Introduction

The publication of this book marks the end of a process which began nearly five years ago. Early in 1989, members of the literacy committee of the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW) began to discuss a national research project focusing on women and literacy. In 1990 CCLOW hired Betty-Ann Lloyd to explore the experiences of women in adult literacy and basic education programs and to develop a national participatory research proposal that would examine how those experiences could be improved.

The women Betty-Ann met with in the following months clearly stated that they already knew what barriers women face when trying to access basic education. They did not want to study those barriers, they wanted to make some changes. They wanted to challenge the ways in which literacy programs ignored women's lives and needs. CCLOW published Betty-Ann's report in early 1991. Discovering the strength of our voices - Women and literacy programs. (Lloyd, 1991) outlined the issues raised by women and invited literacy programs across Canada to participate in the next phase of the research. The National Literacy Secretariat, Human Resources Development, accepted the proposal that came out of this documentation and funded the long-term, national, program-based research that became phase two. Betty-Ann continued as coordinating researcher, working with CCLOW staff and members of the original advisory committee.

In November of 1991 women from twelve adult literacy and basic education programs across Canada met at a retreat centre north of Winnipeg to learn about research and begin planning their involvement in this research project. Over the eighteen months of this phase of the research thirty-two women participated in some way. In most cases, two women became the on-site researchers for their program. They shared responsibility for planning and reflecting on a woman-positive activity for their program. In several programs, one woman took primary responsibility for implementing and documenting the activity and its effects on the program. The other woman acted as a support for her co-worker, attending the three national workshops and participating in the two interviews. Frances Ennis joined Betty-Ann as a coordinating researcher after this workshop.

CCLOW paid the two contact women from each program a total of one-half day a week to "research" their woman-positive activity and its consequences for staff, students, and the program as a whole. They spent that time reflecting alone and with others, writing journals they sent to the coordinating researchers, and developing documentation of their work. The personal, professional, political,and structural changes that happened over this year demonstrate the positive effects of providing adult literacy workers - perhaps any frontline workers - with time, support, and resources to reflect critically and creatively on their practice and the practice of others in their field.