Define: Emancipatory Action Research (EAR) is described as creating "theory in action and action from theory" (p. 78) and involves creating critical public spaces that break down hegemony and rebuild structures to more equally distribute power. EAR “is overtly committed to social justice” through an active process of action and reflection (Ledwith, 2005)
Apply: A community developer decides to apply EAR to a community’s need for better sidewalk maintenance. Instead of identifying the solution himself, the community developer engages the community in a co-creation process. Throughout the work, the group is committed to asking a series of questions that raise their consciousness about how the work contributes to social justice. These include questioning the approach and how it fits in with the values of community development, identifying power structures and how they come into play, constantly reflecting on who the research will benefit, and articulating how the research contributes to social/environmental justice, and identifying ways the research reflects the diversity of the community.
Adapt: A physician conducting clinical trials of a new drug decides to apply EAR principles to the work. She asks the critical questions, in particular seeking to understand what community the research population is from and how power imbalances might have contributed to their willingness to participate. She also considers how the funding for the research came from the drug company itself and how this might impact a presentation of the findings. In applying EAR the physician is committed to asking deeper questions and challenging the status quo.
Source:
Ledwith, M. (2005) Community Development: A Critical Approach. Chicago, IL: The Policy Press.
Showing posts with label Bradley Shugoll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bradley Shugoll. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Black Identity Development Theory
Define: Black Identity Development Theory is a stage based model of identity development focused on the social construct of understanding one’s Blackness. Individuals begin without an understanding of race and progress along an oscillating path of rejection and acceptance of Blackness before developing an integrated sense of a Black self-independent of the perceptions of others (Jackson, 1976).
Apply: A white community developer is hoping to work with a neighborhood group that is predominately Black and wants to improve employment rates in the community. Instead of immediately diving into organizing, the community developer takes time to assess how the neighborhood understands their Black identity. Since the group is predominately interested in having Black individuals work together to solve this problem and is not interested in working with white people to solve the problem, he decides to step away from the project. Instead the community developer works with his organization to identify a Black social worker who can work with the community.
Adapt: A higher educational professional working with Black students would acknowledge that students have different developmental understandings of their identity and provide opportunities that challenge a support a range of students. This might include developing social events to build community with other Black students or facilitating a workshop for a coalition of student from multiple racial backgrounds to come together from across campus to advocate for social justice.
Source:
Jackson, B. (1976). Black identity development. In L.H. Golubchick and B. Persky (Eds), Urban Social, and Educational Issues, (pp.158-164). Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt.
Jackson, B. (1976). Black identity development. In L.H. Golubchick and B. Persky (Eds), Urban Social, and Educational Issues, (pp.158-164). Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt.
Parsons Action Theory
Define: Parsons defines action as “the aspects of behavior which directly concern ‘cultural-level’ systems” (p.178) these result from interactions between four subsystems, he calls the organism, the social system, the cultural system and the analytical system (Parsons, 1977). The theory presses back against the idea that there are absolute truths, even in the hard sciences, and considers all action a function of social interaction and relationship.
Apply: The theory implies that as a community developer, it is important to understand the value of relationship building and the subjective nature of action. For example, a community developer working to advocate for additional heat to a public housing building during an exceptionally cold week, may be able to work with the city to provide the help even if the residents could not afford it. Since social relationships lead to action, if the motive is compelling enough for both interested parties a formal policy or payment could be ignored.
Adapt: When applying for a job, action theory’s relationship to networking becomes evident. Since the right or perfect candidate is as much defined by subjective human relationships as it is objective facts there is a high level of importance to get to know the hiring manager or the organization. Since the action of hiring is a complex social process, a strictly objective process will likely not be used to select the new hire.
Source:
Parsons, T. (1977). Social systems and the evolution of action theory. New York: Free Press
Apply: The theory implies that as a community developer, it is important to understand the value of relationship building and the subjective nature of action. For example, a community developer working to advocate for additional heat to a public housing building during an exceptionally cold week, may be able to work with the city to provide the help even if the residents could not afford it. Since social relationships lead to action, if the motive is compelling enough for both interested parties a formal policy or payment could be ignored.
Adapt: When applying for a job, action theory’s relationship to networking becomes evident. Since the right or perfect candidate is as much defined by subjective human relationships as it is objective facts there is a high level of importance to get to know the hiring manager or the organization. Since the action of hiring is a complex social process, a strictly objective process will likely not be used to select the new hire.
Source:
Parsons, T. (1977). Social systems and the evolution of action theory. New York: Free Press
Self-Authorship Theory
Define: Self-authorship is the “capacity to internally generate ones beliefs, values, identity, and relationships” (Baxter Magolda, 2009). Self-authorship utilizes a cognitive-developmental framework, and indicates that as individuals develop they pass through a series of increasingly complex stages from an external definition of the self that is defined by others to an integral definition that is generated through self-reflection.
Apply: A community developer is working with a group of high-school students to create a foster care peer support network. Realizing that most of the group has not reached self-authorship, the developer decides not to ask them directly about their vision for the group. Instead he creates a series activities where he can model to the students what this decision making process would look like and allow the students to to engage in the process in a more structured way. Instead of assuming that the students were ready to make these decisions on their own, he took time to meet the students where they were developmentally.
Adapt: In higher education, a judicial affairs officer chooses to offer a range of sanctioning options rather than a set policy for all students. This allows for the introduction of restorative justice practices that gives the officer the opportunity to co-create a plan with the student. This allows the student to learn from their action in a way that is developmentally appropriate.
Source:
Apply: A community developer is working with a group of high-school students to create a foster care peer support network. Realizing that most of the group has not reached self-authorship, the developer decides not to ask them directly about their vision for the group. Instead he creates a series activities where he can model to the students what this decision making process would look like and allow the students to to engage in the process in a more structured way. Instead of assuming that the students were ready to make these decisions on their own, he took time to meet the students where they were developmentally.
Adapt: In higher education, a judicial affairs officer chooses to offer a range of sanctioning options rather than a set policy for all students. This allows for the introduction of restorative justice practices that gives the officer the opportunity to co-create a plan with the student. This allows the student to learn from their action in a way that is developmentally appropriate.
Source:
Baxter Magolda, M.B. (2009). Promoting self-authorship to promote liberal education. Journal of College and Character, X(3), 1-6.
White Identity Development Theory
Define: The White Racial Identity Model provides a conceptual framework for White individuals to consider their racism the model follows a theme of rejection of the concept of racism and focus on shared humanity, to a rejection of White racists, to the development of a positive anti-racist white identity.
Apply: A community organizer is attempting to build a coalition of neighbors to protest against a racist voter ID policy. She approaches members of a predominately White community and instead of immediately asking them to join in the protest she takes time to assess their developmental readiness to have conversations about their privilege or racism. Determining that many of the individuals are not developmentally ready, she decides to first invest in a community building and dialogue facilitation about the lived experience of Black individuals in the larger community and encourages them to consider racism more deeply. With appropriate challenge and support the community develops towards an understanding of anti-racist work and joins in the larger coalition to protest the voter ID law.
Apply: A community organizer is attempting to build a coalition of neighbors to protest against a racist voter ID policy. She approaches members of a predominately White community and instead of immediately asking them to join in the protest she takes time to assess their developmental readiness to have conversations about their privilege or racism. Determining that many of the individuals are not developmentally ready, she decides to first invest in a community building and dialogue facilitation about the lived experience of Black individuals in the larger community and encourages them to consider racism more deeply. With appropriate challenge and support the community develops towards an understanding of anti-racist work and joins in the larger coalition to protest the voter ID law.
Adapt: A professor teaching a history course on the 1960s and social activism notices that his white students are reluctant to talk about their privilege and are not engaging as meaningfully in the class conversation. So the professor assesses their understanding of white identity and determines that they need more time considering their own privilege. Since class discussion is not the appropriate place to come to these realizations, he gives the students a journaling assignment that includes additional reading on white privilege. He asks the students to identify the way privilege effects their lives and encourages them to meet with him to talk through the process as they come to understand what it means to be white.
Source:
Helms, J. (1990). Black and White racial identity: theory, research, and practice. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Source:
Helms, J. (1990). Black and White racial identity: theory, research, and practice. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Critical Mass Theory
Define: Critical mass is a socio-dynamic concept that has been defined broadly across a number of social science fields to refer to the minimum amount of individuals necessary for a social action to occur. Oliver & Marwell (1988) go further to suggest that for collective action a critical mass of interest isn’t enough and that effective action also requires a certain amount of resource and/or power to take place.
Apply: A neighborhood on the edge of town wants to alter the bus route to serve more members of their community and they start by gathering for a town hall meeting to discuss the new route. All the community members are in favor of the change, but they do not have the power or the resources to make it happen. But, a community developer comes in to aid the project and connects the community to their local city council member who has the power to advocate for a new route. This example illustrates that interest is not sufficient, and that community organizers must also mobilize power and resources for action to occur.
Adapt: A local bank needs an additional $100,000 in their reserves to feel comfortable paying to open a second branch in town. To reach their critical mass the bank could reach out to 100 of their clients who interested in putting an additional $1000 in their account or they could find ten new clients who each want to put $10,000 into saving. The example illustrates that critical mass can be thought of both in terms of people and also in terms of power or resources.
Sources:
Oliver, P.E. & Marwell, G. (1988). The paradox of group size in collective action: A theory of the critical mass. II. American Sociological Review 53(1), 1-8.
Apply: A neighborhood on the edge of town wants to alter the bus route to serve more members of their community and they start by gathering for a town hall meeting to discuss the new route. All the community members are in favor of the change, but they do not have the power or the resources to make it happen. But, a community developer comes in to aid the project and connects the community to their local city council member who has the power to advocate for a new route. This example illustrates that interest is not sufficient, and that community organizers must also mobilize power and resources for action to occur.
Adapt: A local bank needs an additional $100,000 in their reserves to feel comfortable paying to open a second branch in town. To reach their critical mass the bank could reach out to 100 of their clients who interested in putting an additional $1000 in their account or they could find ten new clients who each want to put $10,000 into saving. The example illustrates that critical mass can be thought of both in terms of people and also in terms of power or resources.
Sources:
Oliver, P.E. & Marwell, G. (1988). The paradox of group size in collective action: A theory of the critical mass. II. American Sociological Review 53(1), 1-8.
World Polity Theory
Define: World Polity Theory describes transnational interaction and global social change as norming that results from structural processes from the top down rather than functional processes from the ground up (i.e. industrialization/ modernization). In it, “social actors and associated structures and behaviors are viewed as shaped by the broader environment” while “other actors are embedded in a cultural context that frames and determines their identity, structure, and behavior” (McNeely, 2012).
Apply: World Polity theory suggests that commonly accepted community development approaches are likely working towards a global norm that keeps certain members of society oppressed. For example international aid or welfare strategies often help to mitigate conflict, but do not work towards changing norms and ultimately keep certain individuals in power. An individual working with a community that is at the periphery of power, such as the African American community, must be cognizant that that their community “solutions” may not be solutions at all and could be limiting these individuals from obtaining greater power.
Apply: World Polity theory suggests that commonly accepted community development approaches are likely working towards a global norm that keeps certain members of society oppressed. For example international aid or welfare strategies often help to mitigate conflict, but do not work towards changing norms and ultimately keep certain individuals in power. An individual working with a community that is at the periphery of power, such as the African American community, must be cognizant that that their community “solutions” may not be solutions at all and could be limiting these individuals from obtaining greater power.
Adapt: Within global politics, World Polity suggests that all nations (particularly those in power) are constantly norming towards each other. As a global actor in this theory, the United States needs to be mindful of how its policies send a message for other nations to follow. Particularly, the U.S. and other nations need to be mindful of how they define and stick to commitments to fuel and power usage. By continuing to neglect policies, these nations are setting a global norm that will lead to damaging levels of carbon in the atmosphere, resulting in global warming.
Sources:
McNeely, C. L. (2012). World Polity Theory. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization.
Sources:
McNeely, C. L. (2012). World Polity Theory. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization.
Garbage Can Theory
Define: Garbage-can theory describes an organizational tool whereby leaders create a space for participants to discuss “issues and feelings looking for decision situations in which they might be aired, solutions looking for issues to which they might be the answer, and decision makers looking for work" (Cohen, March, & Olsen, 1972). A garbage can is useful in anarchical or highly egalitarian groups where every member wants to voice their problems and creates a space where many problems can be brought to the table without the need to address all of them (Cohen & March 1974).
Apply: In Community Development working with a large community can bring chaos if everyone has an individual concern they want solved. Rather than focus on all the individual needs, a “garbage can” could be used to allow community members a chance to voice their concerns through an event like an open town hall meeting. This allows participants to voice their complaints without an expectation of action on all of the concerns. Ultimately the goal is to sift through smaller issues and get to larger goals that affect more members of the community (while being careful not to completely dismiss any ideas or openly refer to the session as a “garbage can” space).
Adapt: In a university, faculty often function on an egalitarian basis where they all have an equal voice in decision making. Because of this many faculty members feel a need to have all of their problems heard and considered. On campus, the faculty senate could be referred to as a “garbage can” space, since it allows for faculty to come together and voice complaints, but most senates have very little authority to take action. The faculty senate is about creating space to be heard rather than moving towards action and allows the community the opportunity to burn off steam.
Sources:
Cohen, M. D., March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1972). A garbage can model of organizational choice. Administrative science quarterly, 1-25.
Cohen, M. D. & J.G. March. (1974). Leadership in an organized anarchy. In Leadership and Ambiguity: The American College President (2nd Ed.) pp. 195-229 . Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Technical Assistance Model
Definition: One of three themes/models developed by Christenson (1989) to describe common approaches to community development practice. The model focuses on a community developer as an advisor who facilitates task seeking to accomplish an end outcome.
Application: In practice this could take the form of a community resource center for the unemployed. The center would focus on advising residents on how to complete a resume and job application with the goal of becoming employed. The focus is on helping the residents get a specific job that is available. The community developer would measure success based on the number of jobs secured, not on future capacity to find a job if the resident was to become unemployed again.
Adaption: This approach is often found in higher education related to financial aid. When students are seeking federal aid as incoming first-year students, they must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form which is notoriously complicated. Many organizations will assist students in completing this form by providing their technical expertise and familiarity with filling it out. This ultimately saves students time and helps them get the aid they deserve without providing them a detailed understanding of how to fill it out in the future.
Application: In practice this could take the form of a community resource center for the unemployed. The center would focus on advising residents on how to complete a resume and job application with the goal of becoming employed. The focus is on helping the residents get a specific job that is available. The community developer would measure success based on the number of jobs secured, not on future capacity to find a job if the resident was to become unemployed again.
Adaption: This approach is often found in higher education related to financial aid. When students are seeking federal aid as incoming first-year students, they must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form which is notoriously complicated. Many organizations will assist students in completing this form by providing their technical expertise and familiarity with filling it out. This ultimately saves students time and helps them get the aid they deserve without providing them a detailed understanding of how to fill it out in the future.
Sources:
Christenson, J.A. (1989). Themes of community development. In Eds. J.A. Christenson and J. Robinson Jr. Community Development in Perspective. (pp.26-47). Ames: Iowa State University Press.
Self-Help Model
Definition: The Self-help model focuses on a community developer as a
facilitator/educator who facilitates process with the essential goal of
"helping people help themselves." The a community developer remains neutral within this model and believes that process and developing individual capacity will lead to residents helping themselves and taking control of their communities in the future.
Application: In practice this could take the form of a literacy inactive for adults. The focus is on developing the skill of literacy and allowing the residents to use that skill to apply it as they see fit. Whether the individuals use it for a job application or to continue their education is not as much of a concern of the community developer in this model.
Adaption: This approach could also be applied and is widely applied in education. Through this lens, education is less about a task or end goal (i.e. getting a job) and is more about process and preparing individuals to be self-sufficient after they graduate from school. For example in special education in high school, teachers are expected to prepare students with a disability to take increasing ownership of their Individual Education Plan (IEP). Throughout high school, teachers and counselors support students to take on a larger role in determining the accommodations that they need to be successful, so that when students graduate they are ready to be self-advocates for accommodations either within higher education or in the work place.
Application: In practice this could take the form of a literacy inactive for adults. The focus is on developing the skill of literacy and allowing the residents to use that skill to apply it as they see fit. Whether the individuals use it for a job application or to continue their education is not as much of a concern of the community developer in this model.
Adaption: This approach could also be applied and is widely applied in education. Through this lens, education is less about a task or end goal (i.e. getting a job) and is more about process and preparing individuals to be self-sufficient after they graduate from school. For example in special education in high school, teachers are expected to prepare students with a disability to take increasing ownership of their Individual Education Plan (IEP). Throughout high school, teachers and counselors support students to take on a larger role in determining the accommodations that they need to be successful, so that when students graduate they are ready to be self-advocates for accommodations either within higher education or in the work place.
Sources:
Christenson, J.A.
(1989). Themes of community development. In Eds. J.A. Christenson and J.
Robinson Jr. Community Development in
Perspective. (pp.26-47). Ames: Iowa State University Press.
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