Assumptions of the first phase identified by the advisory committee before the research

Issues of the first phase identified by the advisory committee before the research

• women's lack of access to literacy is directly related to the structure of women's lives

• the need to document individual women's stories to identify how the structure of women's lives restrict their participation in literacy programs

• learning can be an empowering experience for women

• the need for action-oriented research as a tool to identify women's experience within literacy programs

• women's experience of violence in all facets of their lives hinders their participation in literacy programs

• the need to develop a feminist approach to facilitating women's participation in program research If- Issues of the first phase added by the researcher during the research

Issues of the first phase identified by the advisory committee before the research

• women "participants" include women literacy workers as well as students, and those women experience, in their work as well as in their homes and community, the reality of living in a sexist society

• the need to provide expertise and assistance to programs-particularly mixed-gender programs-that are involved in, or want to be involved in, providing woman-positive learning settings

• women who participate in programs-particularly in mixed- gender programs-are in a vulnerable position when they explore woman-positive learning activities

• the need to recognize concerns about the experience and participation of men as they relate to women in the programs

• programs that have a learner-centred approach are not necessarily woman-positive

• the need to understand the role of feminist critical consciousness in the context of literacy programming

• not only can literacy programs affect women's lives, but women's lives must affect the practices of literacy programs

• the need to document the experience of literacy programs involved in woman-positive learning activities