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.