The Literacy Instruction program is a certificate offered at Simon Fraser University that provides foundational training in adult and community literacy education. It prepares students to teach literacy skills to adult learners and to support broader adult education and community development work. The curriculum combines coursework in literacy pedagogy and instructional methods with a supervised teaching practicum, giving students direct experience delivering literacy instruction in a community or adult-education setting. Depending on instructor availability, students have the option to complete the practicum in a French-language literacy setting. The certificate is intended for individuals who already work in, or are preparing to work in, adult basic education, community literacy organizations, and related adult-learning environments, building practical teaching skills alongside foundational knowledge of literacy instruction and assessment.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Physical Education, Secondary Teaching and Social Justice in Education are minors, and Literacy Instruction a certificate, housed in the Faculty of Education; none has its own published entrance average. Social Justice in Education states it 'may be added to any degree,' and Literacy Instruction is added to a student's major through a faculty advisor, so the base direct-entry route is the Faculty of Education's Bachelor of General Studies. BC/Yukon applicants need a minimum of five approved Grade 12 courses, including English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12 at a minimum of 70 percent, or the equivalent AP or IB course. Grade 11 prerequisites include English 11, Math 11 or Foundations of Mathematics/Pre-Calculus 11, one approved science course, and one Social Studies 11 course. At Grade 12, Course List A requires the English course plus two further courses from a broad approved list spanning humanities, science and social-science subjects. Admission is holistic across all approved Grade 11 and 12 marks; SFU publishes no fixed minimum competitive average for the Bachelor of General Studies route.
