Workplace education has grown far beyond basic skills and English-as-a-second-language instruction. It now encompasses equity, conflict resolution, organizational change, leadership, labour adjustment, clear writing, and more. Although we mention these subjects here, we realize that they require their own guidebooks for thorough understanding. This book deals solely with basic skills education.

You can include basic skills in a workplace development initiative in different ways. Some programs have strictly work- related performance goals; others include personal development goals; and some, especially programs set in learning centres, aim to satisfy individual learning desires.

Curriculum engages all the people involved in a workplace education program, especially the instructors and those workers directly engaged in learning. Curriculum involves designing a learning program, putting it into action, reflecting on its success, revising the design, putting the new design into action, reflecting. . . and so the process continues.

You can publish products that document the process and illustrate some of the steps and outcomes along the way - learners' stories, adaptations of written materials from a workplace, outlines of steps and work sheets to use in specific learning activities, and so forth.

In its most inclusive definition curriculum accounts for and directs attention to cultural diversity and other differences that affect learning (gender, class, race, learning styles, prior experience, for example). Workplace curriculum developers commonly consider the impact on the workers of workplace materials, training, and systems. For instance, what would be the effect of biased work-related materials in technical training programs? To what extent should a workplace educator be involved in promoting equity, maintaining balance in workplace relations, and educating for change?