good overview of contemporary definitions of “literacy” and how literacy challenges interface with so-called “youth at risk” and dropouts. It looks at what the research says about “wellness” or what we ultimately referred to as “social and emotional development” in relation to overcoming literacy challenges. It also describes promising practices in youth literacy, many of which were adopted and adapted in the design of the New School model. With an extensive bibliography, it’s a good place to begin to understand the complex issues related to providing quality literacy services for youth at risk.
Research Report: Report on the National Youth Literacy Demonstration Project
This is the final report on the development, implementation, and research of the comprehensive and integrated literacy program for at risk youth known as the New School Model. The report is intended for practitioners, administrators and policy makers. It describes the importance of improving literacy skills overall, the challenges faced by young people with literacy challenges, how the New School model evolved, key factors researched, lessons learned and promising practices.
Youth at Risk
There are multiple websites that focus on the work of organizations that target youth at risk throughout the world. These organizations typically conduct research, disseminate information, and offer links to other sites. At present, none of these sites focus specifically on literacy, but individuals interested in larger issues facing out of school youth may find useful information.
Centre for Research on Youth at Risk
This website focuses on applied research efforts conducted by St. Thomas University around a wide variety of factors related to youth at risk. Interestingly, there is little related to the literacy challenges many of these youth face. Nevertheless, it offers a wide spectrum of information on other issues and strategies – such as Restorative Justice – that impact youth at risk.
Youth at Risk – Young People Building Better Futures
This website in the United Kingdom describes the efforts of Youth at Risk to design, develop and deliver social intervention programs for youth at risk. They describe a variety of program models from “Coaching for Communities,” a week-long residential program that builds community and self confidence through arduous physical activities, to “Coaching for Success,” that focuses on improving academic and non-academic achievement through intensive training programs. Program descriptions are quite short but it provides an overview of a number of interesting program models. Some short policy statements in the Reference Library section are worth looking at for those thinking about starting a new program.
Youth at Risk – Unlocking Futures
This U.S. website describes the programs of a non-profit that focuses on diverse populations of youth at risk, from affluent youth to HIV parents, middle school boys without fathers, teen mothers, and others. There is little actual information about the programs but it can stimulate ideas about various kinds of targeted initiatives, and it’s an interesting Flash-based site.
Adult and Youth Literacy Compilation Sites
There are a number of websites that are comprised largely of databases of articles and publications related to adult and youth literacy. They also may include links to other literacy oriented websites. Other sites, such as University sites, have relevant articles and papers among their document collections. (Note: Most of these sites have simple search functions. If you want to search for a specific phrase, put quotation marks around the phrase.) Sometimes specific resources are not easy to find on these large content-rich sites, so we’ve included some specific links to topics of interest. Perhaps the most immediately useful of these sites is the Canadian National Adult Literacy Database described below.
National Adult Literacy Database (NALD)
This database of research and materials has a special focus on Canada and offers several recent books and reports on adult and youth literacy. Typing in search categories such as “youth literacy” and “youth at risk” yields a number of full-text articles and papers on subjects such as: How to Engage Youth in Literacy, Defining the Future: Embracing our Girls; Black Youth Literacy: A Guide for Program Development, The Challenge to Create a Safer Learning Environment for Youth. Practitioners interested in a Canadian perspective on youth at risk and literacy should be particularly interested in the NALD site.
National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)
A U.S. government resource with information about literacy programs and services from early childhood through adulthood. The site includes information and links on international efforts to improve literacy: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/international/intro.html Also, of particular interest to researchers and practitioners are a series of detailed reports from a series of workshops conducted by the Institute on topics such as Practice Models for Adolescent Literacy Success and Model Development, Implementation, and Effectiveness. Videos from these workshops are also available. http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/adolescent.html
Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS)
An online information and communications resource targeting adult and family literacy. The site does not specifically look at youth literacy but includes resources for teachers, students and administrators in related areas such as Family Literacy, Correctional Education, Health and Literacy, Technology Education, Workforce Education and Science and Numeracy, among others. Note: the collections of resources are no longer supported by NIFL, the initial funder, but remain available on the Web at: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/collections/collections.html
The National Academies Press
This site does not focus specifically on youth or adult literacy. It is the distribution site for research reports prepared by the U.S. National Academies of Science. Many of the reports are available to read “free” online. However, the interface is awkward. You access one machine-translated page at a time. The more readable PDF page is also available but to print out the report, you will have to do it one page at a time. Some complete PDF documents are downloadable and you can of course pay to download a document or buy the hard copy. It’s all a bit klunky but these reports, created by the best and brightest the U.S. has to offer, can be worthwhile. For instance, the report, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, states: “Learning research suggests that there are new ways to introduce students to traditional subjects, such as mathematics, science, history and literature, and that these new approaches make it possible for the majority of individuals to develop a deep understanding of important subject matter.”
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
Supported by the U.S. Department of Education, ERIC states that it is “The world’s largest digital library of education literature.” Many of the items are bibliographic records of journal articles, books, research reports, etc. However, there are many full text items available for free download. Unlike the National Academies Press website, this one is easy to navigate. Just click on the ERIC Search tab on the Home page and type in your search terms. If you want to find items with a specific phrase, be sure to put quotes around the phrase. After typing in “youth literacy” A search using the phrase “youth literacy” yields thirty abstracts, some with available full documents. Among them Literacy for Youth: What Counts as Success in Programs for Youth at Risk?
University of California, Irvine
As with many other universities, UC, Irvine allows free access to a large and wide variety of articles and papers. It is particularly easy to use. Just go to the home page and type your search term in the search field at the top of the page. Examples: Article: Literacy Strategies Improve Content Area Learning, which describes how middle and high school teachers can improve content area learning by using a variety of literacy strategies, and Abstract: Re-Active: youth, gaming and the American social imaginary, which describes strategies for using game play and multimedia development to engage disaffected youth and develop specific knowledge and skills.
Youth in Adult Literacy Programs
Chapter: Youth in Adult Literacy Education Programs
This chapter, written by Elisabeth Hayes, is part of the Review of Adult Learning and Literacy published by the U.S-based National Center for Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL). It explores the issues of out of school youth participating in literacy programs designed for adults. While the chapter does not offer solutions, it does provide insights useful for policy makers and practitioners.
Research Paper: Educational Outcomes at Age 19 Associated with Reading Ability at Age 15, June 2006
This research report by Statistics Canada looks at the relationship between literacy at early ages and education outcomes. The study found that youths’ reading ability at age 15 clearly impacted their subsequent graduation rates. The report concludes: “The apparent struggle to graduate from high school among those with low literacy levels underscores a group of vulnerable youth who may benefit from strategies aimed at keeping them in school and improving their skill levels.”
Youth and Justice
Centre for Restorative Justice (Simon Fraser University)
This site contains a wealth of information on restorative justice, including opportunities to dialogue, reports and papers and links to other sites, several of them international. The focus of most of the information and papers is on restorative justice in the criminal justice system. However, at least one paper, Restitution Implemented in Saanich School District #63, deals directly with the use of restorative justice in a classroom setting. http://www.sfu.ca/cfrj/fulltext/macgregor.pdf
Report: Achieving Effective Outcomes in Youth Justice
This report, Achieving Effective Outcomes in Youth Justice, prepared by the New Zealand Ministry of Social Development, presents the results of a cross-departmental research project aimed at identifying factors associated with effective outcomes in the youth justice system in New Zealand. The research confirms the importance of: providing early intervention, building positive relationships, diverting young people from appearing the Youth Court, undertaking family group conferences, and responding to alcohol and drug abuse.
Youth Development
Youth Development and Neighborhood Influences: Challenges and Opportunities
This report was developed by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. It is based on the thinking of researchers and practitioners who have dealt with youth issues outside of the school environment. The findings in the report include many of the strategies that were also found to be effective in the New School research. Downloading the report is free but you must sign in using the button on the page.
CASEL – Collaboration for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
CASEL is an organization that states its mission is “to establish social and emotional learning as an essential part of education from preschool through high school.” The need for a significant investment in time and resources for social and emotional development was one of the key promising practices indicated in the New School study. The site offers insights and publications related to what they call, “Social and emotional learning (SEL).” You may purchase books and materials from the site but they also have a number of free to download articles, including: Implementation, Sustainability, and Scaling Up of Social-Emotional and Academic Innovations in Public Schools and Safe and Sound: An Educational Leader’s Guide to Evidence-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs.
Report: Opportunities Suspended: The Devastating Consequences of Zero Tolerance and School discipline Policies
This report by the Harvard Civil Rights Project scrutinizes the impact that a brutally strict Zero Tolerance approach to discipline is having on children in schools. The report illustrates that Zero Tolerance is unfair, is contrary to the developmental needs of children, denies children educational opportunities, and often results in the criminalization of children. This is consistent with research results from the New School study. Educators who are questioning the use of Zero Tolerance and are looking for reasons to implement alternative approaches will be well served by this research report, developed as the result of a national conference on school discipline.
Adolescent Literacy
Report: Adolescents and Literacy – Reading for the 21st Century
This report synthesizes contemporary research and includes a discussion on teaching reading to adolescents for whom English is not their first language. It also looks at the nature of reading and content learning and the use of computers in adolescent literacy.
International Reading Association
Founded in 1956, the International Reading Association is one of the oldest organizations involved in the teaching of reading skills to people of all ages. They have affiliates and councils in Canada and the U.S. and other affiliates in countries around the world. Although they have an extensive library of resources, most require membership to download. However, there are some resources that are free, such as a video presentation on What the Future of Reading Research Could Be and a position paper on What Adolescents Deserve: Principles for supporting adolescents’ literacy growth, which urges schools and teachers to take the issue of youth literacy seriously and design and deliver programs that meet the needs of youth who are struggling readers. It serves as an excellent starting point for discussions on the program and provisional level.
Small School Research/Alternative Schools
Report: New Small Learning Communities: Findings From Recent Literature
This report reflects on the growth of the “small school movement,” kinds of small schools, recent research, and key elements related to success. It all addresses various barriers and pitfalls related to operation of a small school model. This is a valuable source of information for anyone working in or considering development of a small school alternative.
The Education Revolution
This website of the Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) provides a diverse source of information about “learner centered” education and “democratic schools.” Although it doesn’t focus specifically on literacy issues or at-risk youth, it offers a broad look at practical issues related to starting and operating an alternative school, with examples from member schools around the world. It lists 19 member schools in Canada.
Curriculum and Teaching
Research Brief: Never too Late: Approaches to Reading Instruction for Secondary Students with Disabilities
This paper deals with the problem of students with learning disabilities who do not lead to read proficiently in elementary grades. “If students do not learn to read at or close to grade level by the end of elementary school, they enter the secondary grades unable to meet the demands of their content area classes.” This is consistent with what was observed in the New School study. The brief describes two approaches designed to improve the reading skills of secondary students with learning disabilities: Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), and Strategic Instruction Model (SIM). Teachers will find that these strategies work well with all students, but are particularly effective for learners who cannot easily learn from teaching that presents skills implicitly.
Article: Cross-Curricular Thematic Instruction
This article focuses on the use of “cross-curricular thematic instruction that encourages the exploration of important topics, problems, and questions by engaging students in many varied reading and writing opportunities.” It points out that by building upon what students know, it helps increase confidence, improve reading and writing, expand concepts and background knowledge, and foster positive attitudes about reading and writing. It’s a relatively concise outline of a strategy found to be effective in the New School study.
Resource Guide: Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level
This guide includes both background information on what it takes to help adolescents who struggle with print become skilled readers and a list of annotated resources for the classroom. Included are ideas for informal assessment, a synthesis of research, and principles for effective staff development. The resource section includes both teaching strategies and learning strategies. A solid source of information for both program developers and teachers.
Paper: Apprenticing Adolescent Readers to Academic Literacy
The authors of this Harvard Educational Review paper describe an instructional framework - Reading Apprenticeship - that is based on a socially and cognitively complex conception of literacy, and they examine an Academic Literacy course using this framework.
Center on English Learning and Achievement (CELA)
Since 1987 CELA has been conducting research seeking to identify ways to improve students’ English and literacy skills. Their website includes numerous articles and reports available for free download. For example, Beating the Odds: Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well offers an in-depth look at research into effective secondary instruction in reading, writing and English Language Arts.
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)
SEDL describes itself as a “nonprofit education research, development, and dissemination corporation.” Many of the documents on the site are available for free download. Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level – A Guide to Resources identifies key strategies and useful resources for helping adolescents who struggle with literacy. The Working Systemically Toolkit is available on the site. It is designed for district-wide planning and change, but at least some of its underlying systemic approach to analysis, planning and change could be useful for planning smaller learning interventions. A short animated presentation introduces the general concept.
Cognition and Learning
Book: Learning to Think, Learning to Learn: What the Science of Thinking and Learning has to Offer Adult Education
This book provides an overview of what contemporary brain science tells us about how people think and learn. Moreover, it ties theory to practice in providing teachers with practical guides for using strategies such as developing critical thinking skills, using active learning and problem-based learning. Although the book focuses on adult learners, the principles apply to younger students as well. The PDF is made from an old copy of the book but the content supersedes the marginal quality of the text.
Report: How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice
This report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences focuses on how insights from research on how people learn can be translated into classroom practice. It outlines principles of learning and then describes implications for instruction. This document is on the National Academies website. You’ll have to provide your email address but the download is free.
Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Thinking Visible
This report explains the concept of cognitive apprenticeship and shows how students can benefit from having thinking and learning made visible. It includes examples of strategies useful for both curriculum development and teaching.
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