What are the key steps in creating pathways into careers in Community Leadership and Organizing?
There are seven steps in creating collaboration involving community leaders, organizers and other practitioners working together to create educational pathways into community leadership and organizing careers:
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1. An initial spark. Someone initiates a process of exploring what might be feasible. It may be a community organization or leader concerned about the shortage of people of color who are fully equipped for staff or leadership positions. It may be one or more faculty members or college leaders who want their institution to be more responsive to nearby communities, people of color, and low-income and working-class students. Or it may be some outside spark like CLP, an organizing network, a local support organization or local foundation. In Massachusetts the State Department of Higher Education took leadership in funding a growing number of pilot programs in community colleges throughout the Commonwealth (see Resources below).
2. Quite quickly deciding whether, realistically, one or more people can devote sufficient time to deepen the exploration: As these soundings go forward, the lead planners should constantly assess whether to continue the exploration and, if so, how best to proceed. Small steps can lead eventually to a major pathways. Some programs start with creation of a single new course, or even adding an introduction to community organizing in an existing course in political science, sociology, criminal justice, community health or another field. 3. First steps in an organizing process. Two or three people begin outreach to develop the relationships, agreements, strategies, power, and resources needed to create major institutional change. This starts with step-by-step reaching out in both the college and the community to potential allies, conducting one-on-ones to learn whether they are interested and what they see as the goals, potential allies, obstacles and opportunities for proceeding. Small group discussions or focus groups may also be helpful. Candidly, many community leaders and organizers, and many faculty members are too busy to invest heavily in this kind of exploration beyond the first two or three months of meetings. It quickly becomes necessary to find one or two people who can free up their schedule to manage the increasingly methodical process outlined below. Needless to say, it is ideal if funds can be found to finance a part-time community coordinator and/or a faculty-member’s released time. |
4. Deepening the fact-finding and analysis. An essential element of a CLP program is a partnership which draws deeply from within both the college and neighboring communities. During this feasibility study phase, the planners must explore and understand the priorities, concerns, strengths, and challenges which both college and low-income community leaders would bring to a partnership and to a possible CCS program.
5. Forming a Partnership. Is it possible to build a college/community partnership which has a shared vision and sufficient breadth, cohesion, power, and skill to design a good program, gain approval for it and sustain it over time? 6. Developing a long-term strategy – a concerted campaign, or starting with paid internships, then creating courses. There is such a strong need for well-paid, career-relevant internships for low-wealth students that it may speed up progress if it's possible to focus first on raising funds for interns, then developing the academic courses which are needed. California and Massachusetts are piloting different government-funded approaches to this strategy. 7. Launch and Start-up. Launching 1 or 2 initial courses, perhaps tweaking one which is already approved. Alternatively, deciding to follow the CYLC approach of first creating paid internships, and adding courses over time. |
N.B. SEE LAST SECTION BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON PROGRAMS FOR CURRENT LEADERS AND MID-CAREER STUDENTS TAKING ONE OR MORE COURSES
FOR MORE DETAILS ON EACH OF THESE STEPS, SEE PDFS BELOW
FOR MORE DETAILS ON EACH OF THESE STEPS, SEE PDFS BELOW
| Career Pathway for Community Leadership Pilot Project.pdf |
| Teaching Approaches and Pedagogies.pdf |
Essential partnerships, deeply involving both community and academic leaders
Both academic and experiential learning are essential for community change agents pressing for progress on social, economic and political issues. Each brings to the work knowledge, skills, understanding and vision, character-building, analytic and strategic thinking capacities which change agents need to maximize their capacity to foster change. Some programs do a remarkable job of creating genuine partnerships across these historic divides, including being highly creative in maximizing opportunities for experiential learning.
Therefore, in designing a Community Change Studies program, the community and academic partners must overcome the skepticism each may have felt toward the value of the other’s knowledge, understanding, and traditional ways of learning.
Therefore, in designing a Community Change Studies program, the community and academic partners must overcome the skepticism each may have felt toward the value of the other’s knowledge, understanding, and traditional ways of learning.
There is no denying that many academics -- except those in medicine and law and other professions which depend on clinical education -- have little respect for practice-based education, especially when it’s taught by practitioners rather than career academics.
Similarly, it’s clear that many organizers and community leaders doubt the relevance of academics to what organizers need to know: typically they see them as removed from the community, focused on theory with little practical experience, often based in elitist institutions which neglect and sometimes disrupt nearby neighborhoods.
Similarly, it’s clear that many organizers and community leaders doubt the relevance of academics to what organizers need to know: typically they see them as removed from the community, focused on theory with little practical experience, often based in elitist institutions which neglect and sometimes disrupt nearby neighborhoods.
Teaching Strategies
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Community Leadership and Organizing pathways use several strategies for helping students learn through experience. These start with the faculty and the teaching. Most Change Studies faculty-members bring extensive personal experience in community work to their teaching. Many have been organizers, community leaders or otherwise deeply involved in community change work before beginning teaching. Many others are adjuncts whose main job continues to be working on the ground with a community-based organization or other nonprofit or perhaps in union or political organizing, issue research or journalism.
In addition, many courses supplement regular faculty teaching by involving organizers and other practitioners as guest speakers and discussion leaders, a practice which students consistently praise as particularly motivating and instructive. Instructors for virtually all courses in Community Change Studies use extensive classroom exercises and group problem-solving and analysis to help develop their students’ practical skills. Many courses require field assignments, often including researching and analyzing community issues, interviewing organizers and community members, and/or taking part in organizing and community improvement efforts. Courses in Participatory Action Research get especially marks for helping students grasp the whole process of creating change: they provide concrete experience learning how community residents can be involved in choosing a priority issue, learning how to research it through interviews and analyzing documents, developing strategies for having an impact, taking action and then reflecting together on what they have learned. |
CLP colleges work with their community partners to maximize their students’ opportunities to learn through field experience. The Change Studies Program at the City University of New York has developed partnerships with 26 strong community organizing groups across the city, and has involved its students working on the ground in those neighborhoods. The students also provided person-power to help the grassroots groups build a powerful citywide coalition which succeeded in convincing the City Council and Mayor to support development of Community Land Trusts in low-income and gentrifying communities.
CLP programs also have been creative in creating opportunities for students to develop practical skills by tackling on-campus issues. DeAnza College, for example, offers opportunities for students – many of whom commute 20 miles or more to the college -- to avoid further travel by focusing their “field” work on organizing other students to work with them on such on-campus issues as immigrant students’ rights and sanctuary for DACAs, divestiture of carbon stocks by the college, student/community town halls on climate change, other policy issues facing the college, and student voter registration and get out the vote efforts. Fortunately, there are many useful books and manuals which provide excellent exercises for providing students with practical experience in the classroom as well as through field work. See the RESOURCES SECTION on this site for recommended reading.. |
Internships and Directly Relevant College Work Study and Employment
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Internships can provide invaluable in-depth experience on the job IF, and only IF, they are directly related to community change work or the skills and knowledge a change agent needs. Internships also can help students earn references and contacts which may be invaluable in the future as they look for jobs or advanced education. However, unpaid internships are a luxury few community college students can afford: to stay in school and cover expenses they need to earn a living wage and therefore have no choice but to take a full-time or part-time job rather than an unpaid internship.
Therefore, it is essential that government begin to provide greatly increased funding for students preparing for community change careers which so greatly benefit America's neglected communities and people. Unfortunately, it is abundantly clear from our sites’ experience that the private sector will not provide adequate funding to meet these needs. Therefore, the CLP Network has begun efforts to expand government support for the kinds of paid internships which are needed. |
This search led CLP to create the California Youth Leadership Corps (CYLC) with a combination of State and foundation funding. The state funds provide stipends and scholarships to young people enrolled in a growing number of community college programs providing Certificates in Community Youth Leaderships. This program is being expanded to 20 community colleges throughout the state, and each participant receives a stipend of approximately$10,000 plus a $5,000 scholarship as they study and learn on the job by being placed with a social justice nonprofit.
Massachusetts recently began setting aside Higher Education funding for internships in community change studies. Each of seven community colleges now has State funding with which they provide five students with $3000 internships linked to relevant college courses. A broadening alliance is bringing together the pathway programs linked to CLP and several similar educational programs has united behind a joint effort to convince government agencies and foundations to replicate the key elements of these programs -- government support for paid internships linked to college courses and experiential education through placement with community-based organizations. |
| CYLC Fact Sheet |
Capstone Projects
Most Community Leadership and Organizing pathways programs include a practicum or capstone project during which students work with others to make progress on a community issue. They devote substantial time to applying what they have learned from their coursework and field experience to a real life situation, and then reflect in depth on their experience.
Planning and completing a capstone project analyzing how an organization is addressing a community issue, and include interviews, other field research, and an assessment of lessons from the effort. This includes self-assessment by each student of their own skills, knowledge, and personal strengths and weaknesses as potential agents of positive change.
Planning and completing a capstone project analyzing how an organization is addressing a community issue, and include interviews, other field research, and an assessment of lessons from the effort. This includes self-assessment by each student of their own skills, knowledge, and personal strengths and weaknesses as potential agents of positive change.
Reaching Current Leaders and Organizers, Adding Knowledge, Skills and Credentials
Many of the courses -- core courses and issue-focused education -- can offer experienced community leaders and organizers opportunities to broaden their knowledge and skills. For many they also provide and opportunity to earn credentials which are important to their sense of personal accomplishment and pride as well as for their upward mobility. These courses can -
- Expand students’ vision of what is possible, by exploring various approaches to strengthen democracy, representative government, civic participation and accountability, and studying alternative views of capitalism, democratic socialism, the welfare state and the roles of mediating structures and civil society.
- Deepen their understanding of other people’s behavior through studying literature and the other humanities and through courses in sociology, psychology, and social psychology
- Develop their strategic, emotional intelligence, mediation and conflict resolution skills
Community partners can be especially helpful in identifying current or new courses which they and their members need and would be likely to enroll in. This can help the College expand its enrollment in courses for which there is a latent demand among community residents, emerging and current volunteer leaders, mid-career organizers and outreach workers, and early and mid-career staff local nonprofit and public service providers.
Faculty members and college administrators seldom can reach beyond the campus with ambitious marketing and student recruitment campaigns for a particular career pathway. However, if the programs develop enthusiastic. active allies among nonprofits, youth organizations and other partners in the broader community, their partners can increase enrollment in the colleges. Deeply involved they can become powerful allies, developing concerted outreach and "sales campaigns" to expand enrollment and demonstrate that the courses are producing income the institutions need. If the program's planning process actively includes community and practitioner reps in the planning, the process can be particularly effective in building community backing by conducting focus groups among groups of potential students at the high school and mid-career levels, feeding their views and priorities in the planning and demonstrating that the courses will be responsive to the communities' needs , opportunities and priorities.
Faculty members and college administrators seldom can reach beyond the campus with ambitious marketing and student recruitment campaigns for a particular career pathway. However, if the programs develop enthusiastic. active allies among nonprofits, youth organizations and other partners in the broader community, their partners can increase enrollment in the colleges. Deeply involved they can become powerful allies, developing concerted outreach and "sales campaigns" to expand enrollment and demonstrate that the courses are producing income the institutions need. If the program's planning process actively includes community and practitioner reps in the planning, the process can be particularly effective in building community backing by conducting focus groups among groups of potential students at the high school and mid-career levels, feeding their views and priorities in the planning and demonstrating that the courses will be responsive to the communities' needs , opportunities and priorities.
Resources
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Steps in Creating Organizing and Leadership Courses and Pathways
Chapter from Preparing to Win summarizing lessons from several sites' experience. |
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.Creating Genuine Community + College Partnerships
A unique analysis of the respective roles and responsibilities of colleges and community leaders/organizations in robust and genuine partnerships. |
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.Origin Stories- Different Approaches to Developing Programs
These stories illustrate the great variations in who initiates these pathways and the steps they followed |
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Financing Start Ups
This section includes a dramatic illustration of the leveraging effect which seed money and start-up funding can have. |
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Replication Support Systems
Materials on on-line, training and assistance for Pathway programs. |
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Public Policy Change to Support Replication
Materials on Policies which could provide assistance during start-up, planning or sustaining academic programs. |
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Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)
An explanation of Prior Learning Assessment, including examples of the impact which vigorous use of PLA may have for young and adult learners. |
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Strategies for. Creating Community Change Studies Programs
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2022 CLP California Youth Leadership Corps Fact Sheet
Starting a Community Change Studies program with paid internships including government supported "earn while you learn" programs |
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Experiential Education
Further examples of approaches to integrating experiential learning with course work and internships |
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Possible Introductory Course for the Pathway on Community Leadership and Organizing
Design of a survey course, previewing the knowledge, skills interpersonal strengths and vision students will develop through the set of courses in the Certificate or Degree program. |
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