In Canada, the national picture emerged in a think tank on good practice in workplace/workforce education sponsored by ABC CANADA in 1995. This event brought together people with a keen interest in the topic from business, labour, education and government. The think tank organizers were not seeking consensus but rather “trying to understand those points of convergence and disagreements in good practice that could be used as a springboard for debate and discussion within the field” (McLeod, 1995, p. 1). The document shows the range and hues of agreement on categories of good practice. Representatives, speaking from within their own contexts, share some strong opinions and at the same time voice their own nuanced differences as evidence of where they are positioned in workplace education. Taylor (1998) then took this good practice framework and examined it against evidence from the field. Ultimately, each of us has to revisit good practice with our partners each time we become involved in a workplace education project.

Purpose of the Report

This report is a working document to help educators (2) test out ‘good practice in use.’ This report is part of the cycle of action — reflection — action or praxis. In the 70s and 80s we practiced workplace education as a new and uncharted enterprise in Ontario. In between projects we reflected on what went well, what went awry, and how to improve our work. Then, like many other educators in industrialized countries in the 90s, we put down on paper what we determined to be guidelines for practice. Considering the complexity of the workplace, the experienced educator as well as the novice appreciated principles or guidelines. Guidelines are embedded in the realities of the era; while many aspects of good practice remain true and relevant, changes in economies, politics and education force us to reconsider what we do and how we do it. Practice changes to reflect these larger forces. We are at a point of reconsideration, of reflection, once again. We consider good practice that is in use currently not only in Ontario but in other jurisdictions that have made major contributions to the field of workplace education. Out of this good practice in use, we redefine good practice on paper once again.