https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4jPZe-cZgcIntroduction:
The Freire Essay Assignment requires you to draft a brief essay which applies Freire’s theoretical perspective on power and oppression to a case study. The case study is based on a real situation which occurred within a public housing organization.
Case Study:
A Canadian low-income public housing corporation wanted to ensure tenant participation in decision-making about their housing. To do so, they borrowed a model of tenant participation that was developed and implemented by tenants in a housing community in a Brazilian slum. The model was based on an approach of community-based governance in which tenants governed all aspects of the housing community’s functioning. In Brazil, the model resulted in development of housing by and for tenants and included a range of services for community members (e.g., literacy services, other education services, seniors’ centres, youth centres, community gardens, social services).
The model was selected for implementation by the Canadian corporation’s governing body. This body was comprised of the Executive Director, some senior managers (5), some municipal officials (2), external members who held senior positions in their place of work (e.g., Presidents, Vice Presidents) (4), and a front-line employee of the housing corporation (1). In the last two months, the governing body had added 2 tenant members to represent and provide the legitimate voice for tenants of the 20 housing communities. All members of the governing body, but especially the tenant members, were very excited about the Brazilian model.
To implement the Canadian version of the Brazilian grass-roots model, the governing body engaged the corporation’s policy officers to develop the model. It was decided that the tenants in each of the 20 communities would receive information about the Tenant Councils and would be asked to volunteer to run for the local council as an active, voting member. An election would be held among all tenants in each specific community to determine which volunteers would form the council. The councils would be comprised of 10 tenant members. Each council would also have the corporation’s local Housing Officer sitting on the council as a non-voting member. The local Housing Officer was also given the task of providing service to the council such as organizing community projects the council decided to develop. In addition, the Housing Officer was responsible to administer community budgets (operating and project budgets). Finally, each Housing Officer was to assist their community in setting up and running the elections.
The corporation gave each Tenant Council the power to make decisions about programming for the community. In addition, within the provisions of the laws governing housing, and within the organization’s policies and procedures, the Tenant Councils were given the power to make decisions about how a budget for repairs and other improvements would be allocated in the community. The reality of the budget for repairs was that it was inadequate to address the repair needs of the aging buildings the corporation owned. The corporation could not afford all necessary repairs.
Implementation of the Tenant Councils was plagued with problems. The corporation sent notification about the Tenant Councils to all tenants. In addition, information about the roles and responsibilities of Tenant Councils was provided to all Housing Officers. The Housing Officers attempted to educate tenants about the Tenant Councils through a series of information sessions. They also held information sessions for other organization employees in the community (e.g., security officials, maintenance officials). Of the 20 communities, only three had greater than a 5% turnout of tenants overall for the information sessions. The turnout for organization employee sessions was 98%. Despite the low tenant turnout, the governing body determined to move ahead. Each Housing Officer elicited nominations of tenants who wanted to be on the Tenant Council. Of the twenty communities, one community had 11 nominations and therefore ran an election to determine the 10 Tenant Council members. Fifteen communities had fewer than 5 tenants nominated for Tenant Council membership. The remaining four communities had no tenants nominated for the Tenant Council. The governing body determined that the Tenant Councils would be established in all but the four communities in which there were no tenants nominated. In the community in which an election was held and 10 Tenant Council members were voted in, the Tenant Council ran with few problems arising. Based on tenant input, the Council identified tenant needs and projects the tenants wanted implemented. They developed a youth program in the community, along with a community garden that 60% of tenants participated in. In addition, they worked with the tenants to identify which repair projects would be undertaken. The Housing Officer supported the Tenant Council in its work. In the 15 communities with fewer than 5 tenant members on the Tenant Councils, major problems arose for the Council in getting tenant input, developing programs for the community, and in determining how money would be spent on repairs. Most of the Housing Officers became frustrated with the process and began to direct all activities of the councils. Each time a decision was made by the Tenant Council about work to be undertaken, if the Housing Officer disagreed, power struggles resulted between the Housing Officer and the Tenant Council. In addition, power struggles were a frequent occurrence between tenants and the Tenant Council and Housing Officer.
Essay Assignment:
The essay will be about 10 pages maximum but can be less, double-spaced, and will address the following:
Apply concepts from Freire’s theory to the case. (e.g., what would he think about how the Councils were implemented? what changes would he want to see in the approach to implementation and results? Why?)
The focus of this assignment is on the case, not on Freire. You will demonstrate your understanding of Freire by the way in which you apply his concepts and overall theory to the case.
You are to rely only on the course materials in responding to the case (i.e., the Freire required reading, PowerPoint slides, classroom discussion and lecture). Marks will be deducted if you draw in other materials.
Given the focus on the case, you should assume that your reader/marker knows and understands the materials on which you are drawing. You should therefore refrain from providing descriiptions of Freire’s theory. Use Freire to help understand the case.
The paper is due in the drop box on the course website by September 28, 2021 by 11:59 p.m.
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