Frequently Asked Questions (AECD)

Yes. Every student in the AECD program may take up to half of their courses from outside of their program, provided they are graduate level courses and have some relevance to your degree. Students should consult with their advisors about the relevance of courses outside the program, and must have their advisor's signature to enroll in courses outside of OISE. Two courses may be taken at another institution beyond the University of Toronto.

Course outlines for upcoming courses are often not available until class begins. Archived copies of older outlines are for viewing only; contact one of the administrative staff to make arrangements at lhae.masters@utoronto.ca or lhae.doctoral@utoronto.ca.

Students can request course syllabi from the last time the course was offered from instructors. However, as graduate instructors are continually revising and updating syllabi, there is no guarantee that the course will remain the same and final course syllabi for each session may only be made available at the start of each course.  However, reviewing earlier course syllabi can give students a good sense of the kind of materials/topics to be covered and any reading done in advance will be generally helpful.

Yes.

A large number. These include but are not limited to:  Introduction to Qualitative Research Part I; Introduction to Qualitative Research Part II, Participatory Research in the Community and the Workplace; Introduction to Research Methods in Adult Education; and Introduction to Institutional Ethnography.

Most graduate courses are seminar-based--in other words, there is little lecturing or testing, and active student participation is encouraged in class discussions. Most course assignments consist of reflective and analytical papers. We expect students to be fully engaged in making sense of new knowledge and understandings, and to be applying that new learning to the practical situations they encounter in their lives. We also expect students to prepare for class each week with assigned readings or writings. A paper is usually required at the end of each course.

Generally, all our courses make the link between students' experiential knowledge and theoretical concepts. We strongly value the fact that many of our students have rich and diverse life experiences, which can be drawn on to understand and evaluate theories and analyses. Given that this is a graduate program, theoretical knowledge of the field is also required. 

Although there is no formal practicum requirement, we offer the practicum course LHA1122, Practicum in Adult Education & Community Development.

You can apply to both; some people complete both, although most students end up gravitating toward one of these collaborative programs. You should review the requirements of both collaborative programs looking for any challenges/conflicts (i.e. the total number of courses you might have to end up taking). One can always take the courses selectively from any of the collaborative programs without being admitted to those programs. Students are encouraged to enrol in courses as soon as the enrolment opens. 

There are many volunteer and paid positions in research projects carried out in our program. Our faculty's expertise often results in their receiving funding to concentrate their research towards a specific goal or purpose through seminars, conferences, and other projects that require the aid and input of engaged, interested students. Likewise, students can apply to OISE for graduate assistantships (GAs), and can also apply for research funding to agencies like SSHRC and OGS. Students interested in gaining research experience through a particular research project can contact the Principal Investigator or collaborators to ask for voluntary or paid opportunities.

There are several research centres affiliated with the Adult Education & Community Development program. These centres undertake a variety of activities related to research, teaching, professional development and community engagement. Among them are the Comparative and International Development Education Centre and the Centre for Learning, Social Economy and Work. Feel free to visit the centres' websites for information on projects, conferences, workshops, seminars and various other activities held throughout the academic year.

Yes. There are many interdepartmental research areas involving Adult Education and other departments.

Our graduates enter careers in a diverse range of industries, communities, and organizations. Many consider our degrees to be an effective augmentation to existing careers, especially those careers that require the organization and leadership of people in some manner. Here are some of the areas that our graduates have entered into:

• Political Activism
• Research
• Labour education, industrial and labour relations
• Trauma counselling
• Educational consultant
• Social services work
• Advocacy
• Human resource development
• Organization development consulting
• Workplace equity leadership, consultation
• Management and leadership development
• Workplace health and safety
• Employee ownership, cooperative organizational design
• Community development
• Policy analysis
• Environmental education
• International development
• Health education
• Continuing education
• Pre-service teacher training
• Facilitation (individual, group)
• Arts-informed adult education
• University or community college instructor

Our programs do not provide the certification required to become an HR professional. However, the program offers a number of courses that are relevant to those interested in human resource development work. Interested individuals may wish to consult our Workplace Learning and Social Change collaborative program.