Recruitment

In the two pilot programs the participants had been recruited by workers - a rehab worker in the case of the Malaspina program and a Native community worker in the case of the Saanich program. In the evening class, most of the participants were working and fee-payers. They indicated that they knew the college existed and offered upgrading. In the other classes, by far the majority were referred by agency workers and other "feeder" programs. Some people said they knew the programs existed through their friends, but most did not know about the programs until a worker mentioned it. Nearly everyone agreed that more advertising was required.

Fears and anxieties

Their fears and anxieties about coming revolved around their feelings that: they might be the only one with a real problem; they might be too old; they would have to sit at desks like in school; learning might be painful; and, they might not "make it" again. One of the classes was situated on a second story of the building and when asked to go back to the first day of the program and to remember what it felt like, nearly all the participants said "scared". One said he missed the class. Another said he stopped half-way up the stairs and asked himself what he was doing. They were afraid of themselves, of failure and of school. Many of the participants in other classes said that other people - friends and family did not know they were coming to literacy classes. They said either that they were going to college, or that they were "upgrading" their education.

Reasons for participation

One woman said she was tired of hiding her problem (illiteracy) and having it “eat away” at her. One person said, "It's like being in prison for years - the prison of oneself." Some of the day class participants at Camosun had come from other community-based literacy programs which, they said, were very useful in giving them hope and a belief in themselves - the belief that they were teachable, and could learn. Many of the evening class were there to try to improve their job prospects. Some wanted to enter apprenticeship programs and did not have the required academic entry requirements. Some of the men in other classes had had their own businesses, but they had failed, so they were trying to improve their skills to find another job or be more successful next time round. One of the men did not want to be in school. He had had a business, but an accident prevented his continuing in that line of work. He had been told to take a course in small business and for that he needed to improve his literacy skills. In the Native program some of the women said their marriages had broken up and they needed to upgrade so they could work and not be on social assistance.