In order to address the disconnection between the governing and the governed in our democracies and bureaucracies, many practitioners and academics are looking at models such as participatory governance to increase empowerment and foster better decision- making. Although this model has some encouraging possibilities, there are challenges to implementing an empowering and participatory process. To better understand these issues, this research focused on tenant representatives’ understanding and experience of their role in a recently implemented participatory process in the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. Representatives reported taking on extensive responsibilities to improve their communities and interviews with tenants suggested empowerment and citizenship were often products of tenant participation. The research also found limitations on empowerment and the extent to which tenants saw themselves as agents and decision-makers in the Tenant Participation System. The paper connects how structure and education impacts the possibilities for agency and empowerment of participants.

In order to address the disconnection between the governing and the governed in our democracies and bureaucracies, many practitioners and academics are looking at models such as participatory governance to increase empowerment and foster better decision- making. Although this model has some encouraging possibilities, there are challenges to implementing an empowering and participatory process. To better understand these issues, this research focused on tenant representatives’ understanding and experience of their role in a recently implemented participatory process in the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. Representatives reported taking on extensive responsibilities to improve their communities and interviews with tenants suggested empowerment and citizenship were often products of tenant participation. The research also found limitations on empowerment and the extent to which tenants saw themselves as agents and decision-makers in the Tenant Participation System. The paper connects how structure and education impacts the possibilities for agency and empowerment of participants.

Over the last twenty years, the academic work on citizenship education and democracy promotion has grown exponentially. This research investigates the United States federal government’s cultivation of a ‘politics of citizenship’ through the Corporation for National and Community Service and the AmeriCorps program. Drawing on Marxist-feminist theory and institutional ethnography, this research examines the ways in which democratic learning is organized within the AmeriCorps program through the category of ‘civic engagement’ and under the auspices of federal regulations that coordinate the practice of AmeriCorps programs trans-locally. The findings from this research demonstrate that the federal regulations of the AmeriCorps program mandate a practice and create an environment in which ‘politics,’ understood broadly as having both partisan and non-partisan dimensions, are actively avoided in formalized learning activities within the program. The effect of these regulations is to create an ideological environment in which learning is separated from experience and social problems are disconnected from the political and material relations in which they are constituted. Further, the AmeriCorps program cultivates an institutional discourse in which good citizenship is equated with participation at the local scale, which pivots on a notion of community service that is actively disengaged from the State. Through its reliance on these forms of democratic consciousness, the AmeriCorps program engages in reproductive praxis, ultimately reproducing already existing inequalities within U.S. society. The primary elements of this reproductive praxis have been identified as ‘a local fetish’ and the ‘democratic management of inequality.’ The local fetish refers to the solidification of the local as the preferential terrain of democratic engagement and is characterized by an emphasis on face-to-face moral relationships, local community building, and small-scale politics. The democratic management of inequality refers to the development of discursive practices and the organization of volunteer labor in the service of poverty amelioration, which is in turn labeled ‘good citizenship.’ This research directs our attention to a more complicated notion of praxis and its relationship to the reproduction of social relations. Also, this research brings into focus the problem of the conceptualization of civil society and its relationship to democracy and capitalism.

Over the last twenty years, the academic work on citizenship education and democracy promotion has grown exponentially. This research investigates the United States federal government’s cultivation of a ‘politics of citizenship’ through the Corporation for National and Community Service and the AmeriCorps program. Drawing on Marxist-feminist theory and institutional ethnography, this research examines the ways in which democratic learning is organized within the AmeriCorps program through the category of ‘civic engagement’ and under the auspices of federal regulations that coordinate the practice of AmeriCorps programs trans-locally. The findings from this research demonstrate that the federal regulations of the AmeriCorps program mandate a practice and create an environment in which ‘politics,’ understood broadly as having both partisan and non-partisan dimensions, are actively avoided in formalized learning activities within the program. The effect of these regulations is to create an ideological environment in which learning is separated from experience and social problems are disconnected from the political and material relations in which they are constituted. Further, the AmeriCorps program cultivates an institutional discourse in which good citizenship is equated with participation at the local scale, which pivots on a notion of community service that is actively disengaged from the State. Through its reliance on these forms of democratic consciousness, the AmeriCorps program engages in reproductive praxis, ultimately reproducing already existing inequalities within U.S. society. The primary elements of this reproductive praxis have been identified as ‘a local fetish’ and the ‘democratic management of inequality.’ The local fetish refers to the solidification of the local as the preferential terrain of democratic engagement and is characterized by an emphasis on face-to-face moral relationships, local community building, and small-scale politics. The democratic management of inequality refers to the development of discursive practices and the organization of volunteer labor in the service of poverty amelioration, which is in turn labeled ‘good citizenship.’ This research directs our attention to a more complicated notion of praxis and its relationship to the reproduction of social relations. Also, this research brings into focus the problem of the conceptualization of civil society and its relationship to democracy and capitalism.

This study explores which concept of citizenship is typically promoted in ESL programs available to adult immigrants in Canada: citizenship as status, citizenship as identity, citizenship as a set of civic virtues or citizenship as agency. Is there a difference between the stated purpose of ESL programs, the integration and active participation of immigrants in Canadian society through language development, and the actual citizenship learning that occurs in these programs? What influences this? The study traces the historical link between citizenship education and ESL in Canada, and draws on existing research to reveal how citizenship concepts are presented in ESL classrooms. These findings are then matched with data from my textbook analysis, classroom observations and student interviews obtained from two advanced ESL courses offered by COSTI, as an indication of the citizenship learning and the citizenship concepts most likely to be promoted in ESL programs for adult immigrants across Canada.

This study explores which concept of citizenship is typically promoted in ESL programs available to adult immigrants in Canada: citizenship as status, citizenship as identity, citizenship as a set of civic virtues or citizenship as agency. Is there a difference between the stated purpose of ESL programs, the integration and active participation of immigrants in Canadian society through language development, and the actual citizenship learning that occurs in these programs? What influences this? The study traces the historical link between citizenship education and ESL in Canada, and draws on existing research to reveal how citizenship concepts are presented in ESL classrooms. These findings are then matched with data from my textbook analysis, classroom observations and student interviews obtained from two advanced ESL courses offered by COSTI, as an indication of the citizenship learning and the citizenship concepts most likely to be promoted in ESL programs for adult immigrants across Canada.

This cross-disciplinary study extends existing theoretical and normative arguments regarding participatory democracy and adult informal learning by identifying the ways in which participation in community-based governance structures provides learning opportunities and builds individuals’ civic capacity. It also determines the functional characteristics of such schemes by analyzing the case of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s Tenant Participation System (TPS), a state-sponsored program to integrate principles of participatory democracy into the norms of public service delivery. As has been noted in the literature, people are motivated to participate for a variety of reasons, the most common being that they see a real need or potential for change in their community. However, in contrast to past research, tenants also got engaged out of a desire to learn – to learn more about local political procedures. Three conditions were noted as both sufficient and necessary to make participation happen. One was the desire to influence authority over decisions affecting tenants’ housing conditions. Second was the idea that participation has important benefits for the participants. Third was a sense of qualification, that those tenants who participate feel that they are qualified, more than others, thus they choose to step forward to represent their communities. Informal learning through the TPS had several key effects. Increased self-confidence and overcoming fear of authority helped to radically transform the traditional tenant-management relationship into a collaborative endeavour in which tenants get the opportunity to be part of the change they would like to see. In addition, the skills learned through the participatory process resulted in increased managerial efficiency – a self-reinforcing process whereby the participatory project improves through time and through the very act of participation. Learning, however, occurred through cooperation, competition and struggle as well. This study reveals two major challenges. First, the lack of discussion amongst stakeholders regarding the purpose of participation has, in some instances, resulted in confusing practices that complicate the process and eventually hinder the growth of a participatory culture within the organization. Second, conceiving community participation through competitive elections tends to move the collaborative approach to community governance closer to the hierarchical paradigm of property management.

This cross-disciplinary study extends existing theoretical and normative arguments regarding participatory democracy and adult informal learning by identifying the ways in which participation in community-based governance structures provides learning opportunities and builds individuals’ civic capacity. It also determines the functional characteristics of such schemes by analyzing the case of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s Tenant Participation System (TPS), a state-sponsored program to integrate principles of participatory democracy into the norms of public service delivery. As has been noted in the literature, people are motivated to participate for a variety of reasons, the most common being that they see a real need or potential for change in their community. However, in contrast to past research, tenants also got engaged out of a desire to learn – to learn more about local political procedures. Three conditions were noted as both sufficient and necessary to make participation happen. One was the desire to influence authority over decisions affecting tenants’ housing conditions. Second was the idea that participation has important benefits for the participants. Third was a sense of qualification, that those tenants who participate feel that they are qualified, more than others, thus they choose to step forward to represent their communities. Informal learning through the TPS had several key effects. Increased self-confidence and overcoming fear of authority helped to radically transform the traditional tenant-management relationship into a collaborative endeavour in which tenants get the opportunity to be part of the change they would like to see. In addition, the skills learned through the participatory process resulted in increased managerial efficiency – a self-reinforcing process whereby the participatory project improves through time and through the very act of participation. Learning, however, occurred through cooperation, competition and struggle as well. This study reveals two major challenges. First, the lack of discussion amongst stakeholders regarding the purpose of participation has, in some instances, resulted in confusing practices that complicate the process and eventually hinder the growth of a participatory culture within the organization. Second, conceiving community participation through competitive elections tends to move the collaborative approach to community governance closer to the hierarchical paradigm of property management.

L'interès actual per temes relacionats amb l'aprenentatge i el desenvolupament ciutadà no és accidental. El baix nivell d'"implicació" dels ciutadans fa tremolar les bases del sistema democràtic, i això és objecte de preocupació en diversos camps del coneixement. L'aprenentatge a través de la participació ciutadana està relacionat amb les ciències de l'Administració en diferents aspectes. L'aspecte de gestió es pot identificar en l'administració del propi govern; l'aspecte de l'aprenentatge organitzacional es troba en els estudis sobre les característiques dels contextos que creen un clima d'aprenentatge, cosa que promou el desenvolupament. La comprensió d'aquests aspectes a través de l'epistemologia proposada, la teoria crítica, aporta nous coneixements a la ciència administrativa. La teoria crítica assumeix l'interès de l'emancipació de la ciència, és a dir, l'acció humana i social hauria de ser orientada per la bondat, la humanitat i la racionalitat. En coherència amb aquesta orientació i amb el nivell individual d'anàlisi, la tesi considera dos marcs teòrics: les psicologies humanista i existencialista. En conseqüència, la recerca fenomenològica és el mètode de recerca. Aquest mètode permet respondre a les preguntes de recerca: "si" s'aprèn, "què" s'aprèn, "quines" eines de gestió s'utilitzen, "com" s'utilitzen i "per què" el que s'aprèn s'aprèn. Aquesta particular comprensió epistemològica i el mètode que en resulta suggereixen utilitzar eines metodològiques convergents o de bricolatge. Les eines metodològiques que suporten el bricolatge són: observacions, entrevistes i focus groups com a font de dades primàries, i la revisió de la documentació com a dades secundàries. S'analitza que els pressupòsits participatius són subaccions de l'acció democràtica formats per intencions, plans i actes representats per diverses pràctiques de recursos humans. A més, s'entén que les característiques participatives del diàleg entre iguals, del respecte envers opinions divergents, de presa de decisions per consens en les reunions de grup successives, entre d'altres, fomenten l'autoreflexió sobre les lleis del funcionament social i individual, la qual canvia l'estat de no-reflexió de la consciència cap a un nou estat i, d'aquesta manera, s'esdevé l'aprenentatge ciutadà. / El presente interés por temas relacionados con aprendizaje y desarrollo ciudadano no es accidental. El bajo "involucrarse" por parte de los ciudadanos hace temblar las bases del sistema democrático lo que conlleva a una preocupación en distintos campos del conocimiento. Aprendizaje a través de la participación ciudadana está relacionado con las Ciencias de la Administración en diferentes aspectos. El aspecto de gestión puede ser identificado en la administración del propio gobierno, el aspecto de aprendizaje organizacional se encuentra en los estudios sobre las características de los contextos que crean un clima de aprendizaje lo cual promueve desarrollo. La comprensión de estos aspectos a través de la epistemología propuesta, la teoría crítica, añade nuevo conocimiento a la Ciencia Administrativa. La teoría crítica asume el interés de emancipación de la ciencia, es decir, la acción humana y social debería de estar orientada por la bondad, la humanidad y la racionalidad. En coherencia con esa orientación y con el nivel individual de análisis, la tesis considera dos marcos teóricos: las psicologías humanista y existencialista. En consecuencia, la investigación fenomenológica es el método de investigación. El método posibilita la contestación de las preguntas de investigación: "si" se aprende, "qué" se aprende, "cuáles" herramientas de gestión son utilizadas, "cómo" son utilizadas, y "porqué" lo que se aprende se aprende. Esa particular comprensión epistemológica y resultante método sugiere el uso de herramientas metodológicas convergentes o bricolage. Las herramientas metodológicas que soportan el bricolage son: observaciones, entrevistas y grupos focales como fuente de datos primarios; y, revisión de documentación como datos secundarios. Se analiza que los presupuestos participativos son sub-acciones de la acción democrática compuestos por intenciones, planes y actos representados por distintas prácticas de recursos humanos. Además se entiende que las características participativas del diálogo entre iguales, del respeto hacia opiniones divergentes, de la toma de decisión por consenso en las sucesivas reuniones grupales, entre otras, fomentan la auto-reflexión sobre las leyes del funcionamiento social e individual la cual cambia el estado de no-reflexión de la conciencia hacia un nuevo estado, ocurriendo, de esa manera, el aprendizaje ciudadano. / The thesis is concerned with the declining tendency of citizenship participation which threatens the democratic system. For that reason it studies successful participatory situations in which citizens learn and develop citizenship. Citizenship learning and development, as a phenomenon, are analysed from a Critical view of science and derivate existential and humanistic framework to learning and organizational. A democratic, participatory and deliberative situation that reflects the emancipatory interest of a good, humane and rational social action is the participatory budget of Brazilian municipalities. Learning, Organizational Learning and Human Resources Management are disciplines elected to set the theoretical framework to analyse the problem. From this epistemological view, research setting and scope, a methodological bricolage is built. The methodology follows the procedures of the phenomenological research which is supported by the triangulation of the methodological tools of in-depth interviews, focus groups, observations and documentation reviews. As a result the research presents findings that describe, comprehend and interpret the phenomenon of citizenship learning. Human resources management, as an emergent practice, is a key issue in this democratic action. The participatory budget, as a democratic action, is divided into sub-actions composed by intentions, plans and acts each one of them represented by specific human resources practices. Such procedure of deconstruction of actions into their constitutive parts brings better comprehension of their functioning. To understand the characteristics of the participatory context is also key because they foster self-reflection about the social and individual legalities which change the state of a non-reflected conscious, thus, citizenship learning occurs. The focus proposed and the evidences analysed and interpreted provides a definition for existential-humanistic citizenship learning which hopefully can bring some light to the declining tendencies in participation. Citizenship learning, thus, is a never-ending process in which individuals decide freely and responsibly to actualize their potential as citizens. Moreover, the process is existential and humanistic if it has humanity in general as its goal, if it is as aware as possible of the dialectics between humans' subjectivity and objectivity and if it gives rise to a system of values which takes into account this goal and these dialectics.