Introduction to Popular Education Principles

INSTRUCTIONS1. Before the session, review the resource, An Introduction

to Population Education, and the facilitator’s notes for the slides. Review the handout, Introduction to Popular Education, and write each principle of popular education on an index card for the activity.

2. Welcome participants. Provide an overview of popular education (slide 1).

3. Review “Basic Principles of Cooperative Learning” (slide 2). Ask volunteers to read the slide.

4. Review “Cooperative Learning Roles” (slide 3). Ask for volunteers to read the slide.

5. Facilitate Principles of Popular Education activity.

§ Divide participants into small groups of four to five people each.

§ Distribute the “principles of popular education” index cards.

§ Ask participants to read the principle they received, and discuss in their groups how they could present the principle in a creative way, using a skit, song, drawing, etc. They can think about how the principles apply to their work.

§ Give groups 15 minutes to work on their presentations. § Have each group present their principle. § Ask,” Is there anything else anyone would like to add to

the information that has been shared?”6. Wrap up.

§ Distribute the “Introduction to Popular Education” and “House of Popular Education” handouts to the group.

§ Reference the Popular Education manual. § Thank participants for their presentations.

Method(s) of Instruction

OBJECTIVESAt the end of this unit, participants will be able to: § Identify key principles and methods of popular education

Related C3 Roles Building individual and community capacity, providing culturally appropriate health education and information

Related C3 SkillsCommunication skills, interpersonal and relationship-building skills, capacity building skills, advocacy skills, education and facilitation skills

40 minutes

Small group work

Estimated time

Popular education, cooperative learning

Key Concepts

A Training Curriculum for Community Health Workers | Core Competencies

Materials § Computer with internet access and

projector § PowerPoint slides § Index cards

Handouts § Introduction to Popular Education § House of Popular Education

ResourcesAn Introduction to Popular Education manual: https://multco.us/file/16372/download

2

Introduction to Popular Education Principles

SLIDE 1Popular education has a long history of being used all over the world to train Community Health Workers. One of the goals of popular education (PE) is to motivate people to organize collectively to create a truly democratic society. But many people, maybe most people, have not had much experience working collectively.

Therefore, two additional principles of PE are: 1. People know a lot and we should always start with what people already know

2. We need to create situations where people can learn the skills they need to work collectively

An excellent method for helping people build the skills they need to work together is cooperative learning.

Boston University Slideshow Title Goes Here

Basic Principles of Cooperative Learning §  Participants work in small groups to complete a task. §  Everyone has a role. §  Group members need each other in order to complete the

task. §  Everyone has a responsibility to make sure everyone

participates. §  Before asking the facilitator a question, group members

must ask each other. §  After completing the task, group members reflect on how

they worked together.

Introduction to Popular Education

Boston University School of Social Work Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health

Introduction to Popular Education

SLIDE 2 Ask a volunteer to read the slide.

Boston University Slideshow Title Goes Here

Cooperative Learning Roles Facilitator: §  Motivates and keeps group on task §  Makes sure everyone is heard and asks for consensus Recorder: §  Takes notes §  Asks for clarification when needed Reporter: §  Shares group’s work with larger group Timekeeper: §  Makes sure task is completed in time provided Observer: §  Pays attention to how members are working together §  Provides input after task is complete

Introduction to Popular Education SLIDE 3 Ask a volunteer to read the slide.

© Wiggins, N. & Rios, T. (2007). An Introduction to Popular Education. Community Capacitation Center, Multnomah County Health Dept. All rights reserved.

What is popular education? Popular education is a philosophy and methodology of teaching and community organizing. It has many sources. Paulo Freire, a Brazilian, is the person best known for his contribution to popular education.

What are the goals of popular education? • The creation of a truly democratic society where we all have equal access to the

world’s resources • Human liberation, both personal and collective How does popular education propose to achieve its goals?1

Step 1: Help each person come to believe that they are capable of changing their world. Step 2: Connect people’s personal problems to national and global realities (develop critical consciousness). Step 3: Motivate people to organize collectively and take action to resolve their common problems.

What are the principles of popular education?2 • The current distribution of the world’s resources is unjust and change is possible. • We learn with our heads, our hearts, and our bodies. • It is important to create an atmosphere of trust so that people can share their ideas and experiences. • We all know a lot. As educators and organizers, we should always start with what people already know and/or do. • The knowledge we gain through life experience is as important as the knowledge we gain through formal education. • People should be active participants in their own learning process. They should not be passive recipients. • Knowledge is constructed in the interaction between people. • Popular education is an inclusive movement that combines influences from many sources.

Introduction to Popular Education

© Wiggins, N. & Rios, T. (2007). An Introduction to Popular Education. Community Capacitation Center, Multnomah County Health Dept. All rights reserved.

• In each situation in which we try to teach or organize, the conditions should reflect the

conditions of the society we are trying to construct. This means equality between “teacher” and “student,” and democratic decision-making. • It is important that educators and organizers share the life experience of those they want to teach and/or organize. • The arts (music, drama, visual arts, etc.) are important tools for teaching and organizing. • The purpose of developing a critical consciousness is to be able to take action to change the world. (Critical thinking alone is not enough.) • The goal of popular education is organized action to change the world.

What are some of the values of popular education?3

• Love for the cause of the people • Honesty • Compassion • Responsibility • Dedication • Solidarity • Humility • Comradeship/Compañerismo

1 Serrano-García, Irma (1984). The illusion of empowerment: Community development within a colonial context. In J. Rappaport, C. Swift & R. Hess (Eds.) Studies in empowerment: Steps toward understanding and action (pp. 173-200). New York: The Haworth Press.

2 Many of these principles, although not all, are drawn from: Horton, M. (2003). The Miles Horton reader: Education for social change, ed. Dale Jacobs. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press. 3 Harnecker, Marta (2002). Sin tierra: Construyendo movimiento social. (Landless: Constructing a social movement.) Madrid, Spain: Siglo XXI de España Editores

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Introduction to Popular Education Principles

AcknowlegementsThis curricula draws from and is adapted from other training curricula for peer educators and community health workers, such as the Building Blocks to Peer Success (https://ciswh.org/resources/HIV-peer-training-toolkit) and the Community Capacitation Center, Multnomah County Health Department (https://multco.us/health/community-health/community-capacitation-center)

Team

This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U69HA30462 “Improving Access to Care: Using Community Health Workers to Improve Linkage and Retention in HIV Care” ($2,000,000 for federal funding). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

Suggested Citation: Boston University Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health. (2019). A Training Curriculum for Using Community Health Workers to Improve Linkage and Retention in HIV Care. Retrieved from: http://ciswh.org/chw-curriculum

Serena Rajabiun

Alicia Downes

LaTrischa Miles

Beth Poteet

Precious Jackson

Simone Phillips

Maurice Evans

Jodi Davich

Rosalia Guerrero

Maria Campos Rojo