Empowerment: What Is It? Abstract Many use the term empowerment without understanding what it really means. A literature review resulted in no clear definition of the concept, especially one that could cross-disciplinary lines. This article defines empowerment as a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power in people for use in their own lives, their communities and in their society, by acting on issues they define as important. The Connecticut People Empowering People program uses this definition to connect research, theory, and practice. Nanette Page Former Connecticut PEP Facilitator Flint, Michigan Cheryl E. Czuba Extension Educator, Community Development, Families University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System Haddam, Connecticut Internet address: [email protected] For many in Extension, empowerment is the goal we have for our programs and the volunteers, participants, or clients with whom we work. But what is empowerment? How can we recognize it? Evaluate it? Talk about it with others who are interested in empowerment? Our recent literature review of articles indicating a focus on empowerment, across several scholarly and practical disciplines, resulted in no clear definition of the concept across disciplinary lines. Many using the term cope with its lack of clear, shared meaning by employing the concept very narrowly, using only their specific scholarly discipline or program to inform them. Others do not define the term at all. As a result, many have come to view "empowerment" as nothing more than the most recently popular buzz word to be thrown in to make sure old programs get new funding. We maintain that empowerment is much more than that. Empowerment is a process that challenges our assumptions about the way things are and can be. It challenges our basic assumptions about power, helping, achieving, and succeeding. To begin to demystify the concept of empowerment, we need to understand the concept broadly in order to be clear about how and why we narrow our focus of empowerment for specific programs and projects (specific dimension or level, etc.) and to allow discussion of empowerment across disciplinary and practice lines. Understanding empowerment became a critical issue for us as we grappled with the task of sharing the People Empowering People (PEP) program with Extension faculty across the country. Understanding Power At the core of the concept of empowerment is the idea of power. The possibility of empowerment depends on two things. First, empowerment requires that power can change. If power cannot change, if it is inherent in positions or people, then empowerment is not possible, nor is empowerment conceivable in any meaningful way. In other words, if power can change, then empowerment is possible. Second, the concept of empowerment depends upon the idea that power can expand. This second point reflects our common experiences of powe ...

1. Empowerment: What Is It?
Abstract
Many use the term empowerment without understanding what it
really means. A literature review resulted in no clear definition
of the concept, especially one that could cross-disciplinary
lines. This article defines empowerment as a multi-dimensional
social process that helps people gain control over their own
lives. It is a process that fosters power in people for use in their
own lives, their communities and in their society, by acting on
issues they define as important. The Connecticut People
Empowering People program uses this definition to connect
research, theory, and practice.
Nanette Page
Former Connecticut PEP Facilitator
Flint, Michigan
Cheryl E. Czuba
Extension Educator, Community Development, Families
University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System
Haddam, Connecticut
Internet address: [email protected]
For many in Extension, empowerment is the goal we have for
our programs and the volunteers, participants, or clients with
whom we work. But what is empowerment? How can we
recognize it? Evaluate it? Talk about it with others who are
interested in empowerment? Our recent literature review of
articles indicating a focus on empowerment, across several
scholarly and practical disciplines, resulted in no clear
definition of the concept across disciplinary lines. Many using
the term cope with its lack of clear, shared meaning by
employing the concept very narrowly, using only their specific
scholarly discipline or program to inform them. Others do not
define the term at all. As a result, many have come to view

2. "empowerment" as nothing more than the most recently popular
buzz word to be thrown in to make sure old programs get new
funding.
We maintain that empowerment is much more than that.
Empowerment is a process that challenges our assumptions
about the way things are and can be. It challenges our basic
assumptions about power, helping, achieving, and succeeding.
To begin to demystify the concept of empowerment, we need to
understand the concept broadly in order to be clear about how
and why we narrow our focus of empowerment for specific
programs and projects (specific dimension or level, etc.) and to
allow discussion of empowerment across disciplinary and
practice lines. Understanding empowerment became a critical
issue for us as we grappled with the task of sharing the People
Empowering People (PEP) program with Extension faculty
across the country.
Understanding Power
At the core of the concept of empowerment is the idea of power.
The possibility of empowerment depends on two things. First,
empowerment requires that power can change. If power cannot
change, if it is inherent in positions or people, then
empowerment is not possible, nor is empowerment conceivable
in any meaningful way. In other words, if power can change,
then empowerment is possible. Second, the concept of
empowerment depends upon the idea that power can expand.
This second point reflects our common experiences of power
rather than how we think about power. To clarify these points,
we first discuss what we mean by power.
Power is often related to our ability to make others do what we
want, regardless of their own wishes or interests (Weber, 1946).
Traditional social science emphasizes power as influence and
control, often treating power as a commodity or structure
divorced from human action (Lips, 1991). Conceived in this
way, power can be viewed as unchanging or unchangeable.
Weber (1946) gives us a key word beyond this limitation by
recognizing that power exists within the context of a

3. relationship between people or things. Power does not exist in
isolation nor is it inherent in individuals. By implication, since
power is created in relationships, power and power relationships
can change. Empowerment as a process of change, then,
becomes a meaningful concept.
A brief exercise makes the importance of this discussion clear.
Quickly, list three words that immediately come to mind when
you hear the word power. For most people, words that come to
mind when we think about power often revolve around control
and domination. Focusing on these aspects of power limit our
ability to understand and define empowerment.
The concept of empowerment also depends upon power that can
expand, our second stated requirement. Understanding power as
zero-sum, as something that you get at my expense, cuts most of
us off from power. A zero-sum conception of power means that
power will remain in the hands of the powerful unless they give
it up. Although this is certainly one way that power can be
experienced, it neglects the way power will remain in the hands
of the powerful unless they give it up. Although this is certainly
one way that power is experienced, it neglects the way power is
experienced in most interactions. Another brief exercise
highlights the importance of a definition of power that includes
expansion. Answer the question; "Have you ever felt powerful?"
Was it at someone's expense? Was it with someone else?
Grounded in an understanding that power will be seen and
understood differently by people who inhabit various positions
in power structures (Lukes, 199 4), contemporary research on
power has opened new perspectives that reflect aspects of power
that are not zero-sum, but are shared. Feminists (Miller, 1976;
Starhawk, 1987), members of grassroots organizations
(Bookman & Morgen, 1984), racial and ethnic groups (Nicola-
McLaughlin & Chandler, 1984), and even individuals in
families bring into focus another aspect of power, one that is
characterized by collaboration, sharing and mutuality
(Kreisberg, 1992).
Researchers and practitioners call this aspect of power

4. "relational power"(Lappe & DuBois, 1994), generative power
(Korten, 1987), "integrative power," and "power with"
(Kreisberg, 1992).This aspect means that gaining power actually
strengthens the power of others rather than diminishing it such
as occurs with domination/power. Kreisberg has suggested that
power defined as "the capacity to implement" (Kreisberg,
1992:57) is broad enough to allow power to mean domination,
authority, influence, and shared power or "power with." It is
this definition of power, as a process that occurs in
relationships, that gives us the possibility of empowerment.
Understanding Empowerment
Empowerment is a construct shared by many disciplines and
arenas: community development, psychology, education,
economics, and studies of social movements and organizations,
among others. How empowerment is understood varies among
these perspectives. In recent empowerment literature, the
meaning of the term empowerment is often assumed rather than
explained or defined. Rappoport (1984) has noted that it is easy
to define empowerment by its absence but difficult to define in
action as it takes on different forms in different people and
contexts. Even defining the concept is subject to debate.
Zimmerman (1984) has stated that asserting a single definition
of empowerment may make attempts to achieve it formulaic or
prescription-like, contradicting the very concept of
empowerment.
A common understanding of empowerment is necessary,
however, to allow us to know empowerment when we see it in
people with whom we are working, and for program evaluation.
According to Bailey (1992), how we precisely define
empowerment within our projects and programs will depend
upon the specific people and context involved.
As a general definition, however, we suggest that empowerment
is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain
control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power
(that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their
own lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on

5. issues that they define as important.
We suggest that three components of our definition are basic to
any understanding of empowerment. Empowerment is multi-
dimensional, social, and a process. It is multi-dimensional in
that it occurs within sociological, psychological, economic, and
other dimensions. Empowerment also occurs at various levels,
such as individual, group, and community. Empowerment, by
definition, is a social process, since it occurs in relationship to
others. Empowerment is a process that is similar to a path or
journey, one that develops as we work through it. Other aspects
of empowerment may vary according to the specific context and
people involved, but these remain constant. In addition, one
important implication of this definition of empowerment is that
the individual and community are fundamentally connected.
Interconnection of Individuals and Community
Wilson (1996) pointed out that recently, more researchers,
organizers, politicians and employers recognize that individual
change is a prerequisite for community and social change and
empowerment (Speer & Hughey, 1995; Florin and Wandersman,
1990; Chavis & Wandersman, 1990). This does not mean that
we can point the finger at those with less access to power,
telling them that they must change to become more like "us" in
order to be powerful/successful. Rather, individual change
becomes a bridge to community connectedness and social
change (Wilson, 1996).
To create change we must change individually to enable us to
become partners in solving the complex issues facing us. In
collaborations based on mutual respect, diverse perspectives,
and a developing vision, people work toward creative and
realistic solutions. This synthesis of individual and collective
change (Wilson, 1996; Florin & Wandersman, 1990; Speer &
Hughey, 1995) is our understanding of an empowerment
process. We see this inclusive individual and collective
understanding of empowerment as crucial in programs with
empowerment as a goal. It is in the critical transition, or
interconnection, between the individual and the communal, or

6. social, that programs such as ours, People Empowering People,
can be invaluable for people and communities.
Empowerment and PEP
The People Empowering People (PEP) program uses the
definition of empowerment to connect research, theory, and
practice. The Connecticut PEP program builds on theory of
critical adult education developed by Friere (1970), Horton
(1989), and others. PEP focuses on the strengths of people,
providing opportunities and resources for people to gain
experiences and skills while they also gain control over their
lives.
Underlying this process is mutual respect between participants,
facilitators, advisory committee members, and others involved
in the program. PEP opens to participants the recognition of
their own values and beliefs, and encourages expression of their
own issues as they define them. The focus is on the connection
between individual action and community action, encouraging
individual change through training sessions and discussions,
and supporting community action through participants' efforts to
change their communities. While we cannot give people power
and we cannot make them "empowered," we can provide the
opportunities, resources and support that they need to become
involved themselves.
In conclusion, we see empowerment as a multi-dimensional
social process that helps people gain control over their own
lives. It is a process that fosters power in people for use in their
own lives, their communities, and in their society by acting on
issues that they define as important. In PEP as in Extension we
strive to teach people skills and knowledge that will motivate
them to take steps to improve their own lives -- to be
empowered.
References
Bailey, D. (1992). Using participatory research in community
consortia development and evaluation: lessons from the
beginning of a story. American Sociologist, 23 (4), 71-82.
Bookman, A., & Morgen, S. (Eds.). (1984). Women and the

7. politics of empowerment. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press.
Chavis, D., & Wandersman, A. (1990). Sense of community in
the urban environment: A catalyst for participation and
community development. American Journal of Community
Psychology, 18 (1), 55-81.
Florin, P., & Wandersman, A. (1990).An introduction to citizen
participation, voluntary organizations, and community
development: insights for empowerment through research.
American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(1), 41-54.
Friere, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Translated by
M.B. Ramos. New York: Seabury Press.
Horton, A. (1989). The Highlander Folk School: A history of its
major programs. Brooklyn, NY: Carlson Publishers.
Korten, D.E. (1987). Community management. West Hartford,
CT: Kumarian Press.
Kreisberg, S. (1992). Transforming power: Domination,
empowerment, and education. Albany, NY: State University of
New York Press.
Lappe, F.M., & Dubois, P.M. (1994). The quickening of
America: Rebuilding our nation, remaking our lives. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass,Inc. Publishers.
Lips, H. (1991). Women, men and power. Mountain View, CA:
Mayfeld.
Lukes, S. (1994). Power: A radical view. London: Macmillan
Press Ltd.
Miller, J.B. (1976).Toward a new psychology of women.
Boston: Beacon Press.
Nicola-McLaughlin, A., & Chandler, Z. (1984; 180-201). Urban
politics in the higher education of black women: A case study.
In Bookmen & Morgen (Eds.). Women and the politics of
empowerment. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Rapport, J. (1984). Studies in empowerment: Introduc tion to the
issue. Prevention in Human Services, 3, 1-7.
Speer, P.W., & Hughey, J. (1995). Community organizing: An
ecological route to empowerment and power. American Journal

8. of Community Psychology, 23 (5), 729-748.
Starhawk (1987). Truth or dare. San Francisco: Harper and
Row.
Weber, M. (1946). From Max Weber. H.H. Gerth & C.W. Mills
(Eds.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, P. (1996). Empowerment: Community economic
development from the inside out. Urban Studies, 33(4-5), 617-
630.
Zimmerman, M.A. (1984). Taking aim on empowerment
research: On the distinction between individual and
psychological conceptions. American Journal of Community
Psychology, 18(1), 169-177.
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Community Services and Networking 1
Community Services and Networking 1
PARTICIPATION EMPOWERMENT 1

9. Quinsigamond Community College
Place your name here
HUS 101 Introduction to Human Services
May 5, 2021
Abstract
The Capstone paper is a requirement for the Human Services
Practicum I class, and is to reflect the understanding and
knowledge that the student knows the 12 Community Support
Skill Standards. These skills are applied to the Human Services
degree in almost everything that the job requires a person to do.
The twelve skill standards include participant empowerment,
communication, assessment, community and service networking,
facilitation of services, community living skills and support,
education, training and self-development, and advocacy. There
also includes vocational, education and career support, crisis
intervention, organizational participation, and documentation.
The student will provide specific case examples as well as

10. examples from the student's practicum site which will
demonstrate the applied knowledge of each standard.
Participation Empowerment
The definition according to The Community Support Skill
Standards is: “the competent community support human service
practitioner (CSHSP) enhances the ability of the participant to
lead a self-determining life by providing the support and
information necessary to build self-esteem and assertiveness; to
make decisions.” (Taylor, 1996) Pathways for Change Inc. is an
organization that’s purpose is to empower individuals by
allowing them to decide what is best for themselves and
supporting them through the voyage of their decisions.
Page and Czuba (1990) states, “Empowerment is a process that
is similar to a path or journey, one that develops as we work
through it.” I believe that empowerment starts where you
currently are. It’s a process where you are uplifted and liberated
to take back what it rightfully yours, whether it’s your control
over yourself or your pride and joy. Empowerment is equivalent
to encouraging and promoting. In the Human Service field,
participant empowerment, is what Human Service Practitioners
eat, sleep, and breathe. It’s what we live for. It is their duty to

11. uplift others by giving them the support and encouragement to
seek help and have the confidence to get what is rightfully
theirs.
Participant Empowerment is the process in which encourages
participants to be assertive in their life decisions, and supplies
resources that will benefit their needs and allows the individual
the freedom to choose rather than someone choosing for them
what path is best fitting. Participant Empowerment (P.E.)
allows one to be the captain of their life journey wherever life
takes them. According to Bailey (1992), “how we precisely
define empowerment within our projects and programs will
depend upon the specific people and context involved. Just as
every individual is diverse every survivor has a distinct,
experiences of their own. Even if the survivors share the same
culture or trauma as another individual, you would take a
different approach when dealing with them, because their
experience would be different.”
Rapport (1984) has noted, “that it is easy to define
empowerment by its absence but difficult to define in action as
it takes on different forms in different people and contexts. To
one-person empowerment might be the ability to find a strength,
while to another empowerment could be the ability to self-
advocate. It is easy to spot the complexity amongst the two, but
empowerment permits growth in all aspects of uplifting and
self-motivation.”
It is the Human Service Practitioner’s duty is to find
information to give to the client so they can have options in
seeking the help they are inquiring. It is where Human Service
workers look for the client’s strengths and elevates the strength,
they already attain that they may or may not be aware of. When
dealing with survivors, Pathways likes to show the strengths of
the survivor when it they appear hopeless and not seeing the
positive side. If a survivor is feeling depressed it is because
they feel like they should have gotten over their trauma.
Pathways reminds them that healing from trauma isn’t a process
that happens overnight, but it is a process that takes time. In the

12. process of healing, Pathways looks for strengths that the client
has accomplished that they might haven’t even noticed prior.
Some clients suffer with depression and struggle with getting
out of bed. Sometimes getting out of bed of 20 minutes is an
accomplishment. This is where the use of the empowerme nt
model is used to uplift the client and praise their
accomplishments.
At Pathways for Change there is a curriculum that includes
empowerment. It is called the empowerment model, and its
objective is to empower others by finding their control over
situations where they feel they have been stripped from that
right of becoming stronger and more confident (Pathways
2019). Their anthem is to never give advice but to empower by
presenting options and allowing the client to choose which path
is right for them. Pathways then supports their decisions, even
if it goes against your own personal beliefs because it’s always
what is in the best interest of the client and allowing the client
to possess their power by encouraging them to be the driver of
their destiny.
As a final point, participant empowerment is what Human
Service Workers strive to
show all individuals in every aspect. It’s the encouragement an
individual need to keep pushing and supporting themselves. It's
uncovering of self-love. Participant Empowerment is the
process in which encourages participants to be assertive in their
life decisions and supplies resources that will benefit their
needs and allows the individual the freedom to choose rather
than someone choosing for them which path is best fitting.

13. References
Bailey, D. (1992). Using participatory research in community
consortia development and
evaluation: lessons from the beginning of a story. American
Sociologist, 23 (4), 71-82.
Pathways for Change (2019)., Sexual Assault Training
Curriculum for New Counselors and Advocates. Worcester, MA
September 22, 2019
Czuba, C. E. (1999). Empowerment: What Is It? Journal of
Extension (volume 37).
Pathways for Change (2019)., Sexual Assault Training
Curriculum for New Counselors and
Advocates. Worcester, MA September 22, 2019
Rapport, J. (1984). Studies in empowerment: Introduction to the
issue. Prevention in Human
Services, 3, 1-7
Taylor, M., Bradley, V. J., & Warren, R. (1996). The
Community Support Skill Standards
: Tools for Managing Change and Achieving Outcomes: Skill
Standards for Direct
Service Workers in the Human Services. MA: HSRI.