The Association of
Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) is one of the 17 consortium
members of the Health and Learning Knowledge Centre (HLKC)
established by the Canadian Council on Learning(CCL).
The HKLC was created in recognition of
the increasing evidence that the health and learning of Canadians
are intrinsically linked.
Research and community-based initiatives demonstrate that
education, health literacy and healthy communities have positive
effects on people’s lifestyle choices and use of health
services. HLKC has created and delegated leadership to 11
Work Groups focusing on specific ages and/or life stages
and settings.
ACCC is the lead organization of
the Young Adults Work Group which targets young adults between
the ages of 18 and 34.
The Young Adults Work
Group is comprised of members from institutions and organizations
representing young adults in various settings at the community,
regional and national levels.
- Association of Canadian Community Colleges
- Canadian Alliance of Student Associations
- Canadian Association of College and University Student
Services
- CCL Work and Learning Knowledge Centre
- Cégep Marie-Victorin
- College of the North Atlantic
- Éducacentre
- Fanshawe College
- Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
- National Educational Association of Disabled Students
- Nova Scotia Community College
- Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies
- Simon Fraser University
- Studentcare.net/works
- University of British Columbia
- Vancouver Community College
The Young Adults Work Group
provides leadership in supporting young adults in the area
of health and learning through knowledge exchange and dissemination
among organizations and providers who serve the young adults’ constituency.
As part of the Young Adults Work Group’s
mandate, ACCC prepared an Environmental
Scan related to health and learning issues and challenges
that young adults face in Canadian society. Some of the themes
included in the Environmental Scan are: access for young adults
with disabilities; smoking; alcohol and substance abuse; mental
health; community belonging, integration and support; physical
activity; eating and weight control habits; workplace health
and safety; marginalized young adults; Aboriginal young adults;
and, young adult immigrants. ACCC will also produce several
papers called Lessons in Learning addressing key elements
drawn from the Environmental
Scan.
In the fall of 2007, ACCC conducted focus
groups with young adults in colleges/institutes and universities
as part of a Canada-wide consultation. The objective of the
focus groups was to identify the most significant health challenges
of young adults that affect academic performance and to get
their perspective on how post-secondary institutions are addressing
them. A report highlighting the findings of the focus groups
will be available on this website in February 2008.
In an attempt to provide an insight into
the pivotal role that Students Services play in making post-secondary
institutions healthy settings, the YAWG also identified the
need to collect information from institutions and link it
to the information gathered from the focus groups. An e-mail
survey and telephone interviews were conducted with Student
Services representatives from colleges/institutes and universities
across the country during the months of November and December
2007. A report highlighting the findings of the focus groups,
the e-mail surveys and the telephone interviews was prepared
to provide recommendations for post-secondary institutions
and stakeholders on how to address these health issues in
order to continue to provide and/or sustain a healthy setting
for young adults to learn. The report entitled Post-secondary
Institutions as Healthy Settings – The Pivotal Role
of Student Services is now available.
The following reports are also available:
Exemplary Practices in Addressing Workplace Health and Safety of Young Adults
Sustaining Student Health: Healthy Students, Healthy Campus Settings |
