Acknowledgements

During the next decade, a large turnover of faculty in the Ontario college system is anticipated. The Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) college program will not be exempt. During the past decade, the role of the LBS practitioner has become increasingly complex as the field has become professio nalized. Not only do new practitioners have to absorb an overwhelming amount of information up front, they also have to work hard to keep their knowledge current as they respond to changing student profiles, evolving community environments, technological changes and new ministry initiatives. An Orientation Guide for the New LBS College Practitioner was commissioned by the College Sector Committee in response to the growing need for trained LBS practitioners in the college system.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the eight new practitioners who found time in their busy schedules to participate in the development of this guide. They provided a valuable first-hand look at their own orientation process and contributed ideas about content. I also wish to thank the twenty-eight experienced practitioners, who with a total exceeding 352 teaching years in the LBS college program, helped identify examples of the roles and responsibilities associated with their positions.

Participating colleges and LBS college practitioners include:

Algonquin: Judy Bernstein and Doug Hierlihy

Canadore: Barb Glass

Centennial: Gregory Nicolls

Conestoga: Anne Ashberry, Judy Bali, Susan Garlick, Sharon Herman, Anne Jones, Dianne Murphy, April Philpotts and Murray Stinson

Confederation: Judy Barton, Joan Coutanche, Jane Dolcetti, Lynn Klein and Leslie MacGregor

 

Durham: Sherri Lynn Escoe, Cheryl Hurst and Janet Nisbet

Fanshawe: Robert Brine and Valerie Currie Georgian: Jim Donald, J. Patton, Nancy Phelps, Joanne Pineda and John Hudson

St. Lawrence: Greg Forbes, Mary Gelinas, Derek Rogers, Eithne Dunbar and Lillian Rombough-Froese

Seneca: Elizabeth Charters and Anny Verhovsek

Sheridan: Nancy Harmer and Trudy Olsen

Judy Barton, Elizabeth Charters, Barb Glass, Leslie MacGregor, Joanne Pineda and April Philpotts deserve special recognition for reviewing the Guide. The Guide is all the better for their input.

This project involved a large number of contributors and I apologize if any one of them has been overlooked in the acknowledgements.

This project was funded by the National Literacy Secretariat and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities whose support is very much appreciated.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the College Sector Committee for Adult Upgrading and Lynne Wallace, Executive Director, for recognizing that well prepared and professionally trained practitioners are the key ingredient in quality LBS college programming.

Researcher/Writer: Dee Goforth