Wages below the living wage are poverty wages for many households. For decades, teachers have been clear about the damaging impact poverty has on childhood development in particular, as well as on individuals and communities as a whole. Teachers experience first-hand the impact that poverty has on children, how it leaves children more vulnerable…

The purpose of this literature review is to explore the relationship between literacy and poverty primarily using data from the series of related international literacy assessments, commonly referred to as the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). IALS data provides extensive information about literacy and related factors such as employment,…

Given the prevalence of child poverty in Canada, its effects inevitably get played out in schools and classrooms. Poverty negatively shapes learning opportunities for students. The Canadian Teachers' Federation's (CTF's) research has found that many low-income children experience reduced motivation to learn, delayed cognitive development, lower…

The authors of this report analyzed the most recent data to illustrate the impact of literacy skills on both the micro- and macro-economic levels. The report explores whether there is a case to be made for direct links between literacy skill and income level. Data relating to the ability to get a job, job retention and promotion, risk of job loss,…

This report previews the Self-Sufficiency Project's (SSP's) longer-term effects by looking at these four related issues: wage progression, job retention, marital status, and attitudes toward work. A companion report, available separately, examines SSP's effects on children. Chapter 1 discusses the SSP research and demonstration project that…

The Minnesota Family Investment Program, the Canadian Self-Sufficiency Project, and Milwaukee's New Hope Project are three antipoverty programs that were undertaken in the 1990s to end dependency on welfare by "making work pay." The impacts of all three programs were reviewed and compared to those of the Seattle/Denver Income Maintenance…