Although the National Workplace Literacy Program is relatively new, a new orthodoxy of program development based on particular understandings of literacy and learning has emerged. Descriptions of two model workplace education programs are the beginning points for an examination of the assumptions contained in most reports of workplace education programs. For instance, most programs use the term "functional literacy" to describe program content. By accepting a narrow definition of literacy, programs risk limiting their scope and impact on the workplace and on learners' lives. An exploration of assumptions programs make about curriculum and curriculum development reveals that most claim to customize their curriculum through job task analyses or literacy audits. Literacy audits lead almost always to lists of skills and subskills rather than to a broader understanding of teaching and learning literate practices. An examination of assumptions about teachers and teaching reveals that program descriptions rely on teacher qualifications, facts about instructional settings, and "contact" hours. New conceptions of teaching and learning as active, constructive processes rather than as transmission of skills are needed. Five sets of matrices have been proposed to conceptualize workplace education programs based on definitions of literacy, curriculum and curriculum development, teaching and learning, partnerships and participation, and success. (Contains 105 references.) (YLB)