B001785 - PSYCHOLOGY OF SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

Italian language

Social Empowerment Psychology (Advanced Community Psychology)
An in-depth examination of a current research area in community psychology, the construct of Empowerment and its social approaches, historical framework, methods for community based researches and interventions, with special emphasis on analyzing Public Services and Non Profit Organizations health promotion and social inclusion programs.

Compulsory reading:
- Zani, B. (a cura di) (2012). Psicologia di comunità. Prospettive, idee, metodi. Roma: Carocci.
- Santinello, M., Vieno, A. (2011). Non è giusto. Psicologia dell’ingiustizia sociale. Napoli: Liguori Editore.
- Towley, G., Miller, H., Kloos, B. (2013). A Little Goes a Long Way: The Impact of Distal Social Support on Community Integration and Recovery of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities. American Journal of Community Psychology, 52(1-2),84-96.
- McMahon, S.D., Coker, C., Parnes, A. (2013). Environmental Stressors, Social Support, and Internalizing Symptoms among African American Youth. Journal of Community Psychology, 41(5), 615-630.

Further reading (for students not attending seminars or workshops):
- please choose one of the following options (1 book or 2 papers), with a possible lecturer suggestion:

Amerio, P. (2013). L’altro necessario. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Bellmore, A., Nishina, A., You, J., Ma, T.L. (2012). School Context Protective Factors Against Peer Ethnic Discrimination Across the High School Years. American Journal of Community Psychology, 49(1-2): 98-111.
Foster-Fishman. P.G., Collins, C., Pierce. S.J. (2013). An Investigation of the Dynamic Processes Promoting Citizen Participation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 51(3-4):492–509.
Harré, N.(2011). Psychology for a Better World. Strategies to Inspire Sustainability. Free download from http://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/psychologyforabetterworld
Marzana, D. (2011). Volontari si diventa. Milano: Vita & Pensiero.
Mattis J. E., Powell Hammond W., Grayman N., Bonacci M., Brennan, W., Cowie S.A., Ladyzhenskaya, L., & So, S. (2009). The Social Production of Altruism: Motivations for Caring Action in a Low-Income Urban Community. American Journal of Community Psychology, 43(1-2): 71-84.
Zani, B., Cicognani, E., Albanesi, C. (2011). La partecipazione civica e politica dei giovani: discorsi, esperienze, significati. Bologna: CLUEB.
Psicologia di comunità (2009). Fascicolo N. 2.

Suggested papers are available on line free of charge using a computer identifiable as coming from University of Florence (for instance in an university library).

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Deepen specialized knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and the theoretical models of empowerment, based on an approach of community psychology, analyzing individual and social dimensions and their effectiveness in acquiring resources and competences.
Obtain applying knowledge and understanding, learning different methods and research approaches. Obtain specialized competences for planning an action research and for using qualitative methods. Analyze and deepen necessary professional competences in order to define and realize community based interventions, aimed to promote social empowerment, particularly in social marginalization.
Improve reflexivity, critical thinking and capability in making judgements.
Improve capability in communication, particularly as regard their learning.
Improve further learning skills for planning their own research.

No

TEACHING METHODS
Lectures, workshops and seminars. Meetings with experts working in Public Services and Non Profit Organizations. A participatory approach to learning will be emphasized.
Attending seminars will be optional, nevertheless work carried out during attended seminars will be evaluated during the examination.

LEARNING ASSESSMENT
Written and oral examination.
Written examination is composed both of open-ended questions to evaluate the achievement of aims about knowledge and understanding from a theoretical and applied point of view, including also competence about methods, and of a vignette based question for suggesting a research or an intervention to evaluate students’ making judgments in the topics of the course, their capability in communication and their competences for further planning.
Written text will be discussed with students during oral examination, when course contents and optional reading will be deepened, too. Optional reading may be replaced by attending a seminar and producing a report.
Examinations are graded according to a scale ranging from 0 to 30, with 18 as a pass mark.

COURSE CONTENTS
The course will illustrate the main theoretical framework of empowerment, analysis of models for self-empowerment and social empowerment, paying attention to psychological dimensions and intercultural dynamics.
Community, cultural identity and membership between global and local processes.
Methods for analyzing local communities and their problems.
Research methods particularly as regards qualitative research and Action Research.
Applications of social empowerment psychology. Methods and instruments for interventions in different social fields, with a special emphasis on marginalization, migration and intercultural societies. Analysis of community based interventions in Public and Non Profit Services.
Topics will be deepened, with the help of experts showing their experiences, as: risky behaviors, change promoting and strategies to realize it in social systems, commitment of social actors in interventions.