“Of Means and Ends” Revisited: Teaching Ethical Community Organizing in an Unethical Society

Inspiring and Training Students for Social Action: Renewing a Needed Tradition

“…Students reported feeling empowered, more selfconfident, and with an increasing awareness of how their efforts could positively affect society. Reisch and Lowe (2000) and Hardina (2000) found evidence of growth in social justice commitment through teaching specific models and tactics in community organization courses. Anderson and Harris (2005) found that experiential approaches to teaching social welfare policy increased social work students' knowledge of and skill in working on social and economic justice issues.…”

Building the Unsettling Force: Social Workers and the Struggle for Human Rights

“…Reisch and Lowe (2000) lay out a framework for ethical decision making for community organizers that takes into consideration the unique conditions that community organizers face working so closely in the community. Likewise, language outlining ethical standards for community organizing should be included in the Code of Ethics.…”

Increasing Social Action Competency: A Framework for Supervision

“…One of the ways in which the supervisor can assist the new organizer is by suggesting strategies for dealing with conflict and help the organizer examine the limits of his or her responsibility for resolving disputes (Reisch & Lowe, 2000). In addition, the supervisor should provide opportunities for the organizer to develop group work skills that can be used to encourage leadership development among members of the constituency group (Zachary, 2000).…”

“…He or she can help the organizer locate or develop an appropriate ethical framework for action, examine the consequences of various ethical choices, and explore whether it is the organizer's responsibility alone to make the correct or ethical decision. Reisch and Lowe (2000) argue that in many situations, it is actually the constituents' responsibility rather than the organizer's to examine ethical options and identify risks and benefits of any actions taken by the group.…”