Phase one assumptions identified by the advisory committee.

• women's lack of access to literacy is directly related to the structure of women's lives
  
• learning can be an empowering experience for women
  
• women's experience of violence in all facets of their lives hinders their participation in literacy programs

Phase one assumptions added by the researcher.

• 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
• women who participate in programs - particularly in mixed-gender programs - are in a vulnerable position when they explore woman-positive learning activities
• programs that have a learner-centred approach are not necessarily woman-positive
• not only can literacy programs affect women's lives, but women's lives must affect the practices of literacy programs "

Phase one issues identified by the advisory committee.

• the need to document individual women's stories to identify how the structure of women's lives restrict their participation in literacy programs
  
• the need for action-oriented research as a tool to identify women's experience within literacy programs
  
• the need to develop a feminist approach to facilitating women's participation in program research

Phase one issues added by the researcher.

• 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
  
• the need to recognize concerns about the experience and participation of men as they relate to women in the programs.
• the need to understand the role of feminist critical consciousness in the context of literacy programming
  
• the need to document the experience of literacy programs involved in woman-positive learning activities