Services humains - études des femmes

Critical thinking, learning or pedagogy

Ø Doing so in a self-reflective manner which is an ongoing commitment that involves monitoring and evaluating for the purpose of contributing to the desired outcome. Its starting point is the belief that knowledge in many forms and that there is not just one kind of knowledge that is true and valuable. Doubt that leads to a re-examination of initial and often well-established assumptions and premises frequently produces new knowledge. Three features of critical learning is that it gives recognition to prior knowledge, it questions the source and plausibility of alleged new knowledge and it affirms the competence of its producer. Critical learning can be used to lessen social distance, challenge existing social assumptions and encourage professionalism in diverse settings. Notes p.1-4, 16.

Standpoints

Ø Is based on actual experience and provides an overarching perspective, or framework, which dictates certain preferences. It incorporates beliefs and values that inform the selection of criteria for choosing among options. When standpoints coalesce to create a consensus, knowledge frequently results. Notes p. 5

Reframing

Ø It involves a deliberate effort to see things in a different light, to juggle the frames in such a way that new insights emerge and new directions are formed. Notes p.10

Conscientization

Ø Conscientization serves to remind us to be attentive to our interactions by being fully present in our communication. When we take time and give our full attention to the matter before us, we are more likely to be clear and consistent and, therefore, act respectfully and responsibly. Conscientization is crucial to the ability that professionals have to encourage all people, including ourselves first and foremost, to behave as concerned and loyal allies who can work in partnership with others to facilitate positive social change in spite of considerable differences between professionals and clients. By keeping the importance of attentiveness and respect at the forefront of human services education and practice, we can work towards more and better inclusiveness in the human services. Achieving this goal involves modeling, practising, and demonstrating the capacity, willingness and fortitude to accommodate relevant differences. In the process, human services professionals change because this process of conscientization is part of ongoing education and professional maturity in the human services. Notes p. 19

Professionalism

Ø Knowledge of the policy-making process helps human services providers behave professionally. Knowledge of policy-making, in a broader intellectual and political sense, has the possibility of bringing about needed social change. A human services professional need to do both and develop their professional maturity and political acumen to be confident in the choice of what to do and when. See conscientization. Notes Unit 2 p.5

Working across differences

Ø It is a morally and politically important enterprise in political contexts and in friendships. Differences in elements of background and identity can be enriching resources, epistemologically, politically and personally. Learning to understand and respect these differences can make more complex our understanding of our selves and our societies, can broaden the range of our politics and enrich the variety of connections we have as persons. It is unavoidable and valuable, so trying to understand the costs and minimize them is something we must work towards. A progressive organization or movement cannot be sustained unless the prejudices and problems which arise between members are examined and programmatically addressed. To do that, good-will is not enough. Simple resolution on the part of individuals that they will try to understand the experiences of more disadvantaged persons, whose oppression they do not share, and a resolve to try and empathize with their interests, is not going to solve the problems that are going to crop up in discussion and communication. Narayan p.1-5.

Epistemic privilege

Ø Members of an oppressed group have a more immediate, subtle and critical knowledge about the nature of their oppression than people who are non-members of the oppressed group. Their emotions plays an important role in the knowledge. It doesn't mean that non-members can never come to understand the experiences of the oppressed or share their insights or knowledge. They have to make a great deal of effort though to come to grips with the details of lived oppression. The concerns of the outsider carry a responsibility to actively seek out and acquire such knowledge. The outsider should sincerely attempt to carry out the attempted criticism of the insider's perceptions in such a way that it does not amount to an attempt to denigrate or dismiss entirely the validity of the insider's point of view. The outsider must realise that such denial of the validity of the insider's responses will almost certainly cause a serious breach in the dialogue, since they deeply violate the insider's self-respect. Making the effort to analogize can give the outsider some clues as to how to avoid insensitive responses. The insider's knowledge is not incorrigible, one can always be mistaken about the nature of their experience. Then, it doesn't mean that the insider has to speak for himself and represent his own interests. Outsiders should try and learn from the perceptions of insiders, rather than tell insiders what they ought to feel or do. Realising that outsiders do not have the subtle understanding of oppression that insiders have may help insiders deal with insensitive perceptions by outsiders with greater charity. Narayan p.6-18

○ Sympathetic outsiders can and do react not only intellectually, but emotionally to incidents of racism, sexism, etc., event thought they are not the targets of such oppression. But the insiders' emotional responses to the oppression may be much more complex than their own.

○ An outsider who has not experienced an oppression first-hand and has learned about it second-hand, is more likely to understand the general and commonplace ways in which the oppression is manifested.

○ The outsider usually knows about the more widespread and commonplace contexts in which the oppression is manifested and may fail to carry over what he knows about one context when he sees the same sort of phenomena in new or unusual contexts.

Revolution of values

Ø

...