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BECOMING SELF-EMPOWERED 1
Educationally Self-Empowered: Bringing Personal Empowerment
into the Classroom.
Jacie Paulk
Colorado State University
E-mail: [email protected]
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 2
Abstract
Many members of society live in a self-inflicted state of oppression, unable to make
effective decisions or take appropriate action to realize set goals. In many cases it is a subtle
oppression that is unrecognized and encouraged through the conformity of society. Learning key
skills of self-empowerment- self-knowledge, dialogue and communication, critical thinking, and
self-regulation, not only benefits the individual, but also has positive implications for society as a
whole. Shifting from an oppressive state of being into one of empowerment creates well-being
and life satisfaction through the ability to make better decisions and act in accordance with those
decisions. It is enables an individual access to conscious freedom, and the ability to think
critically and creatively, enabling the power to make choices and take lead in their life direction;
rather than the repeated cycle of being reactive to external circumstances.
Keywords: self-empowerment, self-determination, oppression, personal
power, individual power, adult education, transformative learning, embodied
learning, spiritual learning, critical theory, empowerment.
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 3
Educationally Self-Empowered: Bringing Personal Empowerment into the Classroom
In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire (1993) reflected on his educational
philosophy. Following the era of The Great Depression Developed Freire lived in and among the
scarcities of third world, underdeveloped Brazil; first as a child of poverty, then as an educator
amid laborers and the middle-class. Freire’s experiences revealed to him how education was
used as a tool for the domestication of the lower class laborers, sustaining the social classes.
Using a banking method of teaching, where information went from the teacher to the student
without question or discussion, the under-privileged remained in a state of oppression only
receiving an inhibited educational experience. The students’ ability to develop critical awareness
and reflection skills were disregarded and avoided by the oppressive upper class fearing the
oppressed would gain conscious liberation that would lead to a revolution.
In present day, oppression still exists in varying degrees in all societies across the globe.
Cases that are less apparent, less recognizable is the self-imposed existence of self-oppression.
Self-oppression is socialized into society’s daily lives, handed down through generations and
nurtured through traditional educational practices. It is internal repressive beliefs held at the core
about oneself, one’s culture group, and the culture of others (Tisdell & Tolliver, 2001). It is a
silent inhibitor that reaps away ownership and internal responsibility that direct one’s life. It is
each person’s power of choice confined and restrained by external expectations and propaganda.
Self-oppression occurs when one conveys the authority of personal decision making over to
another, decisions they themselves are capable of making. It occurs when one follows an
authoritative figure without discussion or question, despite the internal conflict they are
experiencing inside.
Research Problem
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 4
The effect of marginalization and power relationships in society is not a new concern.
Policies such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and
the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 have been established and enforced by the
United States Department of labor to protect applicants and employees from discrimination in
the work place based on one’s race, color, religion, sex, nation origin, and disability (Labor,
NA). The need to invest in creating equal opportunities for the minority population in the United
States has long been identified. However well-intentioned and necessary these enactments are, it
is only the external properties of the issue being addressed; policies regulate the issue but fail to
create cultural change. For real change to occur it must start with the individual, transforming
what is being projected and impressed into society.
The purpose of this paper is to identify the universal qualities, implications, and the
facilitation and transference of self-empowerment in the classroom. Individuals that lack skills
of empowerment oppress themselves and experience the pains of marginalization. They are
challenged with limited opportunities affecting their position in society, relationships, and career.
Learning to exhibit the ability to exemplify self-awareness and advocate, evaluate, and regulate
one’s interest, without using oppressive means, would be a transformational life experience
(Becker, Kovach, & Gronseth, 2004). This paper is approached considering the following
assumptions; (1) there is a general population that are dissatisfied at some level with their lives,
(2) given the choice, most that are dissatisfied would like improve their level of satisfaction, and
(3) they lack the means or know-how to create change to increase satisfaction. The research
conducted was done to answer the following; (1) what is empowerment, (2) what factors
influence empowerment, and (3) how can transference of self-empowerment be applied in the
classroom?
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 5
Methods
A literature review will be a performed through primary and secondary resources of peer
reviewed journals, articles, and books; databases of ERIC and PsycINFO will be the primary
source for the journal and article research. In addition to using the key word search noted below
relevant citations in secondary resources will also be examined: self-empowerment, self-
determination, oppression, power, adult education, transformative learning, embodied learning,
spiritual learning, critical thinking, empowerment, individual power, teaching methods,
interpersonal communication, intrapersonal, and power structure.
Empowerment
It is important to address what empowerment is not. Empowerment is not something that
is bestowed upon an individual as a prize for doing well. Empowerment is however the
actualization of conscious liberation through reflective thinking. From a social standpoint, it is
enactment of one’s personal liberty; the ability to speak and think for oneself (Freire, 1993). In
1987 Rappaport defined it as a process of gaining mastery over issues of concern. This applied
to people, organizations and communities (as cited in Zimmerman, 1995). Zimmerman defines
empowerment as a multilevel construct; at the organizational level individual members’ have the
opportunity to heighten their skills and are provided with the necessary, mutual support for
effective organizational level change and at the community level individuals synthesize to work
together in a way that improves the collective lives and relations among community members
and agencies to maintain the quality of life they seek.
Others, such as Thomas and Velthouse (1990), referred to empowerment in a
motivational sense; as a means to energize. They developed a cognitive model of empowerment
emphasizing a task assessment of impact, competence, meaningfulness, and choice all of which
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 6
were dependent on the interaction of each of these constructs. Wehmeyer described a self-
empowered person as one who is self-determined and demonstrates self-advocacy, self-
regulation, with an internal locus of control and self-knowledge (as cited in Hong, Ivy, Gonzalez,
& Ehrensberger, 2007).
Zimmerman’s work on psychological empowerment is synonymous to intrapersonal
empowerment (Brookings & Bolton, 2000), individual empowerment (Becker et al., 2004),
personal empowerment, self-empowerment, and self-determination (Hong et al., 2007) and is by
far the most extensive. Psychological empowerment exists when one has the belief that goals
can be accomplished, the awareness of how to accomplish them, and makes the effort to achieve
those goals. It is at the individual level is influential on the organization and community,
therefore it is influenced by them (1995).
Zimmerman’s (1995) model in Figure 1 notes the qualities of each of the three
components; intrapersonal, interactional, and behavioral. His findings proposed that for one to
be psychologically empowered they would have a “sense of motivation to control”, critical
awareness of environment with the capability for decision-making and problem-solving, and
encompass “participatory behaviors” (1995, p. 588).
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 7
Figure 1. The nomological network for psychological empowerment comprising of intrapersonal,
interactional, and behavioral components (Zimmerman, 1995, p. 588).
• Domain specific perceived control
• Domain specific self-efficacy
• Motivational control
• Perceived competence
• Critical awareness
• Understanding casual agents
• Skill development
• Skill transfer across life domains
• Resource mobilization
• Community involvement
• Organizational participation
• Coping behaviors
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 8
Zimmerman considered this nomological network of psychological empowerment model
an open construct that was multifaceted and had many variables and implications that fluctuate
by context, such as; psychological development, cultural perceptions, community, time, etc. The
intrapersonal component of the model consisted of the feeling that one is able to influence
different areas of their life with perceived competence to produce and effect situations by means
of motivation and self-control. Whereas the interactional component suggests someone having
the awareness of what choices and behaviors are appropriate to achieve set goals. The
behavioral component of the model indicates the aptitude to take direct actions to manipulate
outcomes.
Implications of Being Self-Empowered
Self-empowerment has significance for the individual. In an article on preparing disabled
students for post-secondary education Hong et al. (2007) described self-empowerment as one’s
ability to make choices, to set goals and work towards them, and evaluate outcomes and manage
expectations with an awareness of personal preferences, beliefs, and actions. They distinguish a
self-empowered individual as someone who is confident, communicates effectively, can decipher
between wants and needs, and assumes independent responsibility while recognizing the reality
and necessity of interdependence with others and society.
According to Zimmerman (1995), empowering processes enable someone to see and
understand the correlation of their goal, the agencies and resources needed to accomplish the
goal, and the contexts that concern the appropriate action needed to act towards achieving that
goal. They are processes where people are able to create, or are given, opportunities that impact
and affect their lives. Becker et al. (2004) site a study by Sue, Sue, and Sue where women who
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 9
were empowered through social support networks exhibited strengthened abilities in social and
emotional competence, role transition, and community interaction.
Facilitation and Transference in the Classroom
For the attributes of self-empowerment to be transferred to the learner, it is imperative
that the environment, curriculum and facilitation be favorable to the nature of the subject. Hong
et al. (2007) emphasizes the importance of creating a learning environment with maximum
support and opportunity for all learners. Ideally, the educational model must strive to be a
universal application that addresses the needs of various people to help create a diverse and
inclusive environment. The curriculum needs to corroborate the learner’s ability to make
meaning of the subject and how it is applicable in their life. Exercises should realistic and valid
for all students. Consequently, the facilitator must model essential skills of empowerment,
exhibit flexibility, encourage participation, help students acknowledge their skills and successes,
and be able to address grievances and conflicts that arise.
To enhance the ability to create meaning, challenge the learners, and be considerate of the
learning pace (Hong et al., 2007), educational models conducive to essence of the subject will be
implemented. Learning models such as self-directed, embodied and narrative, transformational
and experiential, and Brookfield’s (2012) critical thinking are examples that promote the
transference of learning for the subject of self-empowerment. Grow’s Staged Self-Directed
Learning and Hammond and Collins framework for self-directed learning allow for flexibility for
each learner to make meaning of the subject (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007).
Embodied and narrative learning allow for individualism while encouraging interpersonal
connection. Whereas transformational and experiential learning and Brookfield’s critical
thinking models are appropriate to helping learners consider different perspectives in part by
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 10
recognizing and challenging their personal assumptions. These models brought together with the
environment, curriculum and facilitator are fitting to the subject of self-empowerment.
Implications
In designing a program on self-empowerment, the proposed core constructs, values, and
methods for the subject are identified in Table 2. The four constructs include self-knowledge,
dialogue and communication, critical thinking, and self-regulation. These constructs share a
nomological myriad of values practiced and demonstrated by self-empowered individuals.
Facilitated with the proposed methods, learners will be able to contextually apply the learned
attributes and skills in their daily lives. The constructs and methods address core competencies
are malleable to appropriate situational application.
Each of the four constructs identified are imperative to being able to exercise self-
empowerment. Self-knowledge is necessary for advocating personal interests, without
knowledge of personal beliefs, values and attitudes it is impossible to support them. Dialogue
and communication enable the skills to communicate these interests effectively and objectively
with others. Critical thinking is necessary to encourage the challenging of personal assumptions
to determine validity and understand the perspective of others. And self-regulation employs the
use of metacognitive, strategic, and motivational skills (Cleary & Zimmerman, 2004) to enable
the ability act in personal interest.
To be able to apply these skills contextually it is necessary for a learner to create space
for dialectical thinking and a tolerance to stand in a paradox with the understanding that the
practice of self-empowerment does not insinuate a constant occurrence of personal victories. It
does exercise a person’s ability to advocate concerns when making choices and take action that
that benefits their well-being and conscious liberation, without oppressive strategies.
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 11
Figure 3. There were four constructs to personal empowement identified for the design of an
instructional course; self-knowledge, dialogue and communication, critical thinking, and self-
regulation. These constructs share a myriad of nomological values found in self-empowerment,
and the methods proposed are those complementary to the values that when effectively
facilitated will create an understanding of appropriate contextual application.
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 12
Conclusion
Self-empowerment not only benefits the individual, but also has positive implications for
society as a whole. Shifting from an oppressive state of being into one of empowerment creates
a higher state of well-being and life satisfaction through the ability to make better decisions and
act in accordance with those decisions. Due to the implications of becoming self-empowered−
the possibility that learners with oppressed qualities will experience a paradigm shift, the
environment, curriculum, facilitator, and facilitation methods must support the challenge of an
experiential paradox of the subjective and objective. The next steps for developing a program in
self-empowerment is to research each of the four proposed constructs introduced in Figure 2.
EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 13
References
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empowerment. Rehabilitation Psychology, 45(3), 292-298. doi: 10.1037/0090-
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EDUCATIONALLY SELF-EMPOWERED 14
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