Paul W. Speer

Community organizing: An ecological route to empowerment and power

An important contribution to empowerment theory and community psychology practice can be made by examining how the concept of social power is developed and manifested in the context of community organizing. Theory and practice may be further informed through an ecological analysis of organizing processes and interventions. Lessons from a national community organizing network highlight the relationship between empowerment and power through a set of organizing principles and a cycle of organizing activity. Perhaps most important is the understanding that a reciprocal relationship exists between development of power for community organizations and individual empowerment for organization members. Implications for empowerment theory in the community organizing domain are provided in a matrix adapted from Zimmermans description of empowerment processes and outcomes at multiple levels of analysis.

COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE

Concepts and research from community psychology can inform community development practice by reframing social capital theory. Social capital (SC) is generally defined and measured at the interpersonal, community, institutional, or societal levels in terms of networks (bridging) and norms of reciprocity and trust (bonding) within those networks. SC should be analyzed in a multi-level ecological framework in terms of both individual psychological and behavioral conceptions (sense of community, collective efficacy—or empowerment, neighboring, and citizen participation) and institutional and community network-level conceptions. Excessive concern for social cohesion undermines the ability to confront or engage in necessary conflict, and thus, it dis-empowers the community. Instead of emphasizing social cohesion, “network-bridging” opportunities to increase power, access, and learning should be emphasized. Institutional and community network analysis shows how SC operates at those levels and where to target service resources and develop mediating structures. Psychological and behavioral factors point to factors that motivate individuals to engage in building SC and methods to maintain and improve that engagement.

Sense of community in community organizations: Structure and evidence of validity

A framework for measuring psychological sense of community for community organizations was presented, and an instrument to measure community organization sense of community was developed. The framework consisted of four components: Relationship to the Organization, Organization as Mediator, Influence of the Community Organization, and Bond to the Community. Two studies examined the dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the instrument. Study 1 (n = 218) was conducted with participants from three community organizations, and it identified four factors, matching the framework, with alpha coefficients from .61 to .85. Study 2 (n = 1,676) was conducted with participants from five community organizations. Study 2 participants were 48% African American, 42% White, 6% Latino/Hispanic, and 3% Other. Also for the Study 2 sample, 69% were female; 31% were male. Study 2 confirmed three factors for the Community Organization Sense of Community scale (COSOC): Relationship to the Organization, Organization as Mediator, Bond to the Community; alpha coefficients ranged from .82 to .87. In three subsamples of Study 2, convergent validity of the instrument was explored by correlating total COSOC scores and subscale scores with two other measures of sense of community, political participation, community involvement, community organization involvement, and perceived safety. The patterns of correlation among the variables indicated, with one exception: strong support for validity of the instrument. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for development of sense of community in community organizations, and community participation.

Violent crime and alcohol availability: relationships in an urban community

The relationship between violent crime, neighborhood sociodemographic characteristics, and alcohol outlet densities in Newark, New Jersey is reported, thus extending previous research of municipalities at more refined levels of analysis. Alcohol outlet densities were significant predictors in regression models, but rates of violent crime were better predicted in larger units (R2 = .673 for the census tract level vs. .543 at the census block group level). Alcohol outlet densities, however, were more predictive of violent crime at smaller units of analysis (change in R22 with the addition of alcohol outlet densities was .194 at the census tract level vs. .278 at the census block group level). Findings suggest that alcohol outlets represent a form of “undesirable land use” in urban neighborhoods that are a manifestation of increasingly concentrated economic disadvantage in the United States.

The Relationship between Social Cohesion and Empowerment: Support and New Implications for Theory

Empowerment theory represents an expansive view of individual and collective behavior that includes the active participation of individuals and groups in altering and shaping the socioenvironmental context. Critical to health educators are local interventions that yield participation of community members and empowerment for participants. The concept of social cohesion embraces participation but expands this behavioral emphasis to incorporate notions of trust, connectedness, and civic engagement. This study presents two data sets on the relationship of participation to empowerment. The first replicates and extends previous research by examining participation with interactional as well as intrapersonal empowerment. Second is the examination of how the quality of the participatory experience—the cohesive nature of participation—is related to interactional and intrapersonal empowerment. Findings support and extend previous findings, reliably cluster residents by the degree of connectedness in their participatory experiences, and reveal that social cohesion is related to intrapersonal empowerment.

Intrapersonal and interactional empowerment: Implications for theory

This study builds on previous research linking empowerment theory with community participation. Empowerment theory has been criticized as overly individualistic and conflict-oriented resulting in an emphasis on mastery and control rather than cooperation and community. The purpose was to develop a measure of interactional empowerment (assessing intellectual understandings of power and social change) and compare scores on this measure with scores on a measure of intrapersonal empowerment (assessing ones personal sense of control and efficacy). Results found that persons with greater levels of intrapersonal empowerment reported participating in community activities with greater frequency than persons with lower levels of intrapersonal empowerment. Persons with greater levels of interactional empowerment reported participating in organizational activities and having a stronger sense of community than persons with lower levels of interactional empowerment.

Academic Performance among At-Risk Children: The Role of Developmentally Appropriate Practices.

Abstract This research examined the effect of developmentally appropriate teaching practices on the academic achievement of kindergarten and first grade children attending urban schools. One hundred-thirteen mostly African American and Hispanic children participating in the Head Start/Public School Transition Project were tested with three subscales from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement (Woodcock & Johnson, 1990) . Developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) were assessed in 28 classrooms by using the Assessment Profile for Early Childhood Programs: Research Version (Abbott-Shim & Sibley, 1992) . Based on scores from the Assessment Profile, classrooms were divided into two levels (lower DAP and moderate DAP). A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 repeated measures MANOVA indicated significant main effects for grade and semester and significant two-way interactions for grade × semester and DAP level × semester. Sex was not a significant variable. The results indicate that achievement was significantly higher in the more developmentally appropriate classrooms for letter/word identification and applied problems over time and suggests that developmentally appropriate practices can improve children’s achievement in urban settings.

Risk of assaultive violence and alcohol availability in New Jersey.

OBJECTIVES This study examined the relationship between rate of assaultive violence and density of alcohol outlets in New Jersey. METHODS Data pertaining to assaultive violence, alcohol outlet density, and sociodemographic factors were obtained from municipalities in New Jersey (n = 223) and assessed through bivariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS Sociodemographic factors accounted for 70% (R(2)=.70) of the variance in the rate of assaultive violence. Outlet density did not add significantly to the explained variance of this model. CONCLUSIONS In New Jersey, alcohol outlet density is not geographically associated with higher rates of violence. Alternative methodological and analytic techniques are required to better specify the relationship between alcohol availability and violence.

ORGANIZING FOR POWER: A COMPARATIVE CASE STUDY

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of two conceptually similar community organizing efforts that highlights commonalities and important differences. This study first presents a qualitative analysis of two approaches to community organizing for power. Our analysis was made possible by participation and collaboration with members of community organizations which opened the way for access to documents, events, interviews, and settings that formed the basis of our case study. We also present some quantitative data concerning participant perceptions of organizing experiences and outcomes. These data highlight important differences in community organizing approaches, differences we believe can be useful to our field as we struggle with the important concepts of empowerment and power.

Community Participation and Psychological Empowerment Testing Reciprocal Causality Using a Cross-Lagged Panel Design and Latent Constructs

Empowerment theory provides both a value orientation for community-based research and practice, and a conceptual framework for understanding and evaluating interventions. One critical question in empowerment theory involves whether a reciprocal (bidirectional) relationship exists between community participation (CP) and psychological empowerment (PE). This study applied structural equation modeling (SEM) with two waves of survey data from a cross-lagged panel design to test reciprocal and unidirectional causal relations between latent variables representing CP and PE. Participants (n = 474) were randomly selected neighborhood residents and organizational members from the United States. Four models were tested using SEM: (a) a baseline model with autoregressive paths, (b) a model with autoregressive effects and CP predicting future PE, (c) a model with autoregressive effects and PE predicting future CP, and (d) a fully cross-lagged model. Results indicated that CP influenced future PE; however, reciprocal causality was not found to occur between the variables. Implications of the study for empowerment theory and community-based practice are described, and directions for future research discussed.