Forms of workplace literacy using reflection-with-action methods: A scheme for inner-city adults

Abstract

This paper reports on a study that was part of the Workplace Literacy Program for inner-city adults conducted at Columbia University in New York City. The program involves residents of public housing projects in Harlem, New York and provides a community-based alternative to vocational education. Participants receive training and mentoring on specific projects as well as guidance in assimilating to their new workplace ethos and in seeking new careers in information technology. The program was instrumental in developing the Inner-City Workplace Literacy Arc, which provides a scheme for assessing the workplace assimilation of inner-city adults along definable stages of development of contemporary labor-market skills. The program involves community organizations, institutions of higher education, and local businesses and thereby provides a more balanced approach to community-based learning than simple training programs. Participants have benefited by the use of reflection-with-action methods in their learning journals, group sessions and mentoring meetings.