The instructors were aware that the employment preparation program did not suit the needs of all students and quickly recognized when this occurred. Usually, they said, this became apparent in the coffee shop setting, and the student might become uncommunicative, aloof, and generally uncomfortable. The instructors recognized that students had many reasons for not wanting to join the program: the majority of students enrolled in the employment preparation program were women, and men may have felt uncomfortable; working in a kitchen is considered women's work; the program may not look like a student's idea of school; the student may not want to work, even if this was a stated goal; and the student may experience pressures from family and friends to be in a class setting and not 'waste their time' in the coffee shop. "I've learned that my expectations are not always their expectations. Fair enough. Why should they be?" said Carrie. The coffee shop setting has a context that many students from the general literacy program reject. Those who do accept it though, value the learning experiences that help them at home, with each other, and in the workplace.

Community of Practice

A community of practice was more apparent in the coffee shop setting than the classroom. Unlike the classroom, there was more of a learning focus in the coffee shop. In fact, the classroom instructors' role diminished and students often became supervisors, as in the vignette with Stacey. In addition, there were strong goals and a clear purpose for learning; students could see and understand the whole of their learning as opposed to small pieces of knowledge; the coffee shop was designed as an opportunity to engage in improvised practice in a supportive setting; and the learning curriculum—in other words, the process of learning each of the jobs in the coffee shop—was an opportunity to engage in practice.

While in the coffee shop, Carrie was the primary instructor, Fran became more of an assistant instructor, and Suzanne remained with one group of students to teach employability. Carrie explained her instructional approach.

It's ongoing teaching, demonstrating, and modeling. That's what we do, and no one just stands around observing. It's hands on.”

Fran and Suzanne occasionally switched roles to allow Suzanne to be in the coffee shop while Fran led the employability group. Suzanne spent the least amount of time in the coffee shop overall, and found herself being taught by the students when she was in the coffee shop. She wrote,

The student/teacher line tended to blur a lot for me in the kitchen. Because I was not there very often, I was not as familiar with the location of supplies, procedures, etc. The students were delighted to help me and seemed to take great pride in their knowledge and expertise. This was a very 'neat' thing to witness and really demonstrated to me how far they had come.