This chapter addresses the complexity of providing workplace ESL by identifying patterns of "best practices" in the related fields of human resource management, adult education, and training and development, all of which have a stake in workplace ESL and the integration of immigrant workers.

Community building is an important, if not essential, element of adult English as a second language (ESL) learning. Communities, whether civic, work, religious, or identity-based, are the contexts within which people cease to be alone and become connected with others. Language is the main tool for communicating with others in communities. For…

Ethical issues in adult education are often open-ended, complex, problematic situations. The real question is not which side is right, or to which moral choice principle practitioners must appeal, but simply how they can engage those situations intelligently and constructively. In this article, the author proposes a "meta-ethical reorientation,"…

To someone who has been intrigued by the role of ethics in adult education for many years, it has been heartening to see how the field has responded to calls to address the ethical dimensions of practice. Although adult education may have been a little later than some in coming to terms with ethics, these developments occurred during a time when…

Even though principles to guide practice are crucial, there are no hard-and-fast rules for resolving ethical issues--dilemmas that are not easily resolvable because they present opposing values and outcomes that may harm to certain groups of people if not properly considered. This article describes a number of ethical dilemmas faced as a workplace…

This article examines practical problems encountered in mentoring adult learners in higher education through stories of ethical dilemmas. Each incident illustrates the power that mentors possess and the ethical challenges of using this power to help or hurt proteges. Each example addresses an aspect of such power; the power to remove oneself as a…

This article discusses three broad themes--reflection, power, and negotiation--that are evidenced in all of the articles in this issue. In this article, the author tries to transgress the articles at some middling altitude to seek some broader thematics. His observations about reflection, power, and negotiation do transcend individual efforts,…

In this article, the author takes a look at how reflective and courageous practitioners show their critical and constructive thinking for handling the intellectual and interpersonal complexities of ethical analysis. The author also discusses six lessons practitioners need to learn.

From very early in its history, the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) has supported a rich tradition of critique. This chapter argues, however, that in important ways, the magnitude and rapidity of social transformations since the late 1970s have largely overwhelmed the critical capacities of Canadian adult educators.…

The Canadian North, one of the most isolated parts of the world, has been subject to increased scrutiny as a source of untapped oil and gas, a global warming harbinger and casualty, and a center of international sovereignty debate. What is often forgotten is that in addition to a resource bed and a border, the Arctic is first a homeland--a…

Canada emerged as a nation through a confederation of provinces beginning in 1867. Since that time, responsibility for educational endeavors at all levels (elementary, secondary, and tertiary) has been assigned to the provincial governments, a responsibility they zealously guard. The federal government's role is to provide monies or transfer…

Canada is an officially bilingual (English and French) country, but for the most part, English and French people live in different areas of the country. Quebec's official language is French, although it has a large English-speaking community, especially in Montreal. The United States does not have an official second language, but adult education…

Health and health care in Canada is a story of high ideals, complex policy agreements, moments of raging public controversy, and the creation of a national health system that is the envy of many other nations. Despite its many health care achievements, evidence is mounting that good health is far from being universally accessible to all Canadians.…

Today recent polls have indicated that the Canadian public considers the environment and climate change as their top concern (De Souza, 2007), perhaps eclipsed only by recent economic fears. In keeping with the historical responsiveness of adult educators, environmental adult education (EAE) is widespread across North America. However, this area…

In both the United States and Canada, higher education faculty have access to voluntary faculty development activities through continuing professional education departments, but rarely are preparatory programs available for those preparing to become faculty. Faculty development initiatives are only infrequently grounded in adult education…