Select one of the case studies from this reading, and write a critical review analysis:
DeCandido, G. A., & Office, F. L. A. O. S. (2000). Literacy and libraries: learning from case studies. Retrieved from eBook Central (accessed through LIRN)
- Case studies #7, 12, or 16 on teaching reading: for use in the Written Assignment
A case study analysis must not merely summarize the case. It should identify key issues and problems, outline and assess alternative courses of action, and draw appropriate conclusions. The case study analysis should have these levels in APA writing:
- Identify the most important facts surrounding the case.
- Identify four key issues.
- Specify alternative courses of action, keeping the new literacies in mind.
- Evaluate each course of action based on the new literacies.
- Recommend the best course of action keeping the new literacies in mind.
Case study (DeCandido, 2000) is the story of how one rural public library started a literacy programme in a small community in east central Illinois. The main problem for people in the suburbs is the lack of educational institutions that are intermediate between school and university. At the moment there are a variety of continuing education and training courses all over the world, both in a stand-alone centre with the option to come to a classroom and use printed books, and online, where all learning can take place on an interactive platform. However, this has not always been the case. At one time it was libraries, or rather volunteers such as Wilson and Mary Crum, who together with Dorothy Magill were able to not only write a great reading programme but also win a grant to implement it.
Education in rural areas has four main challenges:
1 Huge distances between the rural community and the nearest town where modern technology and opportunities to learn it are located
2 Supporting literacy centres solely with taxes, so each project needs additional funds
3 The large number of migrants who do not speak English
4 Lack of equal educational opportunities for rural families with different income levels.
Robinson Public Library District had solutions to each problem:
1 For example, there was no telephone and each volunteer had to answer messages by travelling to the destination in person. Now, all requests can be handled through apps such as watsapp, telegram, and many other social communities. Further, it is now possible to use youtube to work with each of the students, meaning that one lesson recorded on one topic can be shown to different students as a teaching aid and something can be added or adjusted depending on the individual student's needs (Khan, 2011). This also adds mobility and reduces the time to interact with students within a lecture when a student cannot, for example, read.
2 Magill and Crum wrote a successful grant, and in 1986 the Adult Literacy Partners programme was added to RPLD's full-time services. And donations from the local newspaper, the Daily News, helped produce 25 certified reading specialists. Curriculum and materials were purchased from Literacy Volunteers of America, Laubach, and other prominent literacy organisations. Thus, in 1987, Adult Literacy Partners (ALP) expanded to provide services at the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrenceville, Illinois. In 1996, RPLD received $150,000 in funding from the LWRDF. The purpose of the three-year initiative was to improve existing library literacy programmes by sharing best practices with the entire literacy field. The project funded 13 literacy programmes in the US. Robinson was the only rural site (DeCandido, 2000).
3 In 1991, the Illinois Medium Security Correctional Centre opened in Robinson with 1,200 male inmates. The Illinois Secretary of State asked ALP to set up a tutor training programme for inmates interested in becoming volunteer tutors for other inmates. The community began to grow and attract more members both to teach and participate in new projects, as well as students to tutor from both the local native and migrant populations.
4 Any person can become a student in the Adult Literacy Partners programme. With the advent of the Internet, many problems with classroom equipment have been solved in favour of rooms equipped with computers and laptops. Moreover, the very possibility of training certified specialists from students has made it possible to fill the shortage of qualified personnel needed to train students. Moreover, a certified specialist has fresh knowledge of the difficulties and possibilities of overcoming them, as well as his/her own methods of self-study. It is a new and fresh way of looking at the problem of learning when experience is gained through practice.
However, not only tutors are needed, but also managers, informaticians and coordinators, methodologists and librarians. Any experience should be systematised and stored in order to be used in the future. Usually some people write the programme, others coordinate it, and others help with its implementation. The understanding of the objectives may be the same for all three, but the actions at each stage may be different for each person.
The ALP programme includes the recruitment, assessment, retention and referral of adult students from the community and incarcerated adult students, and the recruitment, training and retention of community and incarcerated volunteer tutors. Students can be people who are receiving unemployment benefits, dropouts, non-readers or low readers, inmates at Robinson Correctional Centre, and ‘at-risk’ high school students.
The ALP programme aims to increase the number of matriculated students by providing computer software/programmes to prepare them for matriculation and matriculation examinations. Having computer literacy helps to utilise internet resources both to learn English (British Council, 2019) and to participate in communities to promote children's literacy and love of reading (Home - Literacy Partners Inc., 2024).
In conclusion, this example of programme creation, application and development provides a framework for understanding how to proceed in challenging contexts for people with low educational attainment, limited educational opportunities and complex life situations. The ALP programme and its history of creation and development provides an advantage in addressing similar problems in all countries around the world.
References
British Council. (2019). British Council | The UK’s international culture and education organisation. Britishcouncil.org. https://www.britishcouncil.org/
DeCandido, G. A., & Office, F. L. A. O. S. (2000). Literacy and libraries: learning from case studies. Retrieved from eBook Central
Home - Literacy Partners Inc. (2024, March 7). Literacy Partners Inc. - Every Child Deserves a Great First Teacher. https://literacypartners.org/
Khan, S. (2011, March 9). Let’s use video to reinvent education. Www.ted.com. https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education?subtitle=en