Canadian Women Negotiating Working Knowledge in Enterprise: Interpretive and Critical Readings of a National Study

Authors

  • Tara Fenwick University of Alberta

Abstract

Women in Canada are leaving their jobs in unprecedented numbers to become entrepreneurs. This phenomenon offers rich opportunity to study the process of their work learning. This article presents findings of a qualitative Canada-wide study exploring these complex relationships between the process of learning, the nature of personal change, and the work of women entrepreneurs. Over 100 women from British Columbia to Nova Scotia were interviewed: all had left jobs with an organization to start her own business, often with little or no previous business experience or education. The findings of this study are presented in two parts. First, themes of the women's narratives are outlined showing aspects of their working knowledge, the process of its development, and influences on this process such as different women's values, purposes and learning practices. Second, a critical reading of selected findings is presented, using critical cultural and feminist lenses to examine contested terrains of women entrepreneurs' working knowledge and the ethic of its development. The conclusion bridges the more productive and more limiting themes emerging from this study and suggests future directions for theory and research.

Résumé

Un nombre sans précédent de Canadiennes quittent leur emploi pour devenir entrepreneures. Ce phénomène offre une occasion unique d'étudier le processus de leur apprentissage professionnel. Cet article présente les résultats d'une étude qualitative pancanadienne qui explore les liens complexes unissant le processus de l'apprentissage, la nature du changement personnel et le travail des femmes entrepreneures. De la Colombie-Britannique à la Nouvelle- Écosse, plus de cent femmes ont été interviewées : toutes ces femmes avaient quitté leur emploi en entreprise pour lancer leur propre compagnie, bien qu'elles aient été bien souvent à peine pourvues sinon dépourvues d'expérience ou de formation préalable dans le domaine des affaires. Les résultats de l'étude sont présentés en deux parties.Dans la première partie, les thèmes relevés dans le propos de ces femmes sont mis en évidence afin de montrer certains aspects de leur connaissance pratique, le processus de développement de cette connaissance et les influences exercées sur ce développement par les valeurs des participantes, leurs objectifs personnels et leurs pratiques d'apprentissage.Dans la seconde partie, on présente une interprétation critique de certains résultats de l'étude, par le biais d'une critique culturelle et féministe, dans le but d'examiner certains aspects controversés de la connaissance pratique des femmes entrepreneures et les questions d'ordre éthique liées au développement de cette connaissance.La conclusion fait le lien entre les thèmes plus productifs et les thèmes plus contraignants qui se dégagent de cette étude, tout en proposant de nouvelles avenues pour l'étude théorique et la recherche.

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Published

2002-11-01

How to Cite

Fenwick, T. (2002). Canadian Women Negotiating Working Knowledge in Enterprise: Interpretive and Critical Readings of a National Study. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 16(2), 1–29. Retrieved from https://cjsae.library.dal.ca/index.php/cjsae/article/view/1877

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2002)

Section

Articles

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