Saturday, June 25, 2011

ASSUMPTIONS OF EMPOWERING

In the context of the program, community empowerment has at least five assumptions that need attention:
1) The first assumption, associated with important characteristics of empowerment (empowerment) that distinguishes it from the top down approach, is that an individual action, both men and women do to empower themselves, by altering the structure or look for opportunities of empowerment of the existing structure. Overview of activities focused on individuals associated with the development program (stakeholders individually). Strength (power) is high in individuals can tear down the old structure of society and replace them with new structures.
2) The second assumption, related to the actions of autonomous individuals who need to be able to produce social change, is that in the empowerment approach is an act of voluntary participation. Act of self-empowerment or liberation of new meaning when it is driven by a refined perception, thinking, and attitude of the individual. Internalizing this attitude will make the action meaningful to him, and it is difficult to be erased again from within him. Act of participation grow from within itself at least indicates independence and ability to make decisions, and are willing to bear the risk.
3) The third assumption, is that as an act of voluntary participation leads to a rational action. A participatory action actually show resultant decision-making from the limited choices. Rational action is defined as a choice of means in relation to the purpose. Means is anything that can be used to achieve the goal. Therefore, rationality does not refer to a means or an end in itself but a means to associate the behavior with the goal.
4) The fourth assumption, related programs and projects, is that the program or project is a scarce resource. Changes in a society, including community empowerment, has a dimension of a broad and interrelated, and take a long time.
Given this complexity, a program alone is difficult to construct an argument about his ability to build community.
5) The fifth assumption is that groups of both men and women are seen as individual acts that form the consensus. In programs of empowerment, purpose or use of group formation is to give the controller for the actions of individuals, or in a group discussion here is a form of creation of structures to direct the actions of individuals. However, based on the trend in holding the view of individual action, then performance is recognized as a consensus group of individuals within it, rather than a very strong system of rules binding on members. In the diverse results of a review of empowerment group, shows that success (or failure) is more closely related group with the performance of managers of individual actions, rather than the existence of the rule structure of the group to bind its members.

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