Nancy is not Native, but other common ground was discovered, providing a catalyst for sharing experience. For example, she attended a primarily Native residential school, as did most of the participants in the program. Also, all of the women, Nancy included, had children at a fairly young age.

At the outset, Nancy asked the women if they would be willing to participate in the CCLOW research. She explained she would be participating in discussions with other program workers, as well as observing, writing, and reflecting on the workshop. She also asked if they would be willing to compile an anthology of the writings they produced. The women agreed to participate in the research and were especially keen to work on producing an anthology.

Jeanne MacIntyre worked closely with Nancy on the research, often providing a sounding board for Nancy as part of her reflective activity.

One area that Nancy explored was the difference in the dynamics of a women-only class compared to a men-only class. She has extensive experience teaching men-only groups because she is the instructor and manager of a workplace literacy program for workers in the tar sands. Her experience indicates that single sex groups interact similarly, be they women-only or men-only. However, she will soon teach a mixed sex workplace literacy group that may interact differently than the single sex groups. She was also interested in exploring how the instructor's sex, experience, and political perspective affects participation in both groups.

This is what happened

From a practical perspective, the writing workshop encouraged the women to explore writing as a vehicle for expressing their ideas, and these pieces of writing were published. The women are proud to have a record of their time together.

What happened with the women after the workshop ended in March 1992 is difficult to say because they have dispersed into the community. There has been no formal follow-up although when word got around that the funding had been acquired to publish their stories they contacted Nancy again to say how pleased they were.

What happened for the literacy practitioner was more evident. As a result of having been involved in the research and with the women-only group Nancy spoke at length about the issue of women and literacy to a newspaper reporter during World Literacy Week. Only when she heard herself committing to the issue in a very public way did she feel that something had happened for her. The articulation of the ideas was an important step. However, she still feels a little cautious and is concerned that a too firm stand on this sensitive issue could impact negatively on the community tutor program which she also coordinates.