Discovering how community organizing leads to social change deve

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2012 Discovering How Community Organizing Leads to Social Change: Developing Formal Practice Theory for Social Workers Engaged in Empowering Community Organizing Shane Brady Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.edu/etd Part of the Social Work Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.edu/etd/2892 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact libcompass@vcu. Brady 2012 All Rights Reserved Running head: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING Discovering How Community Organizing Leads to Social Change: Developing Formal Practice Theory for Social Workers Engaged in Empowering Community Organizing Dissertation Shane R.

Brady, BSW, LLMSW Doctoral Candidate Virginia Commonwealth University Acknowledgement My educative journey to achieving a PhD has been filled with barriers and challenges associated with being a first generation college student. My path to a PhD started in poverty, but ends in liberation. I must first express my sincere gratitude to my committee members: Dr. Mary Secret, Dr.

Traci Wike, and Dr. Cornelia Ramsey, who stepped up to provide guidance and support on this scholarly pursuit. To my advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Mary Katherine O’Connor; you have been my mentor, colleague, therapist, mother, and constant support throughout my time at VCU.

I never did trust in the process, but over time I learned to trust and depend on you; thank you for allowing me to fly without ever trying to clip my wings. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Kia Bentley for having faith in me as an aspiring scholar and helping my dream come true. Thank you to Ms.

Fay Wade for our many talks and for all the many hugs. I also want to recognize the impact of Dr. Holly Matto and Dr. Ellen Netting on shaping my scholarship.

I would also like to extend special thanks to Dr. Mike Spencer, for his ongoing support and guidance over the course of my educational career. Elvia Krajewski-Jaime, you were like a mother to me during my time at EMU and afterward. I am grateful to my mom, who through her own struggles, emphasized education as a way out of the poverty.

To my track coach Mr. David Medley, you taught me that it’s not always the most gifted person that finds the finish line, but the toughest one; the one who just won’t quit. To my best friend and true love, Bethy Annie, you stood by me throughout this journey and made it possible. Thank you to Marty, Ryan, Jean, and Ray for your constant support, and for opening up your hearts and home to me.

Lemont Gore (AKA Pops), I love you for always being there for me and believing in me. Some very special thanks go out to my cohort members: Nathan, Angie, Jenny, Jimmy, Carmen, Neal, Mariette, Jason, Neva, and Craig, we went on this crazy ride together. I am blessed to call you colleagues and friends. I love and respect each of you more than you will ever know.

Thank you most of all to the consumers and communities that have embraced me during my years as a practitioner; you have provided me with the greatest education of all. I want to thank David McLeod for his friendship, belief in me, and help with my final conceptual model. I was also fortunate to learn from those who came before me, and helped pave the way (thank you Jody, Jess, Justin, Jules, Keita, Monica, Mike, June). While the times are a changing, I feel hopeful for our future because we were all given the very best doctoral education possible.

An education that was not concerned with preparing scholars to grab for the most money or publish the most research, but to think critically and analytically about how to improve social conditions and make the world a better place through practice, education, research, and scholarship. We weren’t taught that one type of research or paradigm is better than any other, but what freedom of the mind means, and about real world social change. While I’m not sure where my journey will go from here, I am proud that I have done it my way, and leave with my values intact. I pledge to always remain grounded and to never forget where I have come from.

The one area where I disagree with my beloved advisor over is the importance of being a radical. Most of my heroes were considered radicals in their time, and it is radical thought that is most needed in our current times. I promise to stand-up to protect the values that I was taught in the VCU doctoral program in order to protect the future of social work education, scholarship, and to create the most change possible. In the words of Rage Against the Machine, “Fuck you, I won’t do what they tell me.” ii Table of Contents List of Table.

xi List of Figures. xiii Chapter One: Introduction. 1 Personal Investment to Community Organizing. 1 Social Justice and Social Work.

2 Background on Community Organizing. 4 Settlement House Tradition. 4 Union Organizing Tradition. 5 Civil Rights Organizing Tradition.

6 Understanding Consciousness Raising. 7 Justification for Study. 11 Overview of the Delphi Methodology. 17 Implications for Social Work.

18 iii Chapter Two: Understanding Community Organizing: A Review of the Literature. 19 What is Community Organizing?. 19 Defining Community Organizing. 19 Community Types and Characteristics.

20 Identity Based Communities. 21 Issue Formed Communities. 21 The Relationship between Community Organizing and Social Work. 22 Understanding the Social Need for Community Organizing.

23 Defining Important Terms. 24 Defining Practice Theories and Models. 25 Defining Frameworks, Approaches, and Models. 26 Defining Community Organizing Terms.

27 The Relationship between Community Organizing and Social Justice. 28 Defining Social Justice. 28 Social Justice in Social Work Ethics. 30 The Importance of Consciousness Raising in Community Organizing.

31 The Development of Consciousness. 31 The Origins of Consciousness Raising. 32 The Importance of Critical Consciousness. 33 Social Work Organizing Traditions.

36 The Civil Rights Organizing Tradition. 37 Origins of the Civil Rights Tradition of Organizing. 37 Consciousness Raising in Civil Rights Organizing. 39 iv Strategies and Approaches in Civil Rights Organizing.

39 Union Organizing Tradition. 41 Origins of Union Organizing. 42 Consciousness Raising and Union Organizing. 43 Strategies and Approaches in Union Organizing.

43 Comparing and Contrasting the Civil Rights and Union Organizing Traditions. 46 Challenging the Status Quo. 49 Differences between Traditions. 49 Motivations and Social Identity.

49 Role and Meaning of Education. 50 Criticisms of Union and Civil Rights Organizing Traditions. 51 Criticisms of Union Organizing. 51 Criticisms of Civil Rights Organizing.

51 Critique of Community Organizing Research. 52 Lack of Formal Evidence Based Practice. 52 Lack of Clarity in Constructs. 52 Lack of Formal Practice Theory.

53 Next Steps in Research. 55 Background and Overview of the Delphi Methodology. 55 v History of the Delphi Methodology. 55 The Delphi Methodology for Theory Building.

56 Chapter Three: Research Design and Methodology. 57 Research Question and Initial Protocol. 57 Review of Research Rational. 57 Defining Research Terms.

58 Delphi Method Rational. 60 Research Aims and Objectives. 62 Timeline of Research Process. 66 Sample Description and Selection.

67 Overview of Data Collection and Analysis Procedure. 70 Wave One Data Collection. 71 Wave Two Data Collection. 73 Wave Three Data Collection.

74 Stage One Analysis. 76 Identifying Initial Concepts and Categories. 76 Second Questionnaire Development. 77 Stage Two Analysis.

78 vi Identifying Themes. 78 Final Conceptual Model. 79 Study Limitations and Rigor. 79 Small Sample Size.

81 Reliability of Study. 81 Human Subject Protections. 83 Addressing Risks to Participation. 83 Limits to Protections.

84 Review of Research Design. 84 Review of Sample. 84 Review of Stage One Procedure. 87 Results of Stage One Analysis.

87 Grounding Initial Concepts in the Literature. 87 Wave Two Impact on Analysis. 90 Between Group Differences. 103 vii Beginning Categorical Formation.

105 Stage One Categories. 106 Wave Three Questionnaire Development. 110 Wave Three Analysis and Results. 117 Forming Final Concepts, Categories, and Themes.

135 Final Practice Model. 148 Community Building Stage. 151 Chapter Five: Implications and Recommendations. 152 Research Design Synopsis.

154 Discussion of Important Findings. 158 Implications and Recommendations for Social Work. 169 Implications for Social Work Organizing Practice. 169 Implications for Motivations and Interconnectedness.

170 Implications of the Community Building Stage. 171 Implications of the Plan Stage. 173 Implications of the Mobilize Stage. 174 Recommendations for Social Work Organizing Practice.

176 Implications and Recommendations for Policy Advocacy. 178 Implications for Policy Advocacy. 178 Recommendations for Policy Advocacy. 179 viii Implications and Recommendations for Social Work Education.

179 Implications for Social Work Education. 182 Implications for Social Work Field Education. 182 Recommendations for Social Work Field Education. 183 Implications for CSWE Standards Adherence.

184 Recommendations for CSWE Standards Adherence. 185 Implications and Recommendations for Community Based Research. 186 Implications for Community Based Research. 187 Recommendations for Community Based Research.

187 Implications for Cultural Sensitivity in Research. 188 Recommendations for Improving Cultural Sensitivity in Research. 189 Implications of Social Work Practice Models. 189 Recommendations for Improving Social Work Practice Models.

190 Implications for Theory in Social Work. 191 Recommendations for Improving Theory in Social Work. 192 Future Research Directions in Community Organizing. 193 Implications for Research in Traditional Paradigm.

196 Recommendations for Traditional Paradigm Research. 197 Implications for Collaborative Paradigm Research. 205 Recommendations for Collaborative Paradigm Research. 206 Implications for Radical Practice Paradigm Research.

207 Recommendations for Radical Practice Paradigm Research. 227 x List of Tables Table 1. Community Organizing Demographics. Beginning Level Concepts, Definitions, and Associated Literature.

Ranked Order of Concepts by Number of Occurrences in Wave One Data Collection. Wave One Categories and Boundaries. Wave Three Data Collection Protocol and Question Justification. Wave Three Concepts in Rank Order.

Community Organizing Strategies are Community Specific. Community Organizing Strategies are made up of many Different Tactics. Mobilization of People is Necessary in Community Organizing in order to Increase the Power of those Experiencing Injustice. Social Change and Social Justice are Similar enough to you that Separation of the terms is not necessary.

Successful Community Organizing Involves the Use of a Planned Strategy. Community Organizing Leads to Consciousness Raising and Consciousness Raising Leads to Community Organizing. Consciousness Raising Leads to the Mobilization of People in the Community. Injustice Leads to Organizing in Communities.

Final Concepts and Categories of Community Organizing Practice. Overview of Community Action Based Research Theory Testing Example Protocol. 198 xi List of Figures Figure 1. Overview of Data Collection and Analysis Procedure.

Overview of Analysis Procedure. Review of Stage One Data Collection and Analysis Procedure. A Dialectical Empowerment Model of Community Organizing Practice. Review of Data Collection and Analysis Procedure.

Review of Analysis Procedure. Review of A Dialectical Empowerment Model of Community Organizing Practice. Multiparadigmatic Community Practice Framework. 195 xii Abstract DISCOVERING HOW COMMUNITY ORGANIZING LEADS TO SOCIAL CHANGE: DEVELOPING FORMAL PRACTICE THEORY FOR SOCIAL WORKERS ENGAGED IN EMPOWERING COMMUNITY ORGANIZING By Shane R.