Informal Learning Through Participation in Fransaskois Community-Based Governance

Abstract

This research is a study of deputies’ informal learning content and processes and how they see their learning applied to the benefit of the Fransaskois (French-speakers from Saskatchewan) community. Participants were volunteer deputies in the Assemblée Communautaire Fransaskoise (ACF), a francophone community-based governance organization in Saskatchewan. In the ACF, community members are elected to serve as “deputies”, representatives who make decisions regarding initiatives and allocation of funds. Interviews with eight deputies were conducted using semi-structured interviews and resulting data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participation in the ACF resulted in informal learning on the job or ‘sur le tas’. Deputies learned to define their multiple roles and negotiate the system. In this way, they were able to become better decision-makers and increase the Fransaskois community’s political capital.