Exploring the relevance of feminist pedagogy to community psychology: continuing the dialogue

Abstract

Psychology has made advances in rectifying its historical negation of women's perspectives, as evidenced by a steady increase in women's scholarship and distinctly feminist works. However, in community psychology, the scope and magnitude of works generated both by and about women from a feminist framework have not kept pace with discourse on the nature of graduate education. The purpose of this article is to stimulate further discussion about the ways in which greater attention to the principles and practices of feminist pedagogy can enhance the interpersonal processes and content of community psychology graduate education. We provide illustrative examples of feminist pedagogy for community psychology from doctoral student and female and male faculty perspectives. We conclude by discussing the challenges to actualizing the potential for social action inherent in feminist pedagogy in relation to its apparent congruency with the principles and practices of community psychology. C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.In recent decades, some gains have been made in theorizing and practicing feminism in community psychology. For example, in a special issue of the American Journal of Community Psychology dedicated to connecting feminism and community psychology research and practice, Bond, Belenky, and Weinstock (

Ally Development Through Feminist Pedagogy: A Systemic Focus on Intersectionality

“…Feminist educators strive to build a classroom community that focuses on equality and as such, would refrain from disseminating information, but instead would they encourage students to think critically and arrive at their own conclusions (St. Germaine-Small, Walsh-Bowers, & Mitchell, 2012). This refusal to impart knowledge onto the students enables a feminist teacher to allow and encourage a classroom environment that honors all participants.…”