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Personal transformation through participation in social action: A case study of the leaders in the Lincoln Alliance
Abstract
Five presidents, two vice presidents, and three organizers (10 total) were chosen in purposive sampling to research both the social and personal change experienced as a result of participation in the Lincoln Alliance. The Alliance was a broad-based, multi-group, and multi-issue organization that existed in Lincoln, Nebraska from 1974-1982. At the Founding Convention there were 500 delegates present representing 28 civic, neighborhood, and church organizations. The Industrial Areas Foundation, founded by Saul Alinsky, served as consultants in the early formative years. The constant comparative method for grounded theory was employed to ascertain the nature of personal change as well as the shift in meaning perspectives (Mezirow, 1991) experienced by the leaders. An analysis of two schools of thought, critical social theory grounded in psychoanalytic psychology and transpersonal theory grounded in Jungian analytical depth psychology, provided dialogue for the purpose of deriving at an integrated theory of personal transformation. Specifically Jack Mezirow's (1991) theory of perspective transformation and Robert Boyd's (1989) theory of transformative learning provided the lens through which the data was assessed. Two broad conceptual themes were found: cognitive rational assumption changes and socio-emotional beliefs about the self in society. Four categories were found in the cognitive dimension: an awareness of power, focusing, awareness of connections grounded in values, and a vision for democracy. Three categories were found in the affective dimension: (1) social conflict vs. personal disequilibrium, (2) self-confidence, creativity, and empowerment, and (3) transcendence of the ego. All leaders experienced at least one meaning perspective shift; some experienced many perspective transformations.
Subject Area
Adult education|Continuing education|Educational psychology|Social structure
Recommended Citation
Scott, Sue Moser, "Personal transformation through participation in social action: A case study of the leaders in the Lincoln Alliance" (1991). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9208113.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9208113