Let us now turn to examples of adult literacy and basic education practice based on the critical perspective and inspired by the example of Freire as it has developed in the "highly modernized capitalist society" of Canada.

Five Sites of Struggle

Similar to Freire, Paul Belanger asserts that two options lie open to adult basic educators in Canada: the adaptive approach, in which illiterate adults must adjust to the needs of the economic structure, and the approach of "liberating communities and liberating the individual". He contends that those he terms the "democratically-minded" will choose the latter. This option implies that, adult education policies will drop the "official stance of neutrality". 17 Serge Wagner points out that if literacy education is to become part of the collective advancement of the working class, then the real, i.e. structural, causes of poverty have to be addressed. An educational project cannot itself effect structural change, but it can help to "foster awareness and analyze reality" and in this way aid working class struggles. He refers to the necessity of mass education in Canada becoming "an instrument of liberation at the service of workers.18

We can identify at least five different sites or contexts in which progressive adult basic educators currently provide support for larger democratic struggles in Canada: within mainstream literacy and basic education programs; in conjunction with working class communities, organizations and movements; inside the adult education profession; within the capitalist state; and finally, in relation to themselves as adult basic educators--i.e. their own "conscientization". (This list is only illustrative--it omits important contexts like local literacy councils, national volunteer organizations such as Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA), and privately funded literacy programs such as through. Frontier College.) Let us now briefly examine activities at each of the five sites, drawing as, much as possible on articles, reports, etc. from the adult basic education literature in Canada.

One Site: Teaching in Publically-Funded Programs

Educational practice at the first site, within government-funded literacy and basic education programs, is often referred to as "working inside the system" and given the nature of the job market, it is the principal source of employment for adult basic educators. Examples here include federally and provincially sponsored literacy and upgrading programs, such as through community colleges, as well as programs funded by local school boards and carried on in libraries, secondary schools, etc.

Like Freire, Martin and Williams point out that this is a difficult situation for adherents of the critical perspective, requiring special resources, structures and practical skills which must be developed in an environment which is not immediately supportive. 19 Martin and Williams offer some general suggestions for this kind of work.