Paper presented at the SCUTREA 29^th Annual Conference, 5-7 July 1999, University of Warwick

Background and purpose

As we enter the twenty-first century, many Canadian provinces are streamlining their economies by reducing deficits, unemployment, and welfare roles. Provinces, such as Alberta and Ontario, are leading the country with welfare to work initiatives. Concurrently, business demands an educated, trained, skilled, and flexible workforce to meet the requirements of new technological innovations and globalization. This has placed increasing importance on a workforce with highly developed human capital. As Canada seeks to become more competitive in the global economy, federal and provincial governments maintain that all citizens should join these efforts. Thus, governments believe that for welfare recipients, ‘The best social security is having a job’ (Improving social security, 1994: 6).

Commencing in the early 1990s, the British Columbia (BC) government initiated policy measures to resolve BC’s economic problems. The Government sought to provide greater access to education through creating more spaces in educational institutions, linking high schools to the workplace, retraining workers locally, and providing training, skills, and work experience to move welfare recipients into the work force (Skills now, 1994). The Government viewed welfare recipients, especially women, as skill deficient and dependent. To resolve this, government sought to ‘fix them up’ through training programmes so women could find well-paying jobs quickly. Following these initiatives, the government reclassified welfare recipients in policy documents to ‘unemployed British Columbians’ (Skills now, 1994) leading to mandatory orientation sessions to enrol potential recipients in job search, career, training, or employment programmes before they could apply for welfare benefits.

Although government attempts to meet women’s needs through short-term education and training, they are not necessarily the panacea government believes them to be. Some single parent women are often worse off economically when they take low paying jobs without benefits. Furthermore, knowledge and skills acquired through self-directed learning women on welfare undertake in everyday spaces are not acknowledged by government, educators, and employers. The assumption seems to be that government agents, educators, and policymakers know best what women ‘need’ to ‘fix them up’. Women on welfare often must convince government agents ‘to give permission’ for them to pursue educational and career goals they have researched within the community to meet their own goals and needs as single parents and women. The purpose of my research in progress is to explore women's transitions from welfare to paid work and education. Additionally, I am examining how women on welfare navigate social, institutional, and organizational structures in their everyday lives, contest these spaces, and learn to enact these transitions.

To understand how women navigate their transitions from welfare, I am drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of social practice (1977). Bourdieu maintains that individuals tend to operate within dynamic fields of forces, symbolic sites, called fields where collective symbolic struggles occur for positions based on an individual’s strategies for delegating or imposing decisions on others (symbolic violence) (Harker, Mahar and Wilkes, 1990). Within fields, individuals strategize for position and power depending upon their dispositions (habitus), social capital (networks), cultural capital (education), and symbolic capital (prestige). Bourdieu acknowledges the individual operates as a creative, social agent. Bourdieu (1977; Harker, Mahar and Wilkes, 1990) has explored individuals’ social relations individually and collectively within ‘fields of social practise’ as they strategize to maximize their life opportunities. Bourdieu’s theory can be applied to women's transitions from welfare to paid work and education, for he proposes a way of thinking to describe and analyze individuals holistically as social actors by examining the ‘genesis of the person and of social structures and groups’ (Harker, Mahar and Wilkes, 1990: 3). Furthermore, this theory offers a way to analyze practical life dialectically by taking into account ‘the interplay between personal economic practice and the "external" world of class history and social practice’ (p. 3). Thus, we may look at the relationship and interplay of social structures and the ability of individuals as agents to navigate through and within social spaces by examining the individual’s patterns of practice in everyday life. Furthermore, Bourdieu proposes social relations link individuals to dynamic collectives of persons bound together in socio-structural relationships reflecting micro and macro structures within everyday worlds.

According to Lave and Wenger (1996), learning occurs in time, space, and social worlds and is socially situated. Thus, it has potential to transform an individual’s meanings, understandings, and knowledge of the social world and relations with others. They endeavour to include social practice and participation into their definition to explain individuals as persons-in-the-world as members of socio-cultural communities to illustrate relationships between individuals, the world, communities, understanding, and knowledge. Lave and Wenger propose the theory of situated learning ‘refers both to the development of knowledgeably skilled identities in practice and to the reproduction and transformation of communities of practice’ (p. 15). Thus, situated learning theory provides a basis for understanding an individual's personal learning within social and community contexts. It illustrates a dynamic interplay between individuals and social groups and their influences on each other.

Since the purpose of my research is to explore women’s transitions and learning within their everyday worlds, I am collecting data through thematic life history interviews. These include: welfare, education, work, family, transitions, learning, needs, and social justice. Life histories link women’s lived and unlived lives, experiences, and relationships to social structures over time (Alheit, 1994; Bertaux, 1981). This approach highlights structural influences and women’s abilities to plan their lives while instigating changes on institutions through dispositions they discover learning to navigate life experiences. Women’s life histories provide a learning ground for their future transitions (Alheit, 1994). Individuals’ life histories link their everyday experience and the ways they learn through their patterns of practice (Bertaux, 1981). These, plus social relations, are further connected to socio-structural relations of micro and macro structures. Institutionalized relations underpin socio-structural relations linked to individuals through social relationships bound across time, space, and embedded within historical time frames and events (Bertaux, 1981). Thus, life histories can link women's everyday subjective experiences to larger structural influences impinging upon them and may act as vehicles for individuals to observe self-transformation.

To date, I have interviewed at least once 14 single women on welfare, and I have returned their first transcribed interviews to them for review. I hope to interview 20 to 25 women. The women fall into three categories: women age 40 and older (5); single mothers with children under age seven (5); and women in their thirties (4). I chose the first two groups, for they often ‘fall between the cracks of policy and programmes’ since training and employment programme criteria are written primarily for women 19 to 25. Trainers seem to prefer individuals in their thirties, so I have included them for comparison. I will continue to select women through snowball sampling (one woman suggests another) until information becomes saturated. I am conversing with women, currently, at three month intervals for a year to watch their transitions as they learn to navigate various systems and structures affecting their paths from welfare.

All women, except one, are mothers of at least one child. Two women grew up in very affluent homes while others grew up in low income working families. Only two women were raised on welfare, and their mothers later left welfare for paid work. Before resorting to social assistance, three women indicated that their combined spousal income surpassed $120,000 a year. All but one woman have a GED (General Education Diploma) or Grade 12, and one woman is one credit short of Grade 12, but she has attended college. Currently, 6 are enrolled in college (3 have student loans, 2 have special opportunities grants, and 1 is on full disability); 2 are working; 2 had been working for two years, but they just lost their jobs; 4 are on assistance (2 have disability benefits).

Initial analysis indicates education and learning play a significant role in the everyday spaces women navigate while attempting to leave welfare. The findings relate directly to the conference themes of policy and practice, placing adult education, situating adult learning, time and place, living places, and contesting space.

Place may shape adult learning in a number of ways. First of all, in rural areas, women may find themselves unaffected by globalization since most employment tends to be service oriented and low paying. However, as some women indicate, they are indirectly effected, for training or education programmes may not be available in the rural areas. Moreover, transportation to large urban centres is often costly in terms of time and money, thus, limiting women's learning opportunities unless they have other ways of moving to larger centres.

Secondly, place may effect women's learning, for government agents in rural areas may have preconceived notions about women's abilities and their entitlement to short-term education and training for specific jobs. A number of women have told me that when they expressed a desire to enrol in particular training programmes in the past, they were told they did not meet the criteria. For example, government agents told one woman that she had been on welfare too short a time, so the single mother did not qualify for training. Another pointed out that she was told that the programme she had wanted would take her too long. Often, as women struggle to initiate changes in their lives, they are met with this type of symbolic violence (Harker, Mahar and Wilkes, 1990) as government agents impose their decisions on women by their specific interpretation of policy and rules. Thus, physical and mental spaces for learning may be imposed or ignored by government agents, educators, and trainers. Women may struggle to create learning spaces even though they are unaware of the learning they acquire within these spaces.

Finally, places effect learning through value attached to place or type of work. Often skills and knowledge acquired at home or through self-directed learning are not given credence or valued by educators or trainers. For example, the woman denied access to the programme she wanted to attend undertook her own self-directed research project to determine her eligibility. After her research, she was again told that it was not feasible for her. She said, ‘Then, you would prefer for me to wait on welfare for seven more months collecting welfare at the taxpayers’ expense while I could get off welfare at least a year earlier if I were to enrol in this programme?’ Her rationale coerced the government agent to finally ‘give her permission’ to enrol; however, her progress would be watched very closely. Thus, through her own self-directed learning and research, this woman was able to access what she needed to accomplish her goals, but it was only by proving cost savings for government. Despite government policy, women often have difficulty accessing programmes they need.

Women learn within their everyday worlds and social spaces. They engage in numerous educational activities to improve their skills, lifestyles, and children's lives as they make transitions from welfare.

According to Lave and Wenger (1996), learning is situated socially within everyday worlds of individuals' communities. Women, as persons-in-the-world, participate within diverse socio-cultural communities. Often women on welfare, operate between communities, for they do not want others to know they are on welfare. However, they are part of the welfare ‘community’, for they must go to welfare offices and often to foodbanks. For example, women's initial initiation into the welfare community is learning how to access specific forms to apply for welfare. Women have related that all they were told was to show up at the welfare office to pick up forms at 8:30 in the morning. Little did they know that if they arrived at the specified time, they would not get in to make an appointment to hand in the forms, for appointments were only given to the first four people in line each day. Subsequently, they learned they would need to arrive as early as six for an appointment. Many shared this learning with friends forced onto welfare to diminish their frustration with the process.

Within social spaces of welfare, women learn ‘the rules of the game’ as creative, social agents to meet their needs (Harker, Mahar and Wilkes, 1990). Over time, many women become adept at learning their rights and entitlements. For example, one woman related to me that if she had not known her rights, she could very well be pregnant by now. Welfare will pay for women’s birth control pills. Since this woman could not take the pills for health reasons, she asked her male social worker to approve an IUD. However, he flatly refused, for he said that he could only approve pills. This particular woman knew the regulations stated any birth control was suitable, so she contested his decision. After demanding her rights and indicating she did not want to become pregnant and burden the system, her male worker finally wrote out permission for the IUD. Had she not learned the ‘rules of the game’ and her rights, she could have endangered her own health or become pregnant. This illustrates that women must continually problem-solve on their own behalf to navigate the different structures used for control.

According to Lave and Wenger (1996), learning occurs over time and space within social worlds. Contrary to government acknowledgement, for many women, the ‘time must be right’ to engage in learning. Just because government mandates women to enrol in programmes, does not mean other areas of women's lives will sustain this kind of learning. Moreover, many women must have a safe place to learn and to practise immediately what they learn. For example, several women attended a pre-employment programme where they learned life, communication, career, health, and interpersonal skills. They maintained they knew much of the information, but this was the first time they could actually practise the skills for themselves in a safe place. Also, their personal lives and children’s day-care were relatively stable, so this allowed them to take time away from their children to learn and practise these skills again. This illustrates learning is not static, for it changes with time and conditions.

Some might think an individual’s life history might outweigh a group's collective history. However, individuals' histories may inform the collective if we examine individuals' patterns of practice in navigating social relationships within social structures (Bertaux, 1981). For instance, in my research, many women individually have discussed how they frequently do not have enough food, for money must be redirected from food to other expenses. They relate how they must use foodbanks, family, or extra food vouchers to sustain themselves and their families. If we examine the theme of food throughout the stories of women, then we can see that in an affluent country like Canada, we actually have a problem with women going hungry. By exploring the individual’s history, we may see a pattern for the collective through time.

Some might say life histories only focus on the individual. However, thematic analysis of women's life histories depict commonalities exist between groups. For example, most of the women in each group state: ‘I've always worked’. To some this might be quite surprising, for the common mythology is that women on welfare never have worked, nor do they have any attention of working or going to school. Some women had low paying jobs; others were employed in occupations that provided a living wage and benefits.

In-depth life history interviews improve understanding of women’s living spaces and how they navigate different structures in their everyday lives. For instance, women on welfare have many more skills they use to navigate their everyday lives than government acknowledges. In fact, many skills they possess are akin to the Conference Board of Canada Skills used to determine employability. Some skills include complex budgeting that can be translated into problem-solving and critical thinking skills in the workplace. Others manifest teamwork skills by working together for other women as advocates for obtaining benefits or ensuring their rights are fulfilled. Women’s understanding of their skills and the strategies they use for navigating their everyday lives can be shared with others to assist in their transitions.

Based on their own research and needs analysis, many women contest spaces for learning by demanding they be given opportunities government agents deem unnecessary. Through their self-directed learning projects and research, women have been able to convince government agents to ‘allow’ them to follow their educational and career goals. Women are beginning to contest spaces for learning as they demand the same ‘rights and privileges' men are awarded when they are on welfare.

Furthermore, women contest spaces in their everyday worlds when they dress in clean, well-fitting clothing as opposed to the stereotypes that women on welfare wear dirty, ripped, and ill-fitting clothes. Moreover, women keep themselves well groomed. Thus, when they appear in this way in the welfare offices, they are contesting the status quo and attempting to initiate changes in structures by breaking stereotypes. However, despite their attempts, they are often treated rudely, for clerks cannot, then, understand why someone looking so good should be receiving welfare when the clerks must work for their wages. Through good manners and empathy, many of the women in my study try to overlook the hostility of individuals. They maintain that eventually they do instigate changes in attitudes.

Most of the women on assistance in my study do not want to be there. They point out that this is temporary for them until they enrol in an education programme of their choice or find appropriate work. Thus, they are continually strategizing how to leave welfare despite the difficulty of leaving. As women make progress in their education and in maintaining a job, the workers become more helpful until the women are on student loans or off full welfare. Many tell me when they leave welfare, they will never return to such a degrading experience, so they continue to strategize to improve their lifestyles, career, and education to remain free from those particular structures.

As adult educators, we must avoid ‘buying into’ government policies appearing to promote panaceas for employing women on welfare through just formal training and education programmes. We must continue to explore and validate learning occurring within everyday social spaces as it provides women with many skills and learning opportunities. Thus, as adult educators, we must continually reflect on whether we intend education for training competency and maintenance of the government status quo or democratic education for citizenship and social justice as we enter the new millennium. We must be vigilant of gendering learning spaces and opportunities as we work more closely with government agencies. By exploring women’s transitions from welfare to work and education, we might examine more closely our relationships as adult educators with the women we teach as they attempt to contest spaces in their everyday worlds.

Alheit P (1994), ‘The "Biographical question" as a challenge to adult education', International Review of Education, 40,3-5, pp 283-298.

Bertaux D (ed) (1981), Biography and society: the life history approach in the social sciences, Beverly Hills, Sage.

Bourdieu P (1977), Outline of a theory of practice, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Harker R Mahar C, & Wilkes C (eds) (1990), An introduction to the work of Pierre Bourdieu, London, MacMillan.

Human Resource Development (1994), Improving social security, Ottawa, Ontario, Human Resources Development Canada.

Lave J & Wenger E (1996), Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Skills now (1994), Victoria, BC, Queen's Printer.