La guerre contre la pauvreté : de la pornographie politique

Ce texte inédit en français de Saul Alinsky et publié en 1965 s'insère dans le contexte de la « guerre contre la pauvreté » menée par Lyndon Johnson aux États-Unis dès 1964. Cette politique, souvent considérée comme progressiste car étendant le champ de l'État social au travers de la création d'importants programmes de protection sociale, sera pourtant l'objet d'une critique acerbe d'Alinsky. En effet, l'organisateur critique les effets d'une politique qui est essentiellement pensée « par le haut » sans une réflexion sur les conditions dans lesquelles les pauvres reçoivent les politiques sociales. Il ouvre ainsi une réflexion stimulante sur les conditions de possibilité des politiques sociales.This text of Saul Alinsky never before published in french was first printed in 1965 during the famous “war on poverty” led by of Lyndon Johnson since 1964. If this famous program is mainly considered as a progress for his expansion of the welfare state, it will be strongly criticized by Alinsky. In his view, this policy is exclusively thought “top-down” without any consideration for the way it is implemented on the poor. The work of Alinsky is here a stimulating discussion on the condition for a social policy to succeed

Training teachers for and through citizenship : learning from citizenship experiences

This article illustrates how one university-based initial teacher education (ITE) course sought to develop links with civil society organisations to develop meaningful active citizenship education. The purpose of the project was to enhance citizenship education for ITE students preparing to become secondary school teachers. The article discusses recent developments in theorising teacher education 3.0 to ensure teachers are empowered to engage with a wide range of social and political challenges affecting young people and their communities. It then describes a small project that involved university staff and students in a local community organising project, bringing together a range of local community groups to work together for social justice. The article explores how student teachers working within that community organising group developed an increasingly politicised view of their role—as public sector workers in a politicised policy landscape; as potential agents for the promotion of democracy; and as political actors in their own right. The article concludes that these insights into practice illustrate the potential for a broader conception of teacher education, involving civil society partners beyond schools and universitie

Challenging school reform from below: is leadership the missing link in mobilization theory?

This article presents research relating to the experiences of union and community-based campaigns that have sought to challenge the establishment of academy and free schools in England. Such schools are removed from local government control and are seen as a defining element of the neoliberal restructuring of public education. The research draws on social-movement literature, and particularly mobilization theory, to better understand the dynamics of such campaigns and the contexts in which they can either thrive or wither. In the article, I argue that mobilization theory provides a useful framework for such analysis but that it fails to adequately reflect the importance of individual agency and the role of leadership at a local level. Leadership of such campaigns is often assumed by individuals reluctantly, and often defies traditional descriptions of “leadership,” but must be recognized if mobilization theory is to avoid being overly deterministic

“What Do You Consider Use?” Perspectives of Black Youth on Cannabis Use

PURPOSE: Adolescent health surveillance systems are critical for understanding patterns of cannabis use; however, their limitations underscore the need for studies that generate new insights, particularly from individuals who are most impacted by negative outcomes. Our objectives were to learn about youths' cannabis use and their perceptions of their peers' cannabis use; their perspectives about trajectories of cannabis use over time and factors that influence trajectories; and perceived risks and benefits associated with cannabis use. METHODS: A group model building approach was used to gather data about cannabis use from a sample of urban, Black youth. Information about participants' cannabis use was assessed on eligibility screener, enrollment survey, and through structured activities over the course of four group model building workshops. RESULTS: Participants [(n = 20) mean age 18; 35% male and 95% Black] exclusively used the terms weed and blunts for cannabis. Youth who consume peers' blunts would not characterize themselves as cannabis users. Collectively, youth estimated the majority of Baltimore youth used cannabis by age 16 and that most used daily. Youth described cannabis as more beneficial than harmful. There were no gender differences in prevalence of use, but there were gender dynamics to shared use. DISCUSSION: Participatory research with urban, Black youth suggests youths' perceptions are misaligned with the ways that researchers conceptualize cannabis use. To better understand the scope of youth cannabis use and its harms, it is critical to leverage input from youth with lived experience to ensure survey tools adequately capture the way youth see themselves using cannabis

Abortion in the United States' bible belt: organizing for power and empowerment

Over the last 30 years, conservative power in the United States, financed and organized by Christian fundamentalist sects, the Catholic Church, and conservative corporate and political leadership, has become more threatening and potentially destabilizing of progressive democratic principles and practices. Powerful interlocking political, financial and social forces are arrayed against women in many Southern and Western states. They are having destructive effects on women's ability to control their fertility and maintain bodily integrity and health. Poor women and women of color are disproportionately affected by restrictions on abortion services. Strategically developed interventions must be initiated and managed at every level in these localities. It is urgent to coordinate and empower individuals, multiple organizations and communities to engender effective changes in attitudes, norms, behavior and policies that will enable women to obtain reproductive health services, including abortion care. This paper describes contextual factors that continue to decimate U.S. women's right to health and, then, describes a community organizing-social action project in a number of US' states aimed at reversing the erosion of women's right to have or not to have children

Preentry issues in consultation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44078/1/10464_2004_Article_BF00880998.pd