Here’s my attempt at a simple #educitizens five step framework for guiding learners (and all of us!) through specific social and environmental change projects. A more creative version of this will come one day!
- Critically informed
- Collaborative
- Inclusive
- Sustainable impact
- Reflective
I explain a little more about what questions we might consider relating to all of these concepts in the graphics below – anyone who knows me well, knows the value I place on questioning in learning processes, most of all my own!
When working in a school context in this area, and working more widely with learners in the field of social leadership, I realised that a framework was a helpful basis to move conversations through when students (or staff) might be heading in a direction that might not lead to their own (or our collective) intended impact.
Having these five concepts as universally understood and agreed ‘hooks’ made discussions (and disagreements) more manageable.
Clearly, there are multiple ways of framing these questions (each school or organisation might have their own versions that hook onto their values) and it took me some time to simplify down from the 15 I started with when I first explored this with some of my students.
I believe a framework of this sort could be helpful to explain to all staff on an INSET day or similar; otherwise the risk might be that you will have different staff giving students different messages around charity and social change.
Without wanting to sound like a moral policewoman, although this terrain has more grey area than some subject disciplines, there are definitely some harms we might universally agree we want to avoid.
Note that we are presenting these 5 concepts positively, but it’s possible that considerable human suffering can be caused by people leading projects that are ill-formed, paternalistic, exclusive, unsustainable and unreflective.
Having seen a number of ill advised charitable projects across the world, which left so-called ‘beneficiaries’ in a worse state than when the projects started, but provided someone from the global North with some societal brownie points or CV filler, there has been enough experience to spark a passion that change is needed.
I’ve discussed these with many people, and whilst social change is not a simple area to reach agreement on, and we might differ in how we apply these concepts, I believe the key building blocks themselves are quite uncontroversial in cornerstones of effective development thinking.
If you think anything is missing, should be reframed, or removed, help me out in my own learning journey by commenting below or sending me an inbox message! All thoughts are genuinely cherished. 🙂
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