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To view the Spring 2025 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2025/spring.

Education | Faculty of Education Simon Fraser University Calendar | Summer 2025

Literacy Instruction

Certificate

Admission to this program has been suspended effective Spring 2018.

This program offers basic accreditation in adult and community literacy education to prepare students to teach literacy skills to adult learners. It is for those who seek a practical credential as part of their undergraduate degree, to enhance adult education and community development skills within the chosen program of study, and/or support entry into the field of adult literacy education. The program offers guided practice and supervision in a literacy education setting. There is an option to undertake the practicum in a French language literacy setting, subject to instructor availability.

General certificate regulations apply; see here for more information. Completion of the certificate is normally within five years of admission to the program.

The certificate program cannot be used in place of the Faculty of Education's professional development program or equivalent as a means to obtain a British Columbia teaching certificate.

Admission Requirements

Admission to this program has been suspended effective Spring 2018.

Admission to Simon Fraser University is required, together with formal program application to the Faculty of Education (undergraduate programs) . Students should meet with a Faculty of Education advisor to complete the application process.

Before applying for program admission, applicants normally will have achieved successful completion, with a minimum C+ grade, of the following.

  • EDUC 342-3 Contemporary Approaches to Literacy Instruction

Program Requirements

Units applied to this certificate may not be applied to any other Simon Fraser University certificate or diploma, but they may be applied toward major or minor program requirements or toward a bachelor’s degree under regulations governing those programs.

At least 10 of the 20 required units must be completed at Simon Fraser University.

Students are required to achieve a minimum 2.0 grade point average (GPA), calculated on all Simon Fraser University courses applied to the program, with the exception that duplicate courses are counted only once.

Students complete a minimum total of 20 units, including one of

EDUC 311 - Foundations in Indigenous Education, Language, and Culture (3)
INDG 101 - Introduction to Indigenous Studies (3)

and all of

EDUC 341 - Literacy, Education and Culture (3)
EDUC 342W - Contemporary Approaches to Literacy Instruction (3)
EDUC 343 - Literacy Practicum (5)

and a minimum of six units, selected with approval from the Faculty of Education advisor, from the following list of multidisciplinary courses, or from approved 400 division EDUC special topics courses related to literacy in education.

CMNS 226 - Digital Media Communication Techniques (3)
EDUC 240 - Social Issues in Education (3)
EDUC 252 - Introduction to Reflective Practice (4)
EDUC 325 - Assessment for Classroom Teaching (3)
EDUC 351 - Teaching the Older Adult (3)
EDUC 382 - Diversity in Education: Theories, Policies, Practices (4) or EDUC 441 - Multicultural and Anti-racist Education (4)
EDUC 422 - Learning Disabilities (4)
EDUC 467 - Curriculum and Instruction in Teaching English as an Additional Language (4)
EDUC 468 - Sociocultural Perspectives on Language, Cognitive Development and EAL Instruction (4)
ENGL 115W - Literature and Culture (3)
ENGL 199W - Writing to Persuade (3)
ENGL 371 - Writing: Theory and Practice (4)
GERO 302 - Health Promotion and Aging (3)
HUM 320 - Cross-Cultural Philosophy in the Humanities (4)
LING 160 - Language, Culture and Society (3)
PHIL 105 - Critical Thinking (3)
PSYC 106 - Psychological Issues in Contemporary Society (3)
SA 304 - Social Control (S) (4)
SD 281 - Introduction to Sustainability (3)
GSWS 309 - Gender and International Development (4)

Residency Requirements and Transfer Credit

  • At least half of the program's total units must be earned through Simon Fraser University study.
  • At least two thirds of the program's total upper division units must be earned through Simon Fraser University study.

Transfer credit for courses completed at other institutions, before or after certificate program admission, may be approved as credit used toward program fulfillment provided that at least half of the certificate program's total unit requirements are completed at Simon Fraser University. Relevant course work must be approved by the undergraduate advisor.