This guide is intended to serve as a resource for adult educators who are interested in having their students assume a more active role in the process of planning, implementing (teaching/learning), and evaluating the education programs in which they are enrolled. Specifically addressed to those who work with adults on the margins of society--the poor, the incarcerated, the illiterate, the mentally handicapped and others--the guide is organized in a two-part format. The first part examines the theoretical foundations of participatory education, and the second part discusses the Abbotsfield Women's Project, which was a pilot project in participatory education that was conducted in Edmonton, Canada, between October 1985 and June 1986. The following aspects of participatory education programs are covered in part 1: the basic concept and framework of participatory education; guiding principles for participatory education (participation, commitment, community, accountability and responsibility, praxis, hope, vision, acknowledgment); curriculum and the notion of curriculum as plan (intents, sources and resources, activities, and evaluation); and administrative concerns (facility, child care, confidentiality, questions of time, staff roles, the question of power, the validity of the "numbers game," and ways of locating interested participants). Part 2 describes the history and design of the Abbotsfield Women's Project, the processes used in developing and implementing the project (creating an environment, connecting and focusing, working toward an experience of community, responding to the moment, caring for others, reaching into and beyond oneself, celebrating community, and reflecting), reactions of project participants to the project, and project outcomes. A 12-page annotated bibliogrpahy is included. (MN)