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Listening to Diversity Stories: Principles for Practice in Community Research and Action
Author(s) -
Harrell Shelly P.,
Bond Meg A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/s10464-006-9042-7
Subject(s) - community psychology , cultural humility , diversity (politics) , psychology , cultural diversity , multiculturalism , sociology , social psychology , sexual orientation , active listening , cultural competence , pedagogy , psychotherapist , anthropology
Abstract Three broad Diversity Principles for Community Research and Action are described and offered as community psychology's contribution to the growing literature on multicultural competence in psychology. The principles are applicable to multiple dimensions of diversity including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and social class. The diversity principles are illustrated with examples from the twenty‐two diversity stories in the AJCP Special Issue on Diversity Stories in Community Research and Action. Each of the three diversity principles (Community Culture, Community Context, and Self‐in‐Community) are associated with a fundamental assumption, a process emphasis (descriptive, analytic, and reflective), a core question to engage, an orienting stance (informed compassion, contextualized understanding, and empowered humility), and three areas of focus. Taken together, the principles suggest the value of the overarching stance of connected disruption . It is suggested that applying the principles to community work in diverse settings will facilitate the process of bridging differences and enhance the relevance and effectiveness of our work.