Ann Curry-Stevens

Barriers to addressing the social determinants of health: Insights from the Canadian experience

Despite Canadas reputation as a leader in health promotion and population health, implementation of public policies in support of the social determinants of health has been woefully inadequate. The continuing presence of income, housing, and food insecurity has led to Canada being the subject of a series of rebukes from the United Nations for failing to address child and family poverty, discrimination against women and Aboriginal groups, and most recently the crisis of homelessness and housing insecurity. In this article we consider some of the reasons why this might be the case. These include the epistemological dominance of positivist approaches to the health sciences, the ideology of individualism prevalent in North America, and the increasing influence on public policy of the marketplace. Various models of public policy provide pathways by which these barriers can be surmounted. Considering that the International Commission on the Social Determinants of Health will soon be releasing its findings and recommendations, such an analysis seems especially timely for understanding both the Canadian scene and developments in other nations.

New Forms of Transformative Education: Pedagogy for the Privileged

Questions abound in the literature and in practice about how best to advance social justice among groups who are content to ignore the chorus of marginalized voices pressing for social change. This qualitative study of 20 community-based practitioners explored how to assist the transformation of privileged learners on issues of race, class, and gender when they are in the training rooms. Pedagogy for the privileged presents an opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of adult educators who work with privileged learners on a daily basis in antiracism and diversity training, human rights development, leadership training, sensitivity training, and organizational development workshops. This article describes how grassroots educators understand the transformation process, including its ethical dimensions, and presents a new model for this pedagogy based on confidence shaking and confidence building.

Persuasion: Infusing advocacy practice with insights from anti-oppression practice

• Summary: The role of social work has not, to date, been sufficiently explored in persuasive policy practice. This article draws upon messages from a study about the motivators used by educators to reach more privileged learners on issues of social justice. Applying messages to policy practice allows advocates to comprehensively craft advocacy practices that draw from these motivators, which have been shown to enlist support from more privileged power holders in social justice issues. • Findings: This article confirms the importance of Goodman’s motivators (2000, 2001) of empathy, values and beliefs, spirituality, and self-interest; a deeper complexity about how to effectively use these motivators is explored. The research reveals that another four categories of motivators can be added to persuasion strategies: guilt, anger, desire to create a legacy, and a universal yearning for justice. • Applications: The contribution of this article is to advance the strategic dimensions of advocacy efforts undertaken by social workers. It seeks to inspire practitioners of the need to move away from a value-neutral position of social work (where practitioners avoid using their influence to obtain specific outcomes) to exploring the strategic value of being as persuasive as possible, in order to advance social justice among policy-makers.

Activist Formation in the Neoliberal Era A Journey With Multiple Dimensions

In one Canadian feminist classroom, four students with diverse social locations share their journey toward an engaged activist practice, moving through internal challenges and external barriers and assisted by the feminist activist classroom. Features of these transformational practices are identified as the instructor works with students to identify core features of this experience that are helpful in catalyzing and supporting these transitions.

Evolving on purpose: Results of a qualitative study to explore how public youth system reform advocates apply anti-oppressive practice frameworks in a collaborative training and action process

The anti-oppressive practice (AOP) framework focuses on structural inequity and power relations, employing liberatory methods toward social justice goals. This article reports on a national training initiative in AOP and an associated participatory action research project to determine the transformative impact of the training on staff, services and the system itself. The setting of this study is among service providers in youth justice and treatment services, where racial disparities are pronounced. The project involved both skills development and application of AOP in ways that would promote systems reform. Participants found the experience to be valuable, relevant and energizing, and skill sets in AOP were developed. The course requirement to develop site-based projects in participants’ local settings created changes in the ways services were delivered. Participants valued the creation of ‘safe spaces’ to discuss their experiences of racism and oppression in the various youth service systems. Transformative learning theory is utilized as a backdrop to the experience of interpreting participant reactions and learning experiences. Results suggest that AOP is a useful framework for organizing renewed efforts to reduce disparities in justice and other service delivery systems. Participant projects, an overview of implications for the field, and suggested future research are discussed.