ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I first want to thank the Department of Educational Administration for affording me the opportunity to pursue my research interests and Department Head, Pat Renihan, for his unfailing good humour and encouragement. I am especially grateful to my supervisor Professor Keith Walker for his patience, guidance, and support as I made the transition from the literacy practitioner to academic. Professor Murray Scharf extended my understanding of public policy and educational issues by way of many stimulating discussions. Special thanks to Professors Angela Ward and Sam Robinson, for their mentorship in the techniques and the language of qualitative research and, in addition, for their editing help of the final revisions. I also thank my external examiner, Professor Ben Levin, for his constructive criticism.

Adult learners must be commended for their courage and determination and adult educators for their commitment. I appreciate the support and interest of the many individuals in Canada and Sweden who gave time from their busy schedules to participate in the study. I will never forget the warm welcome I received in Sweden, the interest shown in the project, and the willingness of all my contacts to participate in the study. In particular, I owe gratitude to Boel Soderberg for sharing her home and friendship and to Jan Avenås for introducing me to adult education in Kungsör. Umeå became like a second home for me thanks to the warm welcome and unfailing support of Lena Kaev, the entire staff of the Mimer Centre, and Maria Olafsson's friendship.

This research was made possible by a Valuing Literacy in Canada grant provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and University of Saskatchewan Graduate Fellowships. I am endebted to the members of the project advisory committee who provided invaluable guidance and support throughout. Thanks to Gord DeWolfe, Marie Downie, Wendy Desbrisay, Linda Shohet, and Kjell Rubenson.

Finally, I could not have dedicated myself to this research in the way that I did without the support and encouragement of my family. I am grateful to my daughter-inlaw Paola for a tutorial in regression analysis, my son Chris for insights on postmodernism, and my daughter Tanya for unending inspiration. My husband, Glenn, continues to nourish me with good food, humour, and love that helped sustain me as I took on the challenge of becoming a graduate student.