Facilitation in Context: challenging some basic principles

Most accounts of facilitation give the impression that their recommendations are applicable to all contexts and settings. Few envisage facilitation occurring under hostile conditions, or countenance the possibility of malevolent or perverted facilitation. In fact most accounts make assumptions about the context in which learning occurs which render them blind to these possibilities and impotent in the face of their reality. Yet an examination of one significant learning environment—the workplace—reveals that it can be far from ideal and poses unique challenges to the facilitator, especially when that role is assumed by a workplace supervisor. The issues raised are sufficiently significant to place a question mark over the effectiveness of some adult learning programs. The argument supports a closer examination of the dynamics of trust building, of the scope of learning that can be facilitated in any context, of the roles of participants, and the use of learning facilitators whose interests are independent of those dominant in the context.