Book chapter
Teaching democracy in the social work and human service classroom: Inspiration from Myles Horton and the Highlander Folk School
The Routledge Handbook of Critical Pedagogies for Social Work, pp.131-142
Routledge
2020
Abstract
The Highlander Folk School, now called the Highlander Research and Education Center, was a grassroots organization in the Appalachian region of the United States that played a transformational role in the 20th-century civil rights movement. Led by Myles Horton, the organization helped the community work toward creating a more democratic society in which every person could be an active participant. Horton believed that the community knew its own needs but needed to be taught skills of reflection, organizing, advocacy, and change. This chapter describes the work of Myles Horton and Highlander and offers it as a possible model for creating a more democratic social work and human service classroom that better meets the needs of the community. Teaching social work and human service students the skills of reflection, organizing, advocacy, and change can prepare them for identifying and responding to emerging civil rights issues. Additionally, this chapter also proposes that learning in social work and the human service classroom can be shaped by the needs, experiences, and interests of students and community, if driven by the educator.
Details
- Title
- Teaching democracy in the social work and human service classroom: Inspiration from Myles Horton and the Highlander Folk School
- Authors
- Trevor G Gates (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Contributors
- Christine Morley (Editor)Phillip Ablett (Editor)Carolyn Noble (Editor)Stephen Cowden (Editor)
- Publication details
- The Routledge Handbook of Critical Pedagogies for Social Work, pp.131-142
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Date published
- 2020
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781351002042-11
- Organisation Unit
- School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99451477102621
- Output Type
- Book chapter
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