Involvement in the CCLOW research project

Cowichan Campus took part in the first, exploratory phase of the CCLOW research on women and literacy. One of the instructors, Evelyn Battell, was at that time a member of the advisory committee for the research project. She is also a member of the CCLOW board's literacy committee. During the first phase, she arranged for interviews with a variety of staff members and for three morning discussions among a group of women students, facilitated by another instructor, Kate Nonesuch.

When CCLOW received funding for the second phase of the research, Cowichan Campus was again interested in participating.

The woman-positive activity

The woman-positive activity proposed at Cowichan Campus was a women-only literacy class. Instructors Kate Nonesuch and Vicki Noonan proposed that the students in the fundamentals program be divided into two classes along sex lines instead of along ability lines as was the custom. For the twelve hours of English instruction each week, Kate would teach a women-only class and Vicki would teach a men-only class. Students would continue in mixed-sex level 1 and 2 classes for math, and the English classes would get together to do special projects, see films, and so on. The class was proposed for one term, the five months from February to June. No additional resources would be required to accommodate this proposal.

This is what happened

Kate first talked with the coordinator of the ABE Department who suggested she write up the proposal for further consideration. Kate and Vicki then developed a rationale for the proposal and some details about implementation.

The rationale for this proposal was that it would provide a more effective context for the discussion and experiential writing that is crucial to developing reading and writing skills. On an educational level, it was understood as equally beneficial for women and men. Both groups would be able to focus on issues that were of particular interest to them. From past experience, the instructors assumed the men would choose to spend more time on issues such as paid employment and traditional hunting and fishing. The women would spend more time on issues such as parenting, non-traditional work, violence, and sexual abuse.

Vicki and Kate also suggested that with split classes they would be better able to provide a safe and creative setting for considering some of the social, economic, and personal aspects of students' lives. Again, experience had shown that class dynamics in a mixed-sex class often resulted in frustration for students and staff. In many cases, white men tended to set the agenda and dominate the discussion. Women often found it difficult to find the space to speak, particularly if they disagreed with the men or wanted to talk about something the men weren't interested in. When the instructors worked to create space for the women, the dominant men became frustrated with the imposed silence since they wanted to continue their discussion.