5. RECOMMENDATIONS Now what.....?

The symposium was designed to build on the work that was undertaken with the State of the Field reports. On the final day of the symposium, participants were encouraged to answer the question “Now what?”. Participants were asked to propose concrete, feasible actions that will enhance adult learning in Canada and to identify appropriate organizations to lead these actions, including the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre, Canadian Council on Learning, and other stakeholders with the ability to have a forceful and positive impact on adult learning.

The discussions were organized around four themes that were common to all of the State of the Field reports:

• Communities of Practice,
• Diversity Of Adult Learning,
• Community-Based Research and
• University-Community Research Alliances.

Each discussion group was asked to develop three key recommendations.

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE Discussion

The discussion group defined “Communities of Practice” as a means for people to join together through shared practice, to develop a common purpose, to define their learning needs, and to build knowledge that would benefit their work. Communities of practice encompass three categories:

• Fields of practitioners, such as labour, workplace or literacy educators;
• Communities or social movements, such as women’s network or people working to reduce violence against women; and,
• Virtual and professional communities, such as artists, engineers, or health professionals.

Communities of practice need to be inclusive, encompassing government, educational institutions, researchers as well as practitioners and also need to be interconnected with each other, with cross-disciplinary alliances.