Acknowledgments

I started to imagine this section of my dissertation many years ago as I was walking on a bright sunny Saturday morning to my supervisor's office. I was thinking about how much Allison's support was helping me make progress in my program. On that day I thought of how using her office during the weekend allowed me to write the comprehensive exam away from the demands of my young child. During the past years, there were many more instances when I added examples to Allison's support; holding weekly meetings at my house when it was too hard for me to move around in a timely manner with my newborn child or going to the beach for long walks when I was feeling stuck. I feel privileged to have Allison as my supervisor. She has always been interested in me as a whole person and has worked with me to find ways to fit the doctoral program in my life, even when it seemed impossible. I know that both she and I have been waiting for my graduation so that, without the necessary constraints of the roles we have as graduate student and supervisor, we can become friends. I am looking forward to that.

Being a graduate student, especially in the doctoral program, is not an individual process. This is particularly so for students who have young families. In my case, I was lucky to have a partner who supported me in many ways. He endured too many weekends alone with the kids. He graciously listened to my complaints about the frustrations of writing a dissertation. He even accepted that although we were together at a party, I was - at the same time - "writing" a section of my dissertation. As in all other areas of my life, Claudio is my constant support. He is my partner, mi compañero, in the rollercoaster of life.

I have been a graduate student for the duration of my two sons' lives. Jeremy and Joshua could not wait until I was done. "Oh, not the dissertation again! When are you going to be done?!" I am happy to be able to tell them that I am done now, that we can plan our weekends together now. I am also proud to have shown them that regardless of how difficult, how frustrating, and even how long something can take, if one wants it badly enough and works at it hard enough, it is doable.

My exchanges with my supervisory committee were some of the most enjoyable experiences of my doctoral program. Three university professors read my writing, engaged with the ideas I was developing and were ready to make suggestions to make these ideas clearer and the arguments stronger. Shauna Butterwick, Gaalen Erickson and Allison Tom were respectful and supportive. I could not have asked for better mentors.

Jeannie Young and Roweena Bacchus of the Department of Educational Studies were always ready to help me sort out administrative matters at the university. They always did this with a smile.

Many people helped me develop the ideas I explore in this dissertation. Paula Davies, Dee McRae and Kate Nonesuch "pushed" my thinking in practical and fun ways while grounding my abstract notions in everyday adult literacy practices. Evelyn Battell, Leora Gesser, Judy Rose, Jan Sawyer and Diana Twiss invited me to be part of their journey of becoming researchers. Their struggles as practitioners who want to leave a legacy about their work as adult basic educators has informed my research in many ways.

Lyn Harper, Janice Johnson and Colleen Reid were always prepared to share their ideas and give me feedback on my research. I knew I could always count on them as a sounding board for intellectual exchanges as well as for sharing our lives as graduate students.

The RiPAL-BC gang, Betsy Alkenbrack, Sandy Middleton, Suzanne Smythe, Bonnie Soroke and Anneke Van Enk gave me the sense that my doctoral work was important and relevant to their work and to the adult literacy field. They were always eager to hear the ideas I was writing about and to encourage me to keep going.

I want to thank them all for being there for me and for making these past years worthwhile.