Understanding Learning and Literacy in a School Board Employment Preparation Program
with Christine Johnson-Pinsent

Rapporteur: Joanne Green

Christine is currently enrolled in the master's program in the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa. She also works as an assessor and curriculum developer at an adult basic education program in Ottawa. This inquiry session explored literacy practices and learning activities in an employment preparation program. The school board program was designed for adults who face significant barriers to employment, such as minimal levels of formal education, ethno-cultural differences, sole-support parent status, and mild psychiatric and cognitive disabilities. The program reaches beyond traditional classroom walls to deliver learning and literacy activities in three distinct settings: a coffee shop operated by the students, a job placement in the community, and the traditional classroom setting.

Christine used the following topics, gleaned from her master's thesis research, to guide the discussion:

• the literacy practices and learning activities occurring in each of the program's three distinct settings;
• the values and meanings that students and instructors place on literacy practices and learning activities in each setting; and
• the learning relationships that develop in each of these settings.