Date of Award

Spring 2013

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Terms of Use

© 2013 Elowyn Corby. All rights reserved. Access to this work is restricted to users within the Swarthmore College network and may only be used for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes. Sharing with users outside of the Swarthmore College network is expressly prohibited. For all other uses, including reproduction and distribution, please contact the copyright holder.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Educational Studies Department, Peace & Conflict Studies Department

First Advisor

Lee A. Smithey

Second Advisor

Diane Downer Anderson

Abstract

This research examines the possibility of using adult activism training to facilitate the development of participatory skills. It considers the impacts and pedagogy of Training for Change, a social action training collective in Philadelphia. As well as surveying the major democratic theory on participation and the educational theory dealing with education for empowerment, the research includes a qualitative and quantitative analysis of Training for Change's work. Based on a survey of past-participants, Training for Change tends to increase participatory skills among trainees, as well as identification with social change maker identities like 'leader' and 'organizer' and the frequency and intensity with which trainees participate in social change work. These effects were disproportionately pronounced among participants of color. This finding counteracts the effects of more traditional skill-development institutions such as the workplace or non-political organizations, which disproportionately increase participatory skills among the most privileged members of society. At the same time, people of color were slightly less likely to report that they felt the training was designed to be helpful for people like them, indicating that TFC has a complex relationship with questions of cultural relevance in the training space.

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