A Framework for Social Justice Education Competencies
By: Lisa Landreman
As members of the Directorate Body for the Commission for Social Justice Educators, we have prioritized the coordination and facilitation of conversations, and the sharing of information to support social justice educators and social justice work.
A topic that continues to arise among us is how to assist people in acquiring the tools, (usually translated into the exercises and resources) to “do” transformative social justice education. As a Directorate Body, we have struggled with the idea of being a clearinghouse for social justice activities and resources without first identifying and engaging in national conversations concerning the core competencies needed to be an effective social justice educator. My hope and purpose in writing here is to engage a larger audience of social justice educators in this conversation.
Last fall some colleagues and I published an article in About Campus Magazine (September/October 2008) that offered our thinking about the core competencies necessary for effective social justice education. These thoughts were grounded in our collective experiences and thinking, as well as the experiences and writings of scholars and educators in the field. Our primary premise was based on the belief that we tend to remember and rely on “that great activity” we experience at a conference and lose sight of the complexities of why or how that transformative learning occurred.
The reality is that the magic is almost never in the exercise or the handout but, instead, is in the facilitation. Not any facilitation, but facilitation that is informed by an understanding of social justice issues and content, and components of transformative learning.
Now I have been leery, maybe even resistant, to the “multicultural competency” conversations when they began to be applied to facilitation. Yes, I believed that having learning outcomes for workshops was important but my fear was that determining competencies for educators would soon lead to a bureaucratic system of credentialing that would privilege those who had access to continued education, training, and conferences and leave out those who did not—essentially mirroring the very systems of oppression and privileging of voices that we were fighting to dismantle via social justice work. Through continued conversations with my colleagues and co-authors, however, I came to agree that educators who aspire to engage in social justice education have an obligation to be aware of how well-intentioned work could do harm if good intentions and seemingly powerful exercises are assumed to be all it takes to be effective educators. It helped me to consider that having “competencies” does not mean that I am an “expert” who does not have to continue learning. Instead it can mean that we have some skills, knowledge, awareness, and consciousness of ourselves, of social justice issues, and how to apply this knowledge to optimize learning for participants. It does not mean that we are perfect. We must carefully consider and fully develop the competencies necessary to be engaged effectively with facilitation of social justice work, training, and conversations.
The framework we suggested encompassed four competencies for social justice educators: knowing ourselves, knowing learners, designing outcomes-based activities, and co-creating facilitation. We believe that, when combined, these competencies allow educators to create transformative learning experiences through an integrative process that incorporates cognitive, affective, interpersonal, and intrapersonal domains of learning. A road map for developing social justice education competencies would require identifying specific learning (competency) outcomes, creating tools that allow individuals to assess their level of competence, and providing learning opportunities that facilitate acquisition of the competencies. My goal in reintroducing this framework is to prompt members of the larger Commission committed to striving for social justice to engage in conversations about necessary competencies for facilitation.
At the Fall 2008 “Tools for Social Justice Conference” Keith Edwards and I introduced the framework below to participants that outlines our thinking on the considerations, reflective questions, and potential tools connected to the 4 competencies for effective social justice facilitators.
KNOWING OURSELVES
Considerations:
- Strengths
- Challenges
- Triggers
- Biases
- Places of privilege
- Hurts
- Identities
- Emotions
Reflective Questions:
- What is my motivation for doing this training?
- What work do I still need to do on understanding systems of oppression, my social group identities, and my privilege?
- How comfortable am I discussing specific social justice issues? (e.g., racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ableism, Christian privilege)
- What kinds of behaviors or comments “trigger” me?
- As a facilitator, how will I handle it when I feel triggered or frustrated?
- From whom or how will I seek support when this work feels too difficult or I feel stuck?
- What skills do I still need to acquire? How can I acquire them?
Tools:
- Intentional, self-reflection and meaningmaking of past experiences
- Peer Dialogue and feedback
- Examining self and identity in critical moments
KNOWING LEARNERS
Considerations:
- Participant demographics
- Developmental readiness
- Assessment information
- Social group identities
- History (historical, institutional)
- Group Dynamics
- Required or Not
- Reactive or Proactive
- Anticipated Challenges
- Triggers
Reflective Questions:
- What are the social group identities of the participants?
- What prior experiences or education have they had in regard to social justice issues?
- What campus, community, or national issues or history serve as a context for their understanding? (How can I use this information?)
- What are the group dynamics?
- What developmental capacities do these participants have?
- What have I heard them say?
- What have I seen them do?
- What questions have they asked?
- What kinds of behaviors and interactions have I observed?
- How have I seen learning happen for these participants?
- What might trigger or negatively impact these participants?
Tools:
- Cognitive Theory
- Learning Theory
- Intercultural Maturity
- Identity Development Models
- Classroom or other assessment strategies (surveys, 1 minute paper, hopes and fears, tracking)
DESIGN OUTCOMES BASED LEARNING
Considerations:
- Planning ahead
- Intentional Activities
- Organization/Sequencing
- Timing
- Developmentally appropriate
- Holistic learning goals (cognitive, intrapersonal, interpersonal)
- Balance of challenge and support
- Reactive/proactive
- Size of group, room, etc.
Reflective Questions:
Developmental Design Issues
- What do I want people to learn? What capacities do I want to encourage?
- What are my cognitive goals? (E.g., increased awareness, perspective taking, critical thinking and reflection, problemsolving)
- What are my intrapersonal goals? (E.g., understanding one’s own cultural experience, understanding one’s own privileged identity, ability to understand other perspectives while holding one’s own)
- What are my interpersonal goals? (E.g., engage in cross-cultural dialogue and conflict resolution, effective communication and relationship building)
- Do the participants’ developmental capacities match the content and activities I am considering? How will I balance appropriate challenge and support to optimize learning?
- How can I create a conducive climate for learning that allows for people’s struggles with social justice issues?
Logistical Design Issues
- How much time has been allotted for this session?
- What is the time of year, day of the week, time of day of the session?
- What is the size of the group, room, or other parameters?
- What activities would be appropriate for the time allowed, goals, and readiness of the group? (Balance of activity, reflection, and discussion)
Tools:
- Using assessment information in design
- Setting learning goals and matching exercises
- Being intentional/planful
- Utilizing Intergroup dialogue scholarship
- Have a variety of activities at your
CO-CREATING FACILITATION
Considerations:
- Responding to resistance
- Managing emotional responses
- Being in the moment
- Assessing as you go
- Responding in the moment
- Managing group dynamics
- Adjusting/being flexible
- Organic
Reflective Questions:
- If working with a co-facilitator:
- What different and shared cultural experiences do we have?
- How would I describe my facilitation style, strengths, and weaknesses?
- How does our facilitation compliment one another?
- How might we be challenged as cofacilitators? How will we handle it?
- What do I need from my co-facilitator?
- What can I learn from my co-facilitator?
- How will we share facilitation? Who will have which roles when?
- How will we give each other feedback? Co-facilitating with participants:
- What matters to the participants (or how will I discover what matters to them?)?
- How will I validate the student as a knower? How will I ensure that participants can bring their whole selves to the learning?
- How will learners share their knowledge/experiences/opinions with one another?
- How will I be prepared to change my plans based on the participant’s experience?
- How am I prepared to manage emotions that may rise? How will I manage resistance?
- How will I allow for an organic process to arise?
- How will I plan for/encourage participants to take the lead?
- How will I assist students in making meaning of the activities/discussions/ and dynamics that arise in the training?
Tools:
- Critical pedagogy literature
- Group dynamics literature
- Counseling skills
- Practice
Conclusion
A point that should not be lost in the conversations about core competencies is that being a competent social justice educator is more than applying techniques but is instead a way of being in our day-to-day lives and that is grounded in building authentic relationships. As we continue to make connections between our personal privilege, local communities, and the larger world it is important that we make our learning transparent and reflected in our own professional and personal practice—ultimately this can have the biggest impact on collective work toward a socially just society.
For a more detailed account of this framework see Landreman, L., Edwards, K., Balon, D.G., and Anderson, G. (September/October 2008). Wait! It takes time to develop rich and relevant social justice curriculum. About Campus Magazine (2-10). Jossey-Bass.
Lisa Landreman is the Associate Dean of Student at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and has been on the Directorate Body of the Commission for Social Justice Educators for the past 3 years. |
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