Literacy Information

LITERACY FAQs

Q. What is literacy?

A. In the past, we talked about literacy as the skills needed to read and write. The definition of literacy has expanded to include many other foundational skills, including math, digital technology, and interpersonal skills.

“Literacy today means much more than the ability to read and write. To succeed economically and socially, adults need the ability to analyze information, understand abstract ideas and acquire many other complex life skills.” Canadian Council on Learning

Literacy skills are closely related to the Skills for Success. These are the nine skills identified by the Canadian government as being critical to succeeding in work, learning and life. The Skills for Success are:

Adaptability
Collaboration
Communication
Creativity and innovation
Digital
Numeracy
Problem solving
Reading
Writing

Learn more about the Skills for Success here!

Q. What causes someone to have low literacy skills?

A. There are many reasons why someone might have low literacy skills. Here are just a few to consider:

Upbringing (family moved frequently; family not supportive of learning; parent(s) had low literacy skills)
Health (lack of attendance or inability to concentrate due to illness, injury, impacts of medication, lack of nutrition)
Abuse (unable to focus at school)
Unrecognized learning issues
Undiagnosed learning disabilities
Physical issues
Forgetting a previously learned skill due to lack of practice

Q. Can someone with a high school diploma have low literacy skills?

A. Yes, it is very important to remember that education is not always an accurate indicator of a person's literacy skills! Sometimes people have a high school diploma but find they lack certain literacy skills. And someone might lack educational credentials but have very strong literacy skills. Although literacy skills and educational levels are related, they aren’t the same thing.

Literacy at A Glance

(fact sheets)

About Ontario’s literacy programs:

The provincially funded literacy programs are part of the Employment Ontario system of services. These FREE programs are designed to meet the diverse needs of our community and are specialized for those who are: