Social Change Education

This essay begins with orienting the reader to Social Change Education (SCE), defining the theory in terms of design and utility, and tracking how it has evolved as an effective means of augmenting communication and action for the oppressed. The reader is offered a comparison of the SCE design to the hegemonic "classic" model of education. Orientation to the growing popularity of social change education with examples of local, historical and more global applications is underscored by examples of SCE in practice, and its relative success in one global health care initiative. This essay advocates for SCE; a contrasting view is recognized but is not fully explored within the scope of this document. The literature review and analysis is intriguing and readers will likely look for further examples of the model's utility.

Keywords Authoritarianism; Capitalism; Consciousness; Globalization; Hegemony; Marginalized; Oppressed; Popular Education; Social Change Education; Social Justice

Educational Theory > Social Change Education

Overview

We live in a global society; electronic communication happens in the blink of an eye. Realistically, electronic interconnectedness can limit important face to face engagement. Email, cell phones, and the Internet are but a few reasons why electronic communication is outpacing valuable interpersonal interaction. As a society, we've become less invested in relationships and more invested in information-sharing, enhanced by the very facility of our instant electronic connections. Because of our busy lives, too often we shelter up in our homes at night and listen passively to headlines delivered to our living room. News headlines are real, but most don't really seem to impact our day to day living. Many forget to question the veracity of what we are told by the media; seldom do we forcefully question the rhetoric of those in power. We are told what to buy in our capitalist society; sometimes this power is so insidious we are not even aware of its impact. We hear about war and terrorism, and we assume our government is doing the right thing for all concerned. The politicians vying for presidential nominations are honest, we hope; or are they sponsored by the rich and powerful, colluding to keep us in our ignorance?

In our conscience, we know there are injustices for which we should take ownership: The environment is deteriorating; crime holds communities in fear; fuel prices are becoming prohibitive; countries threaten ours, and we live in fear of terrorism or natural disaster. Making positive change requires that we become agents for social change. Social change education has evolved over the years in response to exploitation and alienation of the lower classes. Social change speaks for the downtrodden or marginalized; it addresses unjust conditions under which groups of people suffer economically, socially, or politically. It is of no surprise that the wealthy, the capitalists and the politicians are presumed averse to the SCE movement. It is primarily through control and intellectual supremacy that the lower classes may be quieted.

How Does Social Change Happen?

Social Change Education (SCE) is not the answer to the world's injustices, but it does provide a proven framework through which the weaker, poorer, less educated, and exploited can speak and be heard. SCE doesn't look like a college course. There are no books or exams in the classic sense, no podium from which a professor lectures. In SCE, the instructors are the students and the students the instructors. The opposite of authoritarianism and intolerance, SCE builds success through the self-reflection of its participants; it encourages and builds reflexive, not rigid responses to change. Bringing people together who are like-minded, with a common mission and goals to challenge existing power arrangements, can turn a single railroad car into a proverbial speeding locomotive.

What is Social Change Education (SCE)?

Every organization, every community has a unique culture, no matter the size or construct. All of us have experienced the flavor of a workplace, a religious organization or an academic institution; and many of us have been challenged to understand the way decisions are made or why events sometimes happen to us rather than with us. When groups are not involved in the decision-making process, unrest, mistrust, and perceived (or real) oppression occurs. These inherent problems, common to any group with designated leaders and followers, can be mitigated by using SCE.

SCE

SCE is not a new philosophy; its essential principles for success date back decades. The reader will understand more by reviewing the summary below:

The key underpinnings to SCE include:

• Jointly involving people to draw in their history and experience, broadening perspective and providing a much more robust learning experience than a classic didactic lecture model.

• Getting people invested and excited when group learning is facilitated well - and everyone is guaranteed a voice.

• Allowing members to feel ownership in decisions. SCE is not about having information pushed to the learner from a leader. SCE does not promote a leader that limits input from all constituents, intentionally or unintentionally.

SCE (Popular Education) Defined

Social Change Education has developed over time in response to exploitation and social alienation of affected groups. The oppressed, a term which should be considered broadly, refers to those not of the elite class (even the middle class, for example) - but of those who must learn to examine their responsibility to make change and speak for themselves. Knowledge of social change is not inherent, especially for ordinary people, oppressed or disadvantaged; it is a learned skill that requires facilitative leadership. Many people live under the hand of hegemony, and it is only when they become aware of opportunities for successful change that they can begin to coalesce their local experience and wisdom to change their oppressive circumstances. SCE is a threat to the dominant class in any hierarchal setting; keeping the oppressed in a status quo limits their very desire to challenge. The oppressed class, like a captive, cannot see 'outside the box' and often becomes afraid to voice resistance.

A three year collaborative called Globalizing Civil Society from the inside Out (GCS), from the Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Inter-American Forum of the Collins Center for Public Policy in Miami Florida, is quoted below:

"Popular Education {synonymous with SCE} has a rich history in social justice struggles around the world, and is being used today by grassroots organizations as a leadership development tool that builds critical consciousness, as an organizational methodology, and even as a philosophy of life. Grassroots organizations, looking to unpack the abstract concepts that oftentimes muddle the public's understanding of global economy, have devoted themselves to popular education as a means to communicating the issues and the connections to their membership base," ("Globalizing civil society," 2005).

SCE appears to have made some inroads to teacher education as well. In a qualitative practitioner-research case study, four university faculty members attempted to “disrupt the hegemonic domestication of candidates enrolled in an undergraduate teacher education program (Ritchie, Cone, Sohyun, & Bullock, 2013).” During the semester right before their student teaching, 16 candidates at a large public university in the southeastern U.S. enrolled in four content methods courses. Taught by Ritchie, Cone, Sohyun, and Bullock themselves, the curriculum of these courses “emphasized social justice dimensions of teaching rather than just focusing on skills and strategies.” Drawing from the multiple data sources, the authors found both possibilities and limitations of teacher education for social change and argued that greater resources are needed for teacher education to effect true social change (Ritchie, Cone, Sohyun, & Bullock, 2013).

Barriers to Social Change

Apathy & Marginalization

A sense of discomfort lurks in the minds of many Americans. Here in our freedom and wealth, too few proactively contribute to broad social initiatives for improvement. The reality is that many of us try to assuage our culpability, convinced that we're only one person; manipulated by unnamed powerful, wealthy people controlling our world and its resources. We complain, we point fingers and we blame the 'leadership.' We are like lemmings, distancing ourselves from engaging in improvements for the many, focusing on our own concerns, usually our own small circle of influence. Yet before we chastise ourselves too harshly, most can admit that we have the intelligence and the heart to make a change, but most of the time we just don't know where to start.

Further, imagine those living in poverty, uneducated, whose lot in life is worse than many of us can even imagine. These are the people whose oppressed status pushes them even further from having a voice. They grow up understanding that their social position causes them to be weaker, less valued; they do not fight and rather accept the status quo. The oppressed remain oppressed. But there is good news: Today there are fire-starters, change agents who value and encourage SCE, to leverage the peoples' voice, to help them become coordinated, thoughtful and strong. They focus their work on engaging and attracting stakeholders to improve representation for all constituents who believe in an important cause, whatever it may be. Social change can occur in our local sphere of influence, or broadly across societies; anywhere that oppression can occur and change is needed.

Historical Perspective - Understanding Change at Different Levels

Individual Experience

Have you ever shown up for work Monday morning and found the memo in your inbox from 'the administration.' It announces a new improved mission and supporting goals, yet this is the first you've heard of it. Do you feel like you missed the planning meetings; question whether you were you left out intentionally? Do you think, 'Where did this come from and why wasn't I allowed some input; after all, we workers {students, educators, key constituents) are the ones who know what goes on around here aren't we?' This scenario plays out over and over every day in businesses, schools, and government. Disallowing people sufficient input to important issues gives them the feeling they are being controlled by hierarchy. They simply do not feel valued, no matter the decision-makers' intent. What is lacking is the richness captured when broad brainstorming and reflective discussions capture others' experiences - these are the supporting structures for robust improvement. It must be clear to the reader that certainly not every decision can or should involve group input; further discussion follows which clarifies this point.

Governmental Application

Lift yourself to a 50,000-foot view and look down at the swirling firestorm surrounding the 2008 presidential primary elections. It's surprising in this era of technological advancement, high-powered information systems, and national databases, that we still practice an archaic and inexact means of tallying our citizens' votes. When government recognized that through globalization and cyber fraud, voting outcomes could be manipulated, their reflex response was to mandate that every voter produce official identification before exercising their vote. On the surface, this reaction sounds reasonable. Yet, research shows that citizens from lower socioeconomic classes are less likely to vote than are those who enjoy greater financial success. This same lower class is also far less likely to possess personal identification documents; hence the new mandates effectively impose a barrier to their input on the future leadership of their country. Some are convinced that this is a subversive means to limit the vote - architecture for control developed by the global elite - the ones with sufficient political and financial strength to marginalize the lower class. Perceived by many as top-down decision-making that should be more integrated, SCE could provide such a model.

History Repeats Itself

Now, turn your imagination back to the Middle Ages. Scene: Ancient Rome. Patricians were the dominant class whose prosperity led to strength and power. This power was tightly protected by its stakeholders; strategies of the leaders focused on battling infiltration from outside groups and the continual marginalization of lower class citizens. Suppression of a weaker class was the norm then, as it has continued to be throughout the world's history. Lack of financial independence resulted in loss of a political voice for the minority classes in ancient Rome. Historians point to obvious racial differences as a hallmark distinguishing Roman Patriarchs from weaker, poorer classes. Upon the poor, rights to freedom and property were overtaken; civil liberties were squelched; and the powerful led on comfortably in their society of hegemony. Status quo was comfortable for those with the means to keep it so.

Application

Case Study: HIV in Women

The HIV epidemic, particularly in women, sparked a research effort to identify the determinants of risk and their relation to the victim's cultural, social and empowerment capacity. The study highlighted in the article examined the efficacy of varied strategies for decreasing HIV infection. Historically, classic educational tools proved limited in their efficacy to decrease infection and transmission. In support of SCE, the study analyzed and compared prior efforts to educate an afflicted female population, to those introduced by the SCE initiative. Not surprisingly the SCE effort presented robust evidence of substantially greater efficacy credited to the Social Education model. A snapshot of the results is below; the reader will recognize classic features of SCE at work. What is particularly notable is the strength of this study and its findings, quantitatively supported by the research data.

"With growing concerns about the limitations of models that focus on proximal, individual determinants of behavior and that do not include community capacity to define and address their health concerns, Woman to Woman was developed as an intervention for high-risk women to move from individualistic and information-drive notions of AIDS education to a multidimensional socioecological model of community empowerment and community mobilization. The majority of knowledge questions regarding HIV transmission and prevention methods in the aggregated population showed statistically significant changes between the pretest and posttest. For certain questions where the participants already had an understanding of the virus, there was a ceiling effect and therefore no significant change. Although the time from pretest to posttest (close to 1 month) was likely insufficient to predict behavior change, two items were significant in the direction of positive change: 'In the last month, when you had sex, was a condom/latex barrier used? (mean change from 2.97 to 3.17; p<.000) and 'In the last month have you had unprotected sex? (mean change from .67 to .62, a reduction in risk; p=0.41)'" (Romero et al, 2006).

Discourse

So why the remarkable contrast between outcomes with SCE and the hegemonic model of education, and why does it work when it works? Experts question the quality and efficacy of the hegemonic means of disseminating education. The literature reflects concerns about the No Child Left Behind legislation in public schools today, under the classic model of teaching. Questions arise as to whether teachers are teaching to assure that students pass their tests, or whether they focus on teaching, engaging and helping students learn to be socially responsive via a rich and robust model -- which just might develop a new generation of socially responsible thinkers.

A quote from author Larry Olds follows from his draft memoir on SCE. The reader will notice his comparison of the hegemonic model of teaching in the classroom to other industries where information and understanding are the foundation to their very livelihood. "Stripped to its essence, the hegemonic model is a four-step process. Educators are to:

• Determine vision, goals, competencies, objectives;

• Select activities, resources, methods;

• Carry out activities;

• Evaluate/assess in terms the goals, competencies and objectives.

This is also the essence of most strategic planning models as well as most organizational development models. It now seems to permeate all spheres of social endeavor" (Olds, n.d.).

Mr. Olds continues in support of the SCE model, "My basic principles for popular education in the classroom - the tasks in a transformative model-again interlocking and overlapping (Olds, n.d.):

• Helping people name their world, tell the stories of their experience, speak and find their voice at the educational event.

• Using tools of social analysis that help people connect their experience to a broader understanding of that experience, to an understanding of the historical, political and other social connections.

• Using the arts, music, theater, dance and other such creative modes as a different kind of voice and way of knowing in the process of naming, understanding, and transforming our world.

• Advocating a people/community-centered versus a banking approach to knowledge-in other words, a participant-centered process of knowledge creation rather than a podium-centered process of knowledge distribution."

Furthermore, effective SCE may result from different approaches. Chang (2013) studied and compared the similarities and differences between popular education forms in two regions: Highlander education in the Appalachian Mountains in the United States and study circles in Sweden. The findings were that, influenced by the folk schools’ education “connecting to the social, political and economic problems of life,” Highlander education and Swedish study circles “dealt with the problems of life in education, but took different directions due to their different social and political contexts. Influenced by the radical philosophy of adult education, Highlander education attempted to achieve social and economic justice through social liberation in local communities; based on humanistic education philosophy, Swedish study circles pursued social democracy mainly through individual development” (Chang, 2013).

The Sport for Development and Peace movement (SDP), concentrated mainly in Australia and nearby regions, uses athletics as a context to provide young people with social, personal, and health education (Spaaij & Jeanes, 2013). Spaaij and Jeanes believe that “Freirean pedagogy” (SCE guided by the writings of educator and philosopher Paulo Freire) could be better utilized within SDP education, and they outline some of the practical implications of doing so. They argue for the need for flexibility in SDP curriculum development and the importance of ensuring that this is grounded within a local context (Spaaij & Jeanes, 2013).

Conclusion

This high-level insight to SCE has provided an overview and a comparison of the hegemonic teaching versus SCE model; it offers a compelling argument supporting SCE. The one research study cited worked with small numbers but successfully elicited statistically significant findings in primary efficacy of SCE in a population of HIV-infected women. The essay portrays SCE as an intriguing paradigm shift from the popular means by which groups interact and move to action. The opportunities for lifting up the oppressed and the voiceless are boundless when considered locally or globally in the context of SCE. Oppressed populations have benefited from SCE implementation, as have successful industries; it is predictive that with more success and exposure, SCE could be the new model for the 21st century.

Terms & Concepts

Hegemony: Leadership or dominance of one group over another.

Marginalization: Trends in group or culture in which individuals tend to be excluded as a result of their perceived standing in the society.

Oppression: The experience of being kept suppressed by injustice or power.

Quantitative Research: Objective research which reports and relies on statistical analysis of the variables and results.

Social Change Education: A model of continuous group collaboration and dialogue that encourages a common group to share their collective knowledge to make changes for improvement in society. Commonly a facilitator knowledgeable in the model is employed.

Social Justice: A shared belief that every individual and group is entitled to fair and equal rights regardless of educational, financial or political standing.

Suppression: The experience of being kept suppressed by injustice or power.

Bibliography

Chang, B. (2013). Education for social change: Highlander education in the Appalachian Mountains and study circles in Sweden. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 32, 705–723. Retrieved December 18, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=92562412&site=ehost-live

Dela Torre, E. (2007). How to make education for all. Adults Learning, 19 , 18-20. Retrieved January 30, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=27508587&site=ehost-live

Globalizing civil society from the inside out. (2005). Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at University of California, Santa Cruz and the Inter-American Forum at the Collins Center for Public Policy in Miami, Florida. Retrieved January 30, 2008, from http://cjtc.ucsc.edu/pub%5freports.html

Loftin, C. (2007). Unacceptable mannerisms: Gender anxieties, homosexual activism, and swish in the United States, 1945-1965. Journal of Social History, 40 , 577-596. Retrieved January 30, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24638631&site=ehost-live

Olds, L. (n.d.). Journey book section four: Popular education in the college classroom. In The making of a popular educator. Minneapolis MN: Larry Olds. http://www.popednews.org/downloads/pop%5fbook%5fsect4.pdf

Ritchie, S., Cone, N., Sohyun, A., & Bullock, P. (2013). Teacher education for social change: Transforming a content methods course block. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 15, 63–83. Retrieved December 18, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90496641&site=ehost-live

Romero, L., Wallerstein, N., Lucero, J., Fredine, H., Keefe, J., & O'Connell, J. (2006). Woman to woman: Coming together for positive change--using empowerment and popular education to prevent HIV in women. AIDS Education & Prevention, 18 , 390-405. Retrieved January 30, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=22882704&site=ehost-live

Spaaij, R., & Jeanes, R. (2013). Education for social change? A Freirean critique of sport for development and peace. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 18, 442–457. Retrieved December 18, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=89890896&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Brown, T. (2006). Organizing for the future: Labour's renewal strategies, popular education and radical history. Studies in Continuing Education, 28 , 33ߝ

48. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=19761901&site=ehost-live

Choules, K. (2007). Social change education: Context matters. Adult Education Quarterly, 57 , 159-176. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=23694168&site=ehost-live

Seas, K. (2006). Enthymematic rhetoric and student resistance to critical pedagogies. Rhetoric Review, 25 , 427-443. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=22677410&site=ehost-live

Tappan, M. (2006). Reframing internalized oppression and internalized domination: From the psychological to the sociocultural. Teachers College Record, 108 , 2115-2144. Retrieved January 26, 2008, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=22390199&site=ehost-live