Preliminary Details

Research Topic/Focus:

What is the economic impact of increased literacy on the state of South Carolina?

Working Title:

Literacy ROI: An Economic Impact Study of Literacy Improvements in South Carolina

Background:

There have been several return-on-investment studies done in recent years, but almost all of them focus on the measurable benefits of education rather than literacy specifically. However, since literacy is the foundation of almost all education, these studies will be relevant. Almost all of the studies have focused on national statistics rather than local, so gathering SC-specific information will be a challenge. I will probably get around this hurdle by incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data measuring tools, such as surveys sent to direct literacy providers, and local chambers of commerce. I will use the nationwide studies as jumping off points to get ideas about all the different facets of the issue that I should be considering.

Constraints:

• Time consideration = December 12th (project due date) December 16th = presentation of findings to Literacy 2030 coalition.
• Access consideration = Many direct literacy providers are hard to find (they might simply tutor people in their homes) and are stretched very thin (many have other careers and do this important work in their spare time) so they might not be easy to reach or get responses from.
• Ethical consideration = some participants in literacy programs -- especially adult learners -- may be hesitant to have their experiences made public, as there are often shame or embarrassment issues with having low literacy skills as an adult.
• Funding consideration = I have no real funding for this research project, but incidentals such as photocopying and postage should be covered.