They encouraged her and taught her to be self–reliant. Rouda referred to this as "responsibility yourself". She said that the instructors and program in general taught her to…

…[have] responsibility yourself. You don't need every time [to have somebody say],'Okay do that.' You have to learn quickly, you know to be responsible yourself. I am learning by myself. First time in the placement, if they tell you something, they not keep repeating, you know, you have to do it yourself.

She said she could see and feel her confidence growing: "I see it. I am growing myself. I am more confidence in myself." She added that her children have also seen a change. "My children, they see now that I am very, very serious about [getting] a job." She felt that the program had changed her and given her both the practical skills and self–confidence she would need in a job.

Now I am better. I am better to stand up myself, to do something they teach me here. If I try to get [a] job in [a] restaurant or cafeteria, Tim Horton's or something like that, I know everything about the rules, [like] safety. I know everything about it. Before I didn't know about Canada culture, you know, they have to do it about this safety. I didn't know about that before. So now I know about it, everything. So I can try to get a job that will support me.

Not only could participation be described in the coffee shop based on its fundamental notion that identities are constructed as an individual engages in a productive activity in a community of practice, but it also contained elements of the more complex idea of legitimate peripheral participation. Legitimate peripheral participation was apparent as new students were fully accepted into the coffee shop. These new students or newcomers were usually paired with a more experienced student or oldtimer to learn a specific job. The job that had to be completed was an integral part of their learning and the functioning of the coffee shop. In other words, if the job was not completed, it affected the operation of the coffee shop and left a gap in the student's learning and understanding. The instructors and other students provided monitoring, support, and direct feedback. In addition, students learned to self–correct. Feedback was often related to an activity, such as successful baking or missing a step in a recipe. It could also be more personal in nature, in that students were complimented on their overall abilities and personal characteristics. The coffee shop environment, although filled with pressures, was also an environment that was supportive and maintained a focus on learning, as opposed to simply running a coffee shop. When errors were made, they were discussed and used as learning opportunities. Finally, students experienced changes in the way they viewed themselves. As their confidence grew, they began to think of themselves as employees.