“Keep the focus on learners - helping learners learn better - and keep it practical.”Charles Ungerleider, Canadian Council on Learning
A pan-Canadian perspective prevailed at the first annual symposium of the Adult Learning Knowledge Centre (ALKC) on June 21-23, 2006. More than 150 participants from every province and one territory attended ALKC’s national symposium. Coming from diverse settings which included universities, community colleges, government departments, and non-profit and community-based organizations, and bringing multiple perspectives and years of experiences, practitioners, researchers, policy-makers, and students arrived in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to take part in the event. Equally diverse were the areas of interest and expertise among the participants, including rural, urban, aboriginal, multicultural, francophone, workplace, and healthcare.
The symposium was designed as an informed and purposeful conversation among stakeholders on the practice and research of adult learning. Central to the process were sessions on the State of the Field Review, a significant literature review of adult learning in Canada, which was commissioned by CCL and conducted by a team of adult learning researchers. The State of the Field Review consisted of reports on seven areas of adult learning: barriers, culture, gender, e-learning, learning communities, literacy, and social movements.
“We have a powerful magnet with ALKC, something that is attracting significant interest in adult learning. How can we use this opportunity?”Rick Williams Symposium Facilitator
The symposium’s title, Adult Learning in Canada: What...? So what...? Now what...?, was chosen to indicate a 3-step process for moving forward, one that includes learning about the state of adult learning in Canada (What?), reflecting on the implications of what has been learned (So what?), and developing an appropriate action plan (Now what?). The title signals ALKC’s commitment to adult learning initiatives that are accessible, relevant, and action-oriented.
The symposium organizers endeavoured to create a true learning environment, where participants could discuss, debate, and reflect on how to foster and strengthen a culture of learning for all Canadians.