Alarming Literacy Rates in One of America’s Largest Cities: What Can Be Done in the City of Detroit?
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Abstract
Regarded as a major cultural and industrial center, Detroit is known for its contributions to art, architecture, design, and music, which led to its "Motown" nickname, in addition to its ties to the birth of the auto industry, which brought it the nickname of "Motor City." Despite hosting several higher learning institutions and a national research university, Detroit has been facing a continued decline of its adult literacy rates that amount to 47.00%, meaning that half of the City's population are functionally illiterate. Low literacy skills can profoundly affect adults' ability to fully participate in daily activities and contribute to the world around them. Based on statistical data corroborated with historical events and socio-economic factors, the paper discusses the root causes that have led to Detroit's having one of the lowest literacy rates in the United States. Various efforts aimed to remedy this situation are highlighted along with the entities involved in this on-going endeavor.
Disciplines
Language and Literacy Education | Library and Information Science | Urban Studies and Planning
Recommended Citation
Anghelescu, H.G.B. (2024). “Alarming Literacy Rates in One of America’s Largest Cities: What Can Be Done in the City of Detroit?” in: Kurbanoğlu, Serap et al. (eds). Information Experience and Information Literacy. 8th European Conference on Information Literacy, ECIL 2023, Krakow, Poland, October 9-11, 2023. Revised Selected Papers. Part II, Springer, 2024, pp. 44-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52998-6_4 ; https://ecil2023.ilconf.org/
Included in
Language and Literacy Education Commons, Library and Information Science Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons
Comments
Accepted manuscript version, deposited by permission.