A series of themes

Paula Davies and Mary Ann Tierney had already noted themes in the documentation before they arrived at the workshop. Here they consolidate their work and look for further issues

Paula Davies and Mary Ann Tierney (College of New Caledonia) had both been making notes of different issues as they read the documentation. They worked together at this workshop to make their list more comprehensive and to recognize where they found similar and dissimilar themes. They wanted to include not only the most evident themes, but also those that somehow remain hidden in the text. In the process, they said, they realized how easy it was to find themes that interested them. Pieces that had less meaning in their own programs took more effort to highlight. Later in the day, they presented their list to all the women.

• Good literacy work is woman- positive.
• Women literacy workers have a holistic sense of responsibility. We deal with more than the academic needs of our students.
• Because good woman-positive literacy work is holistic, literacy workers require funded time to develop such things as support services and curriculum.
• Women's literacy programs need be validated by on-going stable funding that includes counsellors.
• What we discovered through this research needs to be translated into practical funding terms.
• We devalue our own work by not asking for - by not demanding - the dollars and space we need to provide good woman-positive literacy programming.
• This kind of research has many effects on the women involved. For example, the researcher can become the focus of the research, she can experience pain, difficulty, questioning, joy, hope.
• Being affiliated with CCLOW through this research gave us validation and permission for our work.
• Many women explored the relationship between feminist and woman-positive, and learner- centred. Some discovered that women-only is not necessarily woman-positive.
• Several women struggled with feminism as content. They came to realize that feminism must become more accessible.
• Violence is an almost overwhelming issue for women in literacy.
• Isolation is another overwhelming issue - isolation for women students, for women workers, for programs.
• The social aspect of learning is central for women.