The coffee shop was a simulated work environment focused on the operation of a small business. The physical context of the coffee shop was a workplace, although this sometimes created unease when students first entered the program because it didn't match the students' ideas of a learning setting found in a school. In addition, the functioning of the coffee shop centred around a kitchen and baking—work that is most often the domain of women. Most men who identified employment as a goal were reluctant to take part in the program. Of the potential students who did enter the program, most seemed to value the opportunity to learn a marketable employment skill (such as operating the cash register) in addition to the chance to take part in a work setting to gain experience and knowledge about the expectations of work. Although they didn't usually transfer the practical skills developed in the coffee shop to their job placement, they did seem to draw upon their knowledge about workplace culture. Students also talked about how they learned to be more particular when reading, although most didn't say that they used any specific literacy skills in their job placements.

The coffee shop—like the classroom— was also shaped by the people in the setting. Unlike the classroom though, the students did not contribute as much to the context. In the classroom, students had expectations of what literacy and learning should look like and even asked for specific kinds of learning, such as the vocabulary lesson. But in the coffee shop, most students had very little paid-work experience and even less experience learning about work. It was a very new and unique learning setting for them. Subsequently, they contributed very little to the context. In addition, one of the instructors, Carrie, played a large role in shaping the context. Compounding this was the changed role of the other two instructors who took on the role of assistants while in the coffee shop. Fran even recollected how she learned to communicate with the students after witnessing Carrie. For the most part, the context of the coffee shop was shaped by one individual who held the balance of power. She established the routines, set the expectations, assessed progress, and gauged a students' readiness for job placements. One question that arises is what could this environment look like if the students had more of a say in shaping the context for learning?

The choice of the specific job placements was made with the following criteria in mind: the job had to offer the students a hands–on and supportive learning opportunity; the job had to be the kinds of jobs that students could realistically see themselves doing; the job had to be different from the kinds of jobs students could get on their own, such as cleaning or working in a fast food restaurant; and the job had to have the potential for future employment. Although the program attempted to control the overall context of the job placement component, it could not always have any influence over the specific site contexts once students were in the placements. This was why Carrie, the instructor, who visited the students on their placements, played a key role. If a student experienced difficulties while in the job placement, as in Nadine's example, Carrie could intervene. Although the supervisor working with the students at each job placement was most influential in shaping the learning context, Carrie could negotiate changes if needed.