Why the Update?
Since RSP’s last post about the Spiral Model of Popular Education five years ago, we recognized that the model of the spiral needed a few updates. Our updates, mostly centered on cultivating a more equitable participatory practice, come from the reflection and practice that the spiral invites us into. They also come out of learning from others, like the Highlander Center and Rachel Berliner Plattus, who made changes to the spiral for their practice. So, what is the Spiral Model?
The Spiral Model of Popular Education is more than just a tool; it’s a transformative practice that empowers groups, organizations, and communities by tapping into their collective wisdom and fostering collaborative learning. Rooted in Paulo Freire’s framework for popular education, maybe best explained in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, the spiral invites us to trust the innate wisdom of people in shaping their futures. In this blog, we’ll explore how this model serves as a catalyst for equitable, lasting change.
A Guide to the Spiral Model
As participatory facilitators, we believe in the power of collective wisdom to bring about equitable, lasting change. While we have knowledge, experience, and ideas to offer, we always start with the experiential wisdom of participants and partners. Our job is to draw that wisdom out, help folks make sense of and harness the power of collective wisdom, and partner with the group to plan for next steps.
Acknowledge & Equalize Power Dynamics: At the center of our Spiral Model is a grounding premise that power dynamics will be present in any interaction. It is our job as facilitators to acknowledge and equalize power dynamics throughout group processes. Popular education recognizes that “…education is not neutral” and “intentionally creates the space for directly-impacted people to challenge current systems and envision new possibilities” (Highlander Research and Education Center).
Ongoing Reflection: We acknowledge that before the spiral process starts it is our job as facilitators to employ personal reflection and to continue that throughout our work with others. It is also our job to foster ongoing reflection within groups as they move through the spiral. Friere’s popular education praxis integrates reflective practice as a key to changing systems for the common good.
The Call: “The call” is an invitation to join a changemaking group (organizing). It’s a call to action and a call to community. It is a call, or need, to know more about one’s place in the world. Read more about the call in Beverly Burke’s book Education for Changing Unions.
Below are the steps that guide this spiral model process, a key tool in community empowerment and inclusive decision-making:
- Draw Out Wisdom From Lived Experience: Zapatista wisdom tells us that “Between all of us we know everything.” Use tools like storytelling, appreciative inquiry, and card storming to pull out the knowledge and wisdom of participants.
- Identify and Make Sense of Patterns in Experience: Once there is a number of rich experiences and ideas, help participants sort through them and identify key themes or patterns that are common in the group. Making sense of patterns helps participants see a larger view of the systems their experience happens within.
- Add New Info and Theory: Participatory facilitators are balanced but not neutral. Show up offering your best ideas, sharing theories and information you have learned, and partnering with the group as they work to understand how they might work together to address issues the group faces.
- Practice Skills, Strategize, and Plan for Action: Support the group’s development of action plans and strategies for change as well as the skills they need to carry out the work. During this process, foster participatory leadership, systems thinking, regenerative design, and other useful practices for implementing people-driven solutions. (See our blog “What is Participatory Change?” for more on these practices.)
- Apply in Action: The group does what it planned, then returns to step one. It’s a spiral model, leading to continuous cycles of reflection and action.
Repeat: Once the group has moved through the spiral and applied their collective learning, they will learn more from their action. Return to step one to collectively reflect on new experience and learning.
Share Collective Learning: Openly sharing new collective learning is fundamental to empowering participation and cultivating conditions for equitable, lasting change.
Popular Education Principles
RSP’s approach to working with partners is grounded in Freire’s framework and the Highlander Research & Education Center’s principles, which were inspired by Freire and Myles Horton. These principles guide the Spiral Model for Popular Education and ensure that participants remain at the center of our facilitation practice:
- Participants are seen as and treated as agents or actors, people who can re-create the world and make change.
- Facilitators and participants are active and creative co-investigators and co-learners.
- Participants, as a group, analyze, brainstorm, dialogue, plan, decide, and act.
- Knowledge emerges from everyday experiences and reflection.
- Participants choose the content.
- Facilitators refuse neutrality; they openly commit to working for equity and justice.
- The purpose of facilitation is to help participants learn from their experiences, develop analyses of society, and plan for collective action.
RSP and the New School: Embracing Participatory Principles
Over the years, Rural Support Partners has used these principles in our daily work, incorporating collaborative learning, collective action, and popular education into systems-level work. The result is an adapted set of values that describe how we go about the work of facilitation, systems change, and participatory leadership. The New School of Participatory Change was founded on these values.
[Read those values on our Who We Are page]
Cultivate Participation With Us
The Spiral Model is a powerful tool for people empowerment, fostering a participatory approach that values the wisdom and experiences of the people. By embracing this model, we can create more inclusive, equitable, and effective change processes and ultimately cultivate conditions for participation in creating lasting change.
Join us in this journey of collective growth and transformation. Whether through our management consulting work with organizations, leadership development work, or impact evaluation, we show up with the same principles and commitment to equity and partnership. What do you need a partner for?
Don’t forget to download the Spiral Model here. You can also explore our other blogs or contact us to learn more about our services.