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Pedagogy of Community Organizing: Lessons Learned from and with Formal Educators, Professional Trainers, and Community Organizers

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Pedagogy of Community Organizing: Lessons Learned from and with Formal Educators, Professional Trainers, and Community Organizers University of St. Thomas, Minnesota UST Research Online Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership School of Education 2020 Pedagogy of Community Organizing: Lessons Learned from and With Formal Educators, Professional Trainers, and Community Organizers David R. Anderson University of St. Thomas, MN, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Anderson, David R., "Pedagogy of Community Organizing: Lessons Learned from and With Formal Educators, Professional Trainers, and Community Organizers" (2020). Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership. 145. https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss/145 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at UST Research Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership by an authorized administrator of UST Research Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RUNNING HEAD: PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED FROM AND WITH FORMAL EDUCATORS, PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, LEADERSHIP AND COUNSELING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA BY DAVID R. ANDERSON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF EDUCATION 2020 PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED Copyright © 2020 by David Anderson All Rights Reserved ii RUNNING HEAD: PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS. MINNESOTA PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED FROM AND WITH FORMAL EDUCATORS, PROFESSIONAL TRAINERS, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS We certify that we have read this dissertation and approved it as adequate in scope and quality. We have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made. Dissertation Committee ____________ Eleni Roulis, Ph.D., Committee Member __________April 15, 2020___ Final Approval Date iii PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED ABSTRACT Most, if not all, large-scale changes in social, economic, and civic policy in modern times resulted not from small adjustments within administrative institutions but from social movements built through decades of organizing. For community organizing to fulfill its traditional role in social movements, there must be well-trained organizers. The questions pursued in this research are: how is organizing being taught both in community-based and academic settings, what is being taught including the core concepts, skills, and competencies, and what and how should it be taught in the future? Two different spheres of practice have historically served to unite, educate, and activate people in the exercise of community organizing: community-based institutions; and scholarly- educational disciplines. My research used two theoretical frameworks to explore the process of teaching and learning organizing as well as bridging these two spheres: critical pedagogy; and social movement theory. My research was mixed methods with both quantitative and qualitative elements: a meta-analysis of literature related to community organizing education and knowledge production; a survey of organizers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area; and interviews with formal, non-formal, and informal educators, specifically academics, professional trainers, and veteran organizers. The three basic components I examined in developing a community organizing pedagogy were: (1) the learning objectives of community organizers, as identified by the learners themselves: (2) the curriculum, using experienced community organizers as the source of this knowledge production; and (3) the teaching methodology, drawing on methods from both community organizing practice as well as educational and scholarly practice. My research followed two methodological traditions: phenomenology; and grounded theory. I used phenomenology to understand how the educators’ lived experience influenced iv PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED them as practitioners and educators, including decisions about curriculum and teaching methods, and to produce a set of educational recommendations. I used grounded theory to understand who is organizing in the Twin Cities and the amount, quality, and impact of their education, and to produce of a model for organizing pedagogy describing the educational settings, sources, and methods. Finally, I identified possible future research, including field observations of current education programs and a pilot program of my proposed pedagogy. v PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper is the culmination of an unexpected educational journey. My undergraduate education had opened doors to my career in the nonprofit sector and that seemed sufficient. The recession and the downturn in the nonprofit world prompted me initially to think very practically about increasing my educational credentials and making myself more competitive in the job market. Eventually though, it led to a true passion project that I hope will change the arc of my career and has already done so in my personal life; as it has expanded my insights in areas I assumed I already thoroughly understood. I must thank my committee members – Mike Klein, Stephen Brookfield, and Eleni Roulis – for guiding me through this journey to its conclusion. In particular, I am grateful to my advisor and committee chair, Mike Klein, for his frequent and honest feedback. I want to thank the many community organizers who took the time to complete my long survey, and the teachers, trainers, and veteran organizers who took time to sit down for often long interviews. I want to thank the other department faculty and staff who expanded my horizons, and the members of Cohort 28 who supported my journey, including Kristine Baker, Kristine DeVinck, Penny Dupris, Tamara Gray, David McKoskey, Tara Mennitt, Victor Quinones, Heather Verstraete, Charles Weise, and Christine Wells. I must also thank the people who started me on this journey. In 2012, I enrolled in the mid-career Master of Public Affairs program at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School with the idea of increasing my educational credentials. The passion and talent of the teaching team – Kevin Gerdes, Karen Zentner Bacig, and Jodi Sandfort – inspired me to continue on into this doctoral program. However, none of this would have been possible without the endless support and encouragement of my partner, Amanda Napp. In the depths of “imposter syndrome,” Amanda had steady faith in my ability to complete this journey, even when mine was flagging. In vi PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED addition, she worked hard to provide me the space to learn while also finding time to serve as my frequent sounding board. I was lucky to go through a kind of parallel educational journey with my daughter, Zara Napp Anderson, who was just starting school. Her seriousness and joy in learning inspired my own. I want to thank my mother, Judy Anderson, as well for providing me with examples both as a first-generation college student as well as someone balancing family, work, and education. I am also grateful to my employers, All Parks Alliance for Change and National Manufactured Home Owners Association, their boards, and staff members who accommodated and actively supported my return to school. Finally, I want to thank some of the people who helped to shape me as a leader, organizer, trainer, and mentor. In my adolescence, there were many books, comic books, movies, and television shows that opened my mind and inspired my moral imagination, particularly those created by Isaac Asimov, Ursula Le Guin, Stan Lee, and Gene Roddenberry. I was inspired by some of the very well-known models for community organizers, such as Ralph Nader, Paul Wellstone, and Barrack Obama. I also have been a co-teacher and co-learner with dozens of community organizers and hundreds of community leaders who are not as well known, but that I have had the good fortune to work with over the last 25 years. In particular though, I feel I was most strongly shaped as a leader, organizer, and trainer by three community organizing mentors – Heather Cusick, Buddy Robinson, and Beth Newkirk. All three are great organizers and great teachers. I appreciate the inspiration and support provided by these and so many other people. I hope this research begins to repay what I have received from them by advancing the teaching and practice of community organizing. vii PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED DEDICATION For the four strong women who continue to inspire me to make the world a better place: Amanda, Zara, Judy, and Hazel. viii PEDAGOGY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: LESSONS LEARNED TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iv Acknowledgements vi Dedication viii Table of Contents ix Table of Tables xiv Table of Figures xv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 I. Introduction 1 A. Introduction to the Study 1 B. Researcher’s Journey 2 II. The Issue to be Explored and Why It Merits a Dissertation 5 C. Statement of the Issue 5 D. Significance of the Issue 7 III. Overview of Chapters 10 IV. Research Question 12 V. Glossary of Terms 12 CHAPTER 2: RELEVANT LITERATURE 14 I. The Issue’s Historical Significance 14 A. Community Organizing and Social Movements as Knowledge Producers 14 B. Development of Community
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